Jury selection for the federal criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs began on Monday morning in New York. The high-profile defendant has been behind bars for eight months awaiting trial for charges including racketeering, transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking, as well as an additional charge of forced labor against employees.

Combs’ defense team pleaded not guilty on all charges.

A small group of media folks as well as curious onlookers gathered outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan around 9 a.m.

At least one protester showed up, a man on a bicycle, circling around out front, yelling, “Free Diddy!”

Monday’s turnout on a chilly, rainy spring day was a much smaller crowd than, say, the R Kelly trial in 2021, said Bato Aydelotte, a freelance journalist with New York radio station Hot 97.

He wasn’t sure why so few people showed up to either show their support (or jeer) the fallen rapper.

“One, I think he has a smaller diehard base because he’s mainly known as a producer and record label executive, unlike someone like Kanye West who’s the front man on the hip-hop stage,” said Aydelotte, adding crowds will likely increase once the trial gets under way.

The jury selection process, which includes multiple questionnaires and interviews, could go on the entire week for the disgraced rap star who has been at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September 2024. The trial could last an additional two months.

Police patrolling the area reported that Combs had already entered through a side entrance.

An employee of the court who spoke to the Herald but did not wish to be identified said she believed it would be tough to find 12 people (and six alternates) who didn’t hear about the sensational case.

“It’s been splashed all over the news for months and months,” she said. “There were so many horrible stories.”

A taxi driver who goes just by his first name “Frantz” told the Herald he thinks Combs will have a tough time making his case.

“Everyone used to love Puff Daddy [one of his many nicknames], but then the video came out,” he said. “He was condemned.”

The video he is referring to is security footage from an L.A. hotel released by CNN showing Combs attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in March 2016.

As per the Associated Press, several prospective jurors indeed indicated they had seen the key piece of evidence in news reports; one woman who called it “damning” was immediately dismissed.

Last month in a pre-trial hearing, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled the explosive footage was admissable, after prosecutors fought to include it saying it was “critical” to the case. The 55-year-old’s lawyers unsuccessfully argued that the clip was manipulated.

The defense team is reportedly going to argue that Combs was a “swinger,” and that all sexual encounters, including those in the now infamous baby oil-fueled “freak off” parties were consensual.

As per the AP, Combs was not dressed in a prison jumpsuit but in a sweater and collared shirt paired with slacks. The former star’s black hair and goatee are now entirely gray, as inmates are not allowed to use dye.

The sensational case first gained international attention on March 25, 2024, when federal agents raided Combs’ mansions in L.A. and Star Island in Miami Beach.

Homeland Security investigators rummaged through the singer’s belongings after a bombshell lawsuit was filed by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones. The music producer claimed Combs sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him while they were working on the “Love” album together.

The music mogul had also recently quickly settled a different lawsuit with Ventura, who accused her famous ex of rape and physical abuse during their relationship. Terms were not disclosed.

At the time, Ben Brafman, an attorney for Combs, said the settlement did not mean his client was guilty of any wrongdoing:

“Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” read the statement. “Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”

If convicted, Combs could face life in prison.

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