Overview

The 2025 Diddy Trial, also known as Sean Combs Sex Trafficking Trial, refers to the ongoing trial for American music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is accused of running a sprawling sex trafficking operation. The trial started in mid-May 2025 and Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges of racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, the music mogul faces up to life in prison. Online, the trial has been widely talked about on social media and in the press, with numerous memes, jokes, parodies referencing Diddy's accusations, witness testimonies and other content related to the events garnering attention online.

Background

On May 5th, 2025, the criminal trial of rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs started in Manhattan, New York. According to Al Jazeera,^[1] the music producer has been in federal custody since October 2024 on charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transporting to engage in prostitution.

That same day, Fox News 5 New York posted a video on its YouTube^[2] channel about the jury selection for the upcoming trial (seen below), which received more than 46,000 views, 440 likes and 250 comments in nine days.

On May 12th, 2025, the first day of testimony related to the Diddy trial started, as BBC^[3] and many other news outlets reported.

ABC News uploaded a video to its YouTube^[4] channel on May 13th, 2025, reviewing the timeline of investigations, charges and claims related to the hip-hop mogul trial. The video (seen below) received more than 628,000 views and 5,000 likes in a day.

Developments

Casenda Ventira's Testimony

On May 13th, 2025, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Diddy's former partner, took the stand in the federal trial against the music mogul, sparking widespread discourse and media coverage.

The YouTube^[5] channel Law&Crime Network uploaded details about Cassie's testimony that day, claiming the 2016 video of Combs allegedly beating her was shown to the jury, including other details about their decade-long relationship. The video (seen below) received more than 1 million views and 20,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

Diddy's trial gained significant social media and press attention in May 2025, inspiring numerous memes, parodies and photoshopped images using the Diddy trial sketches.^[6]

For instance, on May 13th, 2025, X^[7] user @2HNDSUM posted two of the trial's sketches, one showing the pregnant Cassie and the other showing Diddy making heart signs to his family during the trial. The tweet (seen below) amassed over 5 million views and 98,000 likes in a day.

On the same day, TikTok^[8] user @dailydosesofdee posted a video briefing all that was said during the second day of the Diddy trial. The video (seen below) amassed more than 365,000 plays and 10,000 likes in a day.

Search Interest

External References