Diddy’s lawyers say the allegations are ‘sexist and puritanical’

NEW YORK — Lawyers Sean “Diddy” Combs On Tuesday, he called the prosecution of the hip-hop star “sexist and puritanical,” saying nine sex tapes considered key evidence in the case showed only consensual sex between adults.

The attorneys have sent a letter to a Manhattan federal court judge requesting that the tapes of elaborate sexual acts that authorities say Combs orchestrated be turned over to attorneys for further investigation. So far, they say, lawyers have only been allowed to see them temporarily twice in the past two months.

Combs, 55, admitted not guilty on sex-trafficking charges brought against him after his arrest in September. He remains in jail awaiting trial on May 5 after being denied bail following bail hearings before three different judges.

A representative of the prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

The defense’s filing on Tuesday was similar to arguments made during bail hearings, where lawyers insisted prosecutors demonized sex between adults to build a case.

“Any fair-minded viewer of the video would quickly conclude that the prosecution of Mr. Combs is both sexist and puritanical,” the attorneys wrote. “It’s sexist because the government’s theory supports stereotypes of female victimhood and lack of agency.”

Indictment against Combs, said the music mogul arranged sexual contacts between his victims and sex workers, which he called “Freak Offs” — defined in the indictment as “elaborate and staged sexual performances that Combs staged, directed, masturbated during and often recorded in electronic form”.

Prosecutors say the encounters sometimes lasted several days and involved multiple sex workers, with Combs using drugs to “keep the victims docile and compliant.” They said raids at Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami turned up supplies for the “Freak Offs,” including drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricants.

Defense attorneys say the nine videos “depicting six clearly consensual sexual relationships” were provided to the government by attorneys for a woman identified in the indictment as “Victim 1,” who was in a long-term relationship with Combs.

“In all six of these meetings,” the defense lawyers write, “victim-1 not only agrees; she is obviously happy, dominant and in complete control of herself.”

They said the videos did not depict sex parties, and there were no hidden cameras, orgies, minors or other celebrities.

They wrote that there was no evidence of violence, coercion, threats or manipulation, and no indication that anyone was incapacitated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“There is absolutely no evidence of sex trafficking,” they said.

The lawyers said the lighting in some of the videos was “very poor” and the images were “quite dark and grainy”, requiring experts to improve audio and video quality and analyze metadata to determine when the video was created or altered.

They said the government’s view hinges on characterizing sexual acts as “dirty, disgusting or inherently unpleasant” and shows that the government “seeks to control inappropriate sexual activity and that it assumes — despite all evidence to the contrary — that a woman’s voluntary participation is apparently , was forced.”