Celebrities who attended Sean "Diddy" Combs' parties should consider lawyering up, even if they attended one of his more high-profile soirees.
Several entertainment attorneys told Business Insider that any celebrities who may have been involved in Combs' alleged drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs," in which prosecutors say the hip-hop mogul "used force, threats of force, and coercion" to get female victims to engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers, should be especially worried and immediately consult an attorney.
And while Combs' extravagant, star-studded white parties, which were thrown in the late 1990s and early 2000s, were not mentioned in the 14-page federal indictment against the entrepreneur, those who attended may also want to touch base with their lawyers, they said.
"The likelihood that prominent persons known to have attended these parties will be contacted by law enforcement personnel is very high," said Wayne Dennison, a partner at the firm Brown Rudnick who was part of the team that successfully represented Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.
There is "no downside" for celebrities who attended Combs' ritzy parties, thrown at glitzy locales like the Hamptons, Beverly Hills, and St. Tropez, to be "proactive about potentially being interviewed by law enforcement personnel with respect to this matter," Dennison, who is co-chairman of the firm's brand and reputation management team, said.
On the other hand, Neama Rahmani, the president and cofounder of West Coast Trial Lawyers, said: "If I were a celebrity who participated in one of Diddy's 'Freak Offs,' I would be shaking in my boots."
"At best, they're a witness in a case that is very likely going to trial," Rahmani said. "At worst, they're a codefendant."
Celebrity guests may have 'relevant information' and be summoned to testify
Combs' lavish shindigs are being viewed in a new light after the 55-year-old rapper and businessman was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in September on federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
Combs, who remains locked up at a Brooklyn jail, has vehemently denied the charges and has pleaded not guilty. He has also consistently denied all accusations of sexual assault that have been lodged against him in a slew of civil lawsuits.
Some of the entertainment attorneys told BI that celebrities who attended Combs' A-list parties could be summoned to testify at a trial, even if they don't think they witnessed anything nefarious.
Jurors tend to view well-known people as credible witnesses, Dennison said.
"By all accounts, Mr. Combs threw very large parties, which likely had some form of guest list that may now be available to prosecutors," Dennison said. "The only way for the prosecution to determine who knew what and when is to talk with those in attendance."
Rahmani added that stars who attended Combs' high-profile parties could have "relevant information" and be compelled to testify.
Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said he would advise these individuals to consult with their lawyer and their publicist "because a lot of dirty laundry" could soon be made public.
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles entertainment attorney with Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, agreed, saying it's possible prosecutors may bring in celebrities for witness interviews.
However, Tre Lovell, an attorney and the owner of the Los Angeles-based Lovell Firm, told BI that he wouldn't rush to call a lawyer simply for attending one of Combs' parties as doing so "does not suggest unlawful or criminal activity."
"He's a very famous celebrity and has been for decades before his recent indictment," Lovell told BI. "He's had many legitimate parties over the years and, chances are, most celebrities and guests were not aware of his sex parties."
However, if a celebrity actually participated in any of the "freak off" parties, "then that would be something different, and I would suggest contacting your attorney" to "strategize how best to deal with any potential criminal investigation," Lovell said.
'Freak offs' are at the center of Combs' indictment
Federal prosecutors allege that for decades Combs "abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct."
Combs and his associates "wielded the power and prestige" of the rapper's success to "intimidate, threaten, and lure female victims" into his orbit "often under the pretense of a romantic relationship," prosecutors say in the indictment.
The "freak offs," prosecutors say, occurred regularly, often in hotel rooms, and sometimes lasted multiple days. During these events, prosecutors say Combs would give out a variety of drugs to the victims to keep them "obedient and compliant."
Members of the Combs' enterprise, including high-ranking supervisors, security staff, household staff, and personal assistants, helped host the "Freak Offs" by booking hotel rooms, according to prosecutors. The staff stocked the parties with the "required" supplies, including drugs, baby oil, and lubricant, prosecutors say in the indictment.
"Combs subjected victims to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse to cause the victims to engage in Freak Offs," the indictment says.
Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has sought to portray the so-called "Freak Offs" as consensual acts.
In a statement to BI, a Combs spokesperson drew a distinction between the "false allegations" against the hip-hop mogul and his famed parties.
"Sean Combs' white parties and other events were iconic, a true convergence of hip-hop, Hollywood, and Black excellence. His parties were a 'who's who' of A-list celebrities, with an endless stream of people vying to attend," the spokesperson said.
"It's disappointing to see the media and social commentators twist these cultural moments into something they were not," the spokesperson continued. "Shaming celebrities who attended, taking video clips and photos out of context, and trying to link these events to false allegations is simply untrue."
Combs has been sued by 4 people who have made allegations of sex abuse at white parties
Three recent lawsuits filed against Combs by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of unnamed plaintiffs allege that sexual attacks happened at three of Combs' white parties. Two accusers allege in the lawsuits that they were minors when they were victimized at Combs' 1998 and 2004 parties.
Another lawsuit filed by former porn star Adria English alleges Combs hired her as an entertainer for his white parties at his Hamptons and Miami homes between 2004 and 2009 and forced her to have sex with guests.
In the lawsuit, filed in July in Manhattan federal court, English said that during one White Party, she was required to wear a black dress "to denote her capacity there as an employee, but more sinisterly as a sex trafficked sex worker."
An attorney for Combs said in response to the lawsuit:"No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof."
Earlier in December, a woman accused Combs of raping her with the rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, when she was 13 years old at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards. Buzbee originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of an unnamed plaintiff in October, identifying Carter only as "Celebrity A."
Carter, in a statement through the X account of his entertainment company Roc Nation, denied the allegations, calling them "heinous" and accused Buzbee of trying to "blackmail" him.
Lawyers for Combs have pointed to the inconsistencies that have come out related to the lawsuit accusing Combs and Carter of rape. Among them, NBC News reported that the accuser said her father picked her up after the alleged sexual attack, but he told the news outlet that he does not remember doing so.
The plaintiff has been "exposed," attorneys for Combs told BI.
"This is the beginning of the end of money grab," the Combs attorneys said.
Buzbee's firm has filed about 20 lawsuits against Combs since October.
Combs' attorneys have slammed Buzbee's "barrage of lawsuits" against Combs as "shameless publicity stunts" that they say are "designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs."
"As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor," Combs' attorneys have told BI.
Meanwhile, Rahmani, the former federal prosecutor, told BI that if there was "overlap and there were sex workers" at Combs' parties, celebrity attendees should most definitely consult a lawyer.
If the "freak offs" that prosecutors allege Combs held were completely separate from his star-studded bashes, then guests who attended should have nothing to worry about, he said.
