The docuseries is set to premiere on Investigation Discovery on Monday, Jan. 27

'Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,' streams Jan. 14 on Peacock

• In the new year, blockbuster legal cases will play out in US courts.
• Major criminal cases include Sean "Diddy" Combs and Luigi Mangione.
• In the civil arena, the DOJ's list of antitrust lawsuits will make their way to court.

As we enter the new year, dockets are filling up with blockbuster court cases in the US.

Criminal courts in Manhattan are preparing for the trial of rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and early hearings in the prosecution of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In the civil arena, lawyers are gearing up for a year of antitrust lawsuits brought by the DOJ against Big Tech, Visa, and other companies it accuses of monopolizing their industries.

While 2024 was the year of Donald Trump in court, there's still much to be done in the coming year as his fight to clear his rap sheet and zero out his civil judgments continues.

Here are some of the cases Business Insider will be watching this year:

Sean "Diddy" Combs cases

Sean "Diddy" Combs — founder of Bad Boy Records and the Sean John brand — is due to stand trial in federal court in Manhattan on May 5 on a sex-trafficking indictment that could send him to prison for life. Prosecutors have also warned that a second indictment is imminent.

Given what's already in the record, trial testimony and evidence will be graphic, and the courtroom jousting will be heated. Combs' defense is that he never forced anyone to have sex, and that his accusers have financial motive to implicate him. The trial will likely focus on consent and credibility.

Combs' mother and his six oldest children — who range from teenagers to early 30s — have attended pretrial hearings, waving and smiling at him from the audience. The trial may prove less family-friendly. The evidence includes hundreds of hours of videotape from the rap mogul's sex parties — especially from his so-called freak-off performances, along with testimony by male sex workers who attended the parties. The trial will not be televised.

Separately, Combs faces more than 30 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse. "No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted, or sex trafficked anyone," his attorneys recently said in a statement.

Luigi Mangione court case

Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old software developer from a Maryland real estate family, will face state and federal murder charges in Manhattan this year in the December ambush shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He risks a maximum sentence of life in prison and, in the federal case, the death penalty — though it has been more than 60 years since a Manhattan jury has sent anyone to death row.

Both the state and federal prosecutions are in their early days. While Mangione has pleaded not guilty in his state case, he is not set to enter a plea to his federal indictment until later this month.

It's possible Mangione will go to trial in 2025, though it's unlikely. His attorney suggested prior to taking the case that he could pursue some kind of psychiatric defense, which could delay the trial into 2026.

Donald Trump's court cases

The president-elect's criminal indictments have sputtered to a halt, thanks in large part to the US Supreme Court's July presidential immunity decision. Loose ends remain in the Manhattan hush-money case, as Trump works to clear his rap sheet of its sole conviction before his January 20 inauguration.

There is still no sentencing date, and New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has yet to rule on Trump's demand that the case be tossed in the interest of justice, given the election. Also pending is Trump's Second Circuit appellate efforts to move the hush-money case to federal court.

Meanwhile, Trump begins 2025 with a half-billion-dollars in civil court judgments hanging over his head, all of which he's in the midst of aggressively appealing, including his two E. Jean Carroll defamation cases. A midlevel New York appellate court could keep, trim, or overturn the biggest of Trump's judgments at any time — his massive civil fraud penalty, a debt to New York state that remains frozen on appeal, which has now ballooned to $490 million with interest. He remains a defendant in eight civil cases brought by injured Capitol Police officers and members of Congress involving his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

TikTok ban

In the spring, Congress passed a law that would ban TikTok from app stores in the United States unless Bytedance, the platform's Chinese owner, divested itself from the app.

The deadline is January 19. Bytedance still owns TikTok. A Washington, DC-based appeals court was unpersuaded by TikTok's arguments that its users' First Amendment rights outweigh the national security-based reasoning of Congress's law.

All eyes are on the US Supreme Court to see whether it will strike down the law before the deadline. The court agreed to hear oral arguments in the case on January 10.

Nvidia

The Justice Department has reportedly been ramping up an antitrust investigation into the chipmaker throughout 2024. Competitors have said Nvidia uses unfair marketing tactics to gain a stranglehold on the market for chips used in AI development, while the company says it simply offers a best-in-class product. If the DOJ brings a lawsuit or comes to a settlement with Nvidia, it'll likely come in 2025.

Meta antitrust lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission sued Meta during the first Trump administration, alleging it had an illegal monopoly on the social media market through its ownership of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The Biden administration has kept up the lawsuit, which scored a major victory in November when a federal judge allowed most of the case to go to trial.

Meta says the company's acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram have been good for consumers. If it loses the trial — scheduled for April — the FTC will seek to force the company to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp.

Google antitrust lawsuit

Google search case

Alphabet was dealt a major blow in 2024 when a federal judge concluded Google formed an illegal monopoly in the search market. Now the company is tussling with the Justice Department over how it should be punished. Google suggested it could pull back some of its partnerships with other companies. The DOJ has asked the judge to force Google to divest from its Chrome browser, a more dramatic move. The decision — and the many appeals to come — will continue to play out in 2025.

Google advertising case

Another major Google antitrust case is over its role in online advertising. In September, a federal court held a bench trial to determine whether the company formed another illegal monopoly, in the adtech market.

Google claims the Justice Department has overstated its role in the market, where it competes fiercely with the likes of Meta and Amazon.

A decision is expected to come sometime in 2025, with appeals to follow.

Amazon antitrust lawsuit

In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states sued Amazon, alleging it abused its dominance in the online retail space to inflate prices, squeeze third-party sellers with onerous fees, and push its in-house products at the expense of others. Amazon has said it does everything for the benefit of consumers, to whom it provides better products and better prices.

In September, a federal judge knocked down some of the states' claims but allowed the bulk of the lawsuit to proceed to trial. The trial date is scheduled for 2026, with more litigation and appeals expected to take place before then.

New York Times vs OpenAI

All sorts of content creators — journalists, novelists, filmmakers, photographers — have filed a slew of copyright lawsuits against AI companies, accusing them of illegally siphoning their creations to train their AI models.

The AI companies have generally argued that the use of the material is sufficiently "transformative" to be considered "fair use" under copyright law.

One of the major cases to watch is The New York Times's lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, which has progressed further than many of the other cases. In January, a federal judge is scheduled to oversee a marathon day of oral arguments over whether the case is on firm enough legal ground to proceed to trial.

Elon Musk vs Sam Altman and OpenAI

In the past few years, OpenAI has become a tech behemoth, setting the pace for generative artificial intelligence technology.

The company is technically structured as a nonprofit that seeks to build artificial intelligence in a way that benefits all of humanity. However, under its leader Sam Altman, OpenAI has signed a lucrative deal with Microsoft, which hopes to harness the tech to drive its own growth.

Now OpenAI is trying to formally convert itself into a for-profit company, shedding the nonprofit label. Musk — who was involved in OpenAI's early stages and who runs a competitor, xAI — is trying to stop that from happening.

The case has been moving at a fast clip, with lawyers for Musk and OpenAI dropping legal filings that reveal internal emails and other records about the other. It's set to continue heating up in 2025 as OpenAI tries to become a corporation.

Eric Adams indictment

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of taking bribes from Turkey to fuel his political career — charges that he has strenuously denied. Adams hired Alex Spiro, a hard-charging lawyer best known for representing Musk, to fight the cases. The case is on the fast track and is expected to go to trial in April, before the city's Democratic primary.

DOJ's Apple antitrust lawsuit

The Justice Department sued Apple in March, accusing it of violating antitrust laws by illegally maintaining a smartphone monopoly. More than a dozen states have since joined the lawsuit against the tech giant, and the initial conference in the case will be held on February 27 in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

The DOJ accuses Apple of making its rivals' products worse by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on developers and by withholding critical access points from them.

Apple does this, according to the Justice Department, by suppressing the development of cloud-streaming apps and services, worsening the quality of cross-platform messaging with rivals like Android, limiting the functionality of third-party smartwatches unless the owners keep buying iPhones, blocking the development of "super apps," and limiting functions on non-Apple wallet tap-to-pay.

Apple previously told Business Insider that if the lawsuit was successful, it could set a dangerous precedent by "empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people's technology."

"This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets," Apple said in a March 2024 statement to BI. "If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple — where hardware, software, and services intersect."

Live Nation Ticketmaster lawsuit

A little over a year after the historic Ticketmaster crash, which prevented Taylor Swift fans from purchasing Eras tour tickets, the Justice Department in May sued Live Nation, the website's parent company.

The DOJ accuses Live Nation of unlawfully dominating the live music market, stifling innovation, and exerting control over how fans can purchase tickets and where artists can perform. It seeks to break up the company.

A final pretrial conference is scheduled for February 12 in federal court in Manhattan, but the case isn't expected to go to trial until early 2026.

Live Nation previously told BI in a statement that the lawsuit would fail in court.

"The DOJ's lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows," the company said in May.

Visa antitrust lawsuit

The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa in September, accusing the company of engaging in anticompetitive behavior with its US debit transactions. Initial hearings in the case are expected in January.

The lawsuit accuses the payment-processing giant of entering into contracts with potential competitors that prevent them from becoming actual competitors. By doing so, Visa is able to collect fees that it wouldn't be able to in a competitive market, the Justice Department alleges.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, said Visa handled more than 60% of US debit transactions, earning the company more than $7 billion in fees a year.

In September, a lawyer for Visa told BI the lawsuit was "meritless."

"Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving," Julie Rottenberg said in a statement at the time.

Rudy Giuliani defamation case

This will be the fourth year for the court battle between Rudy Giuliani and Georgia election workers Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and Ruby Freeman.

The former Trump attorney and New York City mayor has owed Moss and Freeman $148 million since December 2023, after a DC judge found his repeated false accusations of election fraud subjected the mother-daughter pair to a barrage of racist death threats. The pair's lawyer complained in court recently that Giuliani has yet to turn over any assets beyond a handful of luxury watches, a Mercedes without a title, and a New York apartment without a current lease.

Giuliani now faces contempt of court for allegedly continuing to defame the pair on his nightly podcast and for what defense lawyers complain has been his heel-dragging in turning over assets and complying with subpoenas.

He is scheduled for a January 3 contempt hearing and a January 16 bench trial, both in federal court in Manhattan. The trial will determine if Giuliani must surrender his Palm Beach condo and three World Series rings.

Phillip Pines claimed he was "expected to be on call" for the alleged “Wild King Nights,” which he says sometimes lasted days

Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing multiple civil lawsuits as well as federal criminal charges

A source close to Combs tells PEOPLE "he has been very active, remains in good spirits, and, as always, he was happy to see his children"

Sean "Diddy" Combs' will remain behind bars until his criminal trial on May 5, 2025

The music mogul, accused of sex trafficking, will be back in court on March 17.

Paul was arrested in March for possession of cocaine and marijuana

Last fall, stars assembled in London at the over-the-top clubstaurant Lavo to celebrate one of their own. Janet Jackson smiled in a velvet booth with Idris Elba. The supermodel Naomi Campbell, the evening's host, posed in a black dress.

At the center of it all was Sean "Diddy" Combs in a leather jacket and Cartier sunglasses cutting into a bright red cake featuring artwork from his latest release. It was the mogul's 54th birthday party, as well as a celebration of his "The Love Album." As far as partygoers and paparazzi could tell, he was on top of the world.

Since his rise to fame in the late 1990s as a rapper and producer, Combs had built a business empire and become one of the richest and most well-connected entertainers of all time.

Behind the scenes that November, though, Combs' life was about to start crumbling. Negotiations were failing between Combs and the R&B singer Cassie Ventura, his ex who was on the brink of going public with details of their relationship.

Exactly one week after his star-studded party, the tensions bubbling under the surface boiled over when Ventura sued Combs. The lawsuit alleged a cycle of physical abuse, as well as rape by Combs, who Ventura also said forced her to have sex with sex workers.

Combs' lawyers alleged that her lawyers tried to extort $30 million in exchange for stopping a tell-all book about their 10-year relationship last year.

He eventually apologized to Ventura after CNN released surveillance footage of him physically abusing her at a hotel in 2016. He settled the lawsuit and, at the time, denied any wrongdoing — a stance he has maintained amid a flurry of subsequent allegations — but it marked the beginning of a year that turned his world upside down.

Over the next 12 months, Combs went from being one of the richest music moguls in history, known for his wide network in the entertainment industry and business savvy, to being behind bars, facing a criminal indictment, dozens of civil lawsuits, and an empire in decline.

Combs' freedom, reputation, and finances are all in jeopardy. If he's found guilty of criminal charges, it would mean one of the most celebrated entertainers is also a heinous criminal.

"He looked like he was the king of the world — as flossy as possible, blinged out, with the family, and everything's good," Kenny Hull, a reality show director who worked on the second iteration of "Making the Band," which featured Combs, told Business Insider about the last time he saw Combs, a few years ago at a park in Los Angeles.

"From the top to the absolute bottom," he added. "Canceled and done."

Combs has vehemently and consistently denied all accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking since Ventura's lawsuit was filed, and each time a new allegation has been made against him.

"Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man, woman, adult or minor," lawyers for Combs told BI.

A birthday behind bars

Combs celebrated his 55th birthday not at a luxe international club but at the notorious Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where, a person previously told BI, he was sharing a dormitory with the crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Instead of flowing Champagne or DeLeón, a jailhouse dinner was served on Combs' November birthday, consisting of Salisbury steak or black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, and green beans. There was no partying with A-listers, though he did receive a phone call from his kids.

Combs has been in jail pretrial since he was arrested in September, following a monthslong investigation that led to a grand jury indictment on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly causing victims and paid sex workers to cross state lines.

The Bad Boy Records founder faces anywhere from 15 years to life in prison on a federal indictment alleging that for decades, he used violence, threats, and drugs to coerce women into sexual performances, including at elaborately planned, dayslong parties called "freak offs."

Combs has pleaded not guilty, insisting through his lawyers that the sex was consensual and that his accusers have financial motives to implicate him. His next court date is Wednesday.

And more criminal charges may be coming, as prosecutors have said grand jurors are weighing a new indictment that could include allegations of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege that Combs has used phone accounts belonging to other people held at the jail to contact family members and associates and enlist them to plant negative stories about his accusers and funnel payments to a witness.

They also say agents recovered three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers when search warrants were executed in March at Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles and at a Florida airport. And in September, when Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt, a five-star hotel in midtown Manhattan, they recovered bags of pink powder that prosecutors said in September they believed contained ecstasy and other drugs. Prosecutors have not revealed the results of a drug test they said was conducted in September.

Since his arrest, Combs has made three unsuccessful attempts to be released on bail ahead of his criminal trial, which is scheduled for May 5.

"No condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community," including of witnesses and prospective jurors, US District Judge Arun Subramanian wrote in the most recent bail denial, issued the day before Thanksgiving.

An avalanche of lawsuits

Just two weeks after Combs was arrested and subsequently locked up at the Brooklyn jail, the Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee held a press conference to announce that his firm was representing 120 people accusing Combs of sexual misconduct.

"We are going to follow this evidence wherever it takes us. We will find the silent accomplices. We will expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors," Buzbee said of his legal offensive.

Since Ventura's bombshell November 2023 lawsuit, more than 30 civil lawsuits have been filed accusing Combs of sexual abuse, including about 20 from Buzbee's clients, all listed as John Doe or Jane Doe.

"It feels really good to know he's behind bars," Adria English, who is not a Buzbee client, told BI. She worked as a dancer at Combs' famous white parties and filed a lawsuit in July accusing him of sex trafficking. "What we're having to speak of already sounds like we're lying — it already sounds like a movie because it's so horrible," she said. "It's so disgusting."

Attorneys for Combs pointed BI to a statement previously released in response to English's lawsuit, saying in part: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted, or sex trafficked anyone."

The "I'll Be Missing You" rapper has been accused by both men and women of rape, sexual assault, and lacing drinks with drugs. Over half a dozen of the lawsuits allege the abuse of boys and girls between 10 and 17 years old. Four lawsuits allege that sexual attacks happened at Combs' famed A-list white parties throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, and two of those four lawsuits allege teenagers were victimized.

Timeline of events

Date	Event
November 16, 2023	Sean Combs is accused in a lawsuit of rape and abuse by the R&B singer Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend.
November 28, 2023	Combs announces he has stepped down as chair of Revolt, the cable network and media company he cofounded.
November 2023 to February 2024	Five civil lawsuits are filed against Combs and his businesses.
January 16, 2024	Diageo and Combs end their more than 15-year partnership.
March 25, 2024	Federal officials raid Combs' Los Angeles and Miami mansions.
April 2024 to September 2024	Six more accusers, including Adria English, sue Combs, alleging various forms of drugging or sexual abuse.
May 17, 2024	CNN publishes surveillance footage that shows Combs physically abusing his then-girlfriend, Ventura.
September 16, 2024	Combs is arrested in Manhattan following an indictment by a grand jury on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty.
October 1, 2024	The Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee announces at a press conference that his firm is representing 120 accusers with sexual misconduct claims against Combs.
October 14, 2024	The first tranche of lawsuits that Buzbee pledged to bring against Combs is filed in New York.
November 4, 2024	Combs — who has remained behind bars at Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest — celebrates his 55th birthday.

Earlier this month, a woman accused the rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of raping her with Combs when she was 13 years old at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. An unnamed plaintiff originally filed the lawsuit 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 accusing Buzbee, the plaintiff's lawyer, of trying to "blackmail" him.

Attorneys for Combs continue to call all the lawsuits brought by Buzbee publicity grabs.

"Mr. Buzbee's lawsuit against Jay-Z and Mr. Combs and the recent extortion lawsuit Jay-Z brought against Mr. Buzbee exposes Mr. Buzbee's barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs," attorneys for Combs told BI Thursday.

The accuser in the lawsuit filed against Combs and Carter said in a recent interview with NBC News that there were some inconsistencies in her story but that she stood by the allegations.

Combs' lawyers are challenging the claims in at least seven lawsuits, which are ongoing. He has not responded in court to the lawsuits brought by Buzbee, which were all filed after his arrest.

A Los Angeles entertainment attorney, Camron Dowlatshahi, who's not involved in the lawsuits against Combs, told BI that though the rapper is still considered wealthy, litigating each of these cases through trial and potentially being exposed to multimillion-dollar judgments "does not seem prudent."

"Each of the lawsuits piggy-back on the other, and witnesses will be plenty," Dowlatshahi, a partner at the law firm Mills Sadat Dowlat, said.

Dowlatshahi said that lawsuits typically settle before trial and that he anticipated the same in Combs' case.

"Diddy will have to be strategic, however, in which cases he settles first and for how much," Dowlatshahi said.

Down with Diddy's empire

As the allegations against Combs have piled up, so have his legal bills.

Combs was once estimated to be worth $820 million, according to Forbes. He'd created an assortment of lucrative revenue drivers that contributed to regular eight-figure annual paydays, including a deal with Diageo; his lifestyle brand, Sean John; a record label; and a music catalog.

One by one, those income streams have dried up.

When the civil lawsuits started, Combs was already engaged in a legal back-and-forth with Diageo, his most bankable partner.

Combs signed with the liquor giant in 2007, agreeing to be the face of Cîroc vodka in exchange for a cut of sales. The partnership became one of the most lucrative celebrity liquor deals in history, expanding further when Combs and Diageo launched DeLeón, a co-owned tequila line. Over 15 years, the company paid him nearly $1 billion, Forbes reported.

While Combs originally sued Diageo in May 2023, alleging the company did not support his ventures, the mounting sexual abuse lawsuits did him in, in the end.

"Mr. Combs is well-aware that these lawsuits make it impossible for him to continue to be the 'face' of anything," Diageo lawyers wrote in a letter to a judge in December 2023.

By January, the matter was resolved. Combs received $200 million for his stake in DeLeón tequila and not a penny for his longtime work with Cîroc.

It's a similar story for his other ventures.

Combs' lifestyle company, Sean John, had already slipped: In 2016, he sold a majority stake in the business, which at that point included fragrances and furnishings, to Global Brands Group for $70 million, Forbes reported. Just five years later, Global Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Combs bought back the business for $7.55 million, just over 10% of what it was once worth.

The clothing line's website has gone defunct, its Instagram scrapped, and it is no longer sold at Macy's, once the exclusive home of the brand's sportswear line — and one of its last remaining retailers. The department store, which was accused by one of Buzbee's clients of covering up a 2008 sexual attack by Combs, did not comment on whether the removal of his Sean John line had to do with the compounding lawsuits. Macy's didn't respond to the allegations of covering up a sexual assault in court or to a request for comment about them from BI.

The disintegration of Combs' entertainment businesses, though, was a direct reaction to his mounting legal problems.

Soon after Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs stepped down as chair of Revolt, the cable network and media company he cofounded. By June, he'd given up his stake. A Hulu reality show that was supposed to follow Combs and his family was scrapped. Any chance of his being able to cash out and sell his music catalog is slim.

"There are so many lost opportunities," Clayton Durant, a professor who teaches music business at Long Island University's Roc Nation School, told BI in October. "There is no way a brand is touching Diddy — probably forever."

With no moneymaking on the table, Combs has taken to trying to sell the assets he does have.

Earlier this year, he listed his Los Angeles mansion in the tony Holmby Hills for $61.5 million. His private jet, LoveAir, is also listed for sale, and while he awaits a buyer, he's been renting it out.

It's not clear how much use he will have for it anyway, at least in the near future.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Combs lost his third application to be freed on $50 million bail.

Subramanian ordered that he remain held pending his May 5 trial, citing the rap mogul's history of violence and of contacting and threatening prospective witnesses.

"Diddy's been the ultimate puppet master for the last 30 years, and people wanted to say something … they've been too afraid," English, the dancer who accused Combs in a lawsuit of sex trafficking, told BI. "But now because of the raids, everybody's about to be exposed, regardless, so it's going to come out."

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a prominent New York attorney and former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney, will represent Mangione

The woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy in a lawsuit of raping her when she was 13 years old is standing by her allegations of the "catastrophic event"

The rapper voluntarily dismissed bail appeal on Friday, Dec. 13, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE

The rapper voluntarily dismissed bail appeal on Friday, Dec. 13, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE

"I haven't addressed any of this publicly, but I just wanna say this very clearly: I don't have s--- to do with Puffy," said Will Smith

Attorney Tony Buzbee told the BBC on Wednesday, Dec. 11 that his team is still receiving calls about Diddy "every single day"

• Jamie Foxx pokes fun at Sean "Diddy" Combs in his new comedy special, "What Had Happened Was."
• "The internet said that Puffy tried to kill me," he says. "I know what you're thinking. 'Did he?'"
• "Hell naw," Foxx continues. "I left them parties early. I was out by 9."

In his new comedy special, Jamie Foxx makes time amid emotional revelations about his recent health scare and spot-on celebrity impressions to poke fun at Sean "Diddy" Combs, who's awaiting trial in jail on three felony charges including sex trafficking.

In the opening minutes of "What Had Happened Was," which premiered Tuesday on Netflix, Foxx jokes about the conspiracy theories that surrounded his 2023 hospitalization and subsequent withdrawal from the public eye. (These included theories that he was secretly dead and others that he'd been cloned.)

In the special, Foxx reveals that he suffered a stroke while he was filming a Netflix movie in Atlanta.

"Atlanta saved my life. The internet was trying to kill me, though. The internet said that Puffy tried to kill me," Foxx says, referring to the stage name Combs used in the '90s. "That's what the internet was saying. I know what you're thinking. 'Did he?'"

Foxx waits a beat for laughter and then assures the crowd that he's not connected to Combs' legal troubles.

"Hell naw, n****. I left them parties early. I was out by 9," Foxx says. "'Something don't look right, n****. It's slippery in here, n****."

Throughout his career as a rapper and founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs was famous for throwing lavish events with star-studded guest lists, including annual white parties in the Hamptons.

Back in 2018, Foxx told Stephen Colbert that he "started hanging out with Puff back in the day" and he would "watch him throw parties." Foxx also joked that Combs showed up to one of his own parties with the FBI in tow.

"Puff was always sort of dangerous," Foxx said, "so he had all kinds of people following him."

In recent months, Combs has been sued by multiple people for sexual assault and rape, many of whom alleged they were attacked at these parties. Other celebrities have been named as co-defendants in various lawsuits, most recently Jay-Z.

Both Combs and Jay-Z have denied all allegations.

In September, Combs was arrested and indicted on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

Prosecutors allege Combs orchestrated sexual performances called "Freak Offs," described in his indictment as "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the indictment, and his lawyers have said he will fight the charges at a trial scheduled to begin May 5.

There's been no suggestion from prosecutors that other celebrities will be charged in the case, though US Attorney Damian Williams said in response to a question from Business Insider that "nothing is off the table."

Later in the comedy special, Foxx discusses his post-stroke recovery and brushes with death, telling the audience that he didn't walk toward the clichéd light — but he did see a tunnel.

"It was hot in that tunnel. I thought, shit, have I gone to the wrong place?" he jokes. "I looked at the end of the tunnel and I thought I saw the devil saying, 'Come on.' Or was that Puffy?"

He then cracks a joke about the March raids on Combs' Florida and California mansions, during which law enforcement said they seized "various Freak Off supplies" that included narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.

"If that was Puffy he had a flaming bottle of Johnson and… no, I'm just kidding," Foxx said.

A rep for Combs did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

• Jay-Z was named in an amended complaint to a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, filed in October.
• The filing accuses Jay-Z and Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
• Experts said that Jay-Z's response could have been stronger if it included an explicit denial of the claims.

Jay-Z's response to the rape accusations against him is missing something, according to one crisis-PR expert.

The "99 Problems" singer — whose real name is Shawn Carter — was accused in a civil lawsuit Sunday of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2000.

Carter responded to the "heinous" allegations hours later in a statement posted on his company Roc Nation's X account, calling the accuser's attorney, Tony Buzzbee, "deplorable" and saying he engaged in "a blackmail attempt."

"Whoever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?" the statement reads, in part. "These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case."

Still, the statement doesn't include "a flat unmistakable denial that he'd ever engaged in behavior like that in this case or otherwise," said Evan Nierman, the CEO of crisis-PR firm Red Banyan.

"I think Jay-Z was strong in pointing out the heinous nature of the crimes and that he views them as unconscionable," Nierman said. "But I would've liked to have seen a little bit more of a flat denial."

The allegations against Carter stem from one of the slew of civil sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs, who's in a Brooklyn jail while awaiting trial on separate criminal sex trafficking charges. Combs has denied the accusations against him.

In the original lawsuit, filed in October, the anonymous Jane Doe plaintiff from Alabama accused Combs of raping her at a party in New York City as two other unnamed celebrities watched. The stars were only identified in the civil lawsuit as "Celebrity A" and "Celebrity B."

The updated lawsuit filed Sunday identifies Carter as "Celebrity A."

The other celebrity was described as a "female" but has otherwise not been identified in court documents.

Attorneys for Carter and Combs did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A day after Carter's statement was published, his lawyer, Alex Spiro, more forcefully denied the allegations in a court filing.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Carter is entirely innocent," he wrote. "This is a shakedown."

A PR expert says Jay-Z's statement had 'bravado'

In his social media statement, Carter took aim at Buzbee, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, and said that his lawyer "received a blackmail attempt" to pressure him into settling out of court. He has separately filed an extortion lawsuit against Buzzbee.

Buzbee told Business Insider that he sent a letter to Carter requesting that Carter and the plaintiff mediate before Sunday's filing.

The amended complaint said Carter responded to the letter by filing a lawsuit and "orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying, and intimidation" to silence the accuser from naming him.

Camron Dowlatshahi, a partner at Los Angeles-based Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, told Business Insider that the back-and-forth negotiations referenced by Carter are typical, "especially in a case involving a high-profile individual."

What caught peoples' attention was the more casual tone of Jay-Z's statement, which includes informally styled words in all caps and a sentence that ends with two exclamation points.

"He infused it with the kind of bravado that he's known for," Nierman told Business Insider. By reiterating his rough upbringing — "I'm a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn" — Nierman added that he's "saying, 'You misjudged me by trying to play with me the way you deal with other people.'"

Despite the informal tone, Dowlatshahi said it's highly likely that the statement was crafted with lawyers and publicists.

"I thought it was unorthodox but important to come from him," Dowlatshahi told Business Insider. "It personalizes everything that he's going through instead of being defensive."

Carter's statement said his accuser's lawyer should "file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!" Still, only prosecutors representing the government, not individual accusers, can file criminal indictments.

Damian Williams, the US Attorney overseeing the criminal case against Combs in Manhattan, told Business Insider in October that the "investigation is very active and ongoing" when asked whether additional people would be charged.

Nierman and Dowlatshahi said it was nonetheless smart for Carter to point out that he was not charged with a crime.

"Something involving essentially a rape of a 13-year-old is not something that you have an afterthought about and amend your complaint about," Dowlatshahi said. "It's something that's at the forefront of a case, and typically a criminal case."

Experts don't think the allegations will tarnish Jay-Z's reputation if it's an isolated incident

Nierman and Dowlatshahi think Jay-Z is too rich and powerful for his reputation to ultimately be damaged by the suit.

He's "too big to cancel, and his brand is too strong to be destroyed by a civil lawsuit," Nierman said.

Dowlatshahi agreed. "Right now, this is a pretty contained isolated thing."

If more allegations against Carter surface or he faces criminal charges, indictments, or arrests, it could be career-ending.

"This is a civil lawsuit being filed by an attorney who's been very aggressive about his demand letters and going after celebs in the interest of securing financial settlements for his client," Nierman said. "So I don't see this as creating a permanent stain on Jay-Z's brand."

Nierman and Dowlatshahi said that Carter's mention of the allegations' impact on conversations with his kids, whom he shares with Beyoncé, also humanized him outside his celebrity persona.

Nierman said that Carter made his response "personal" by directly questioning Buzbee's integrity and values. "When you come out of the gates with such a strong statement like what Jay-Z made, and you make it so personal, both in his defense of himself and his attack on his accuser, he's already set," Nierman said. "It's going to be very hard to come back from that. So I expect him to be extremely aggressive in defending his reputation."

On Monday, Carter's lawyer filed a flurry of motions in federal court to dismiss the case or disclose the accuser's identity in the civil lawsuit.

"These claims are not about justice for victims. Nor are they about giving victims of sexual violence a voice," Carter's attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a filing. "Instead, they are merely the next chapter in Attorney Buzbee's sprawling extortion saga — a saga whose aim is base and measured in dollars."

Spiro didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Dowlatshahi said this is a common next step as Carter's team explores every possible option to defeat the claims. In Nierman's view, the aggressive strategy is working in the court of public opinion.

"Jay-Z is not going to be defined by these allegations," Nierman said. "I don't think that this is even going to be a footnote to his obituary."

Foxx said "something don't look right" as he spoke about Combs' parties and addressed conspiracies about his medical emergency, including some people alleging that Combs "was trying to kill me"

Jay-Z has been named in a lawsuit originally filed in October claiming that he and Sean "Diddy" Combs raped a 13-year-old girl in 2000