Inside Diddy’s New Life Behind Bars: Ex Inmates and More Talk ‘Pure Hell’

Sean “Diddy” Combs rang in 2023 with a bang, celebrating the brand new yr together with his then-girlfriend Yung Miami and superstar friends aboard a 278-foot, $117 million superyacht because it cruised the Caribbean waters of St. Barts. At midnight, the hip-hop mogul popped gold bottles of Ace of Spades champagne on the deck of the posh boat, which includes a helipad, a child grand piano, a Jacuzzi and a wine cellar.

Some 20 months later, the troubled rap star — who was arrested on September 16 
and indicted on prices of intercourse trafficking and racketeering — is sitting in a tiny, colorless cell on the Metropolitan Detention Middle in Brooklyn, New York. (He denied all prices towards him and entered a not responsible plea.) Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo has expressed considerations about his high-profile shopper’s security contained in the notoriously harmful jail. “The meals is inedible, from what I’ve been advised,” Agnifilo stated in a September 17 
interview after Diddy was denied bail, including, “It’s violent. Somebody like Mr. Combs may be a goal for sure issues. We are able to’t let that occur.”

Whereas Us Weekly doesn’t know the precise present circumstances at MDC, a number of former inmates have mentioned their experiences. They inform Us the rapper’s new actuality is a harsh one, wildly totally different from his pampered life at dwelling at his $35 million, 8,000-square-foot Miami mansion, the place he’s protected by personal safety guards and surrounded by associates and relations. (The rapper, 54, is dad to Quincy, 33, Justin, 30, Christian, 26, Probability, 18, twins D’Lila and Jessie, 17, and Love, 22 months.) “It’s a horrible, horrible place,” an inmate who spent three months in MDC in 2019 says. “There’s no air motion, and the meals is slop.”

Diddy — value an estimated $600 million — could also be subjected to common strip searches, restricted bathe entry and little contact with family members, to not point out the specter of violence. Jail guide Sam Mangel describes sections of the power as “pure hell,” including, “The MDC might be the worst federal detention middle within the nation.”

Shut Quarters

Initially, Diddy was placed on suicide watch. The previous inmate tells Us these prisoners are guarded across the clock and that fluorescent lights and cameras are on 24 hours a day. “You get strip searched each time you allow your cell,” he says. Inmates believed to be a risk to themselves are given rubber sneakers and particular consuming utensils, and private hygiene merchandise like toothbrushes need to be approved.

A supply tells Us Diddy is now off suicide watch and was moved to protecting custody. (He’s in the identical housing unit as convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried; convicted intercourse offenders R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell and NXIVM intercourse cult chief Keith Raniere have additionally hung out at MDC.) “It’s for individuals who have both requested protecting custody or want protecting custody,” says the supply. “So it will be for intercourse offenders and very high-profile people.” The 30 or so inmates on the ground are in single-man cells smaller than regular items. The supply provides that there’s additionally a recreation deck that’s about 500 sq. toes.

Stark Distinction

His day-to-day life whereas behind bars is a far cry from the one he usually rapped about and confirmed off on social media, with a private chef, assistants and workers to cater to his each whim. Diddy should comply with a strict schedule for consuming, showering (allowed each different day) and doing laundry. (The 1,217 inmates at MDC have a 6 a.m. wake-up name.) Some sources say the meals leaves a lot to be desired. “[There’s] chili, shredded rooster with rice [and] Wednesday is homicide burgers — a skinny patty like shoe leather-based,” says the primary former inmate. A typical every day menu options oatmeal and bran flakes for breakfast, a rooster patty sandwich for lunch and Salisbury steak for dinner.

After a sure interval, prisoners should buy objects on the commissary, like tuna packets for $3.45, condiments and chocolate bars. “All people tries to go to the commissary and get further meals,” says lawyer and Seton Corridor College Legislation College professor Invoice Baroni, who served three months in jail after being wrongly convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud and now helps individuals within the jail system. “[But] at first, you’re not going to have entry to that.”

The supply says Diddy is ready to make telephone calls (inmates are given 300 minutes a month for calls) and has some entry to e mail. “Electronic mail is timed at like 5 cents a minute,” says former MDC inmate Blair G, who hung out there in 2016, including that messages are closely monitored and are textual content solely. “You may’t obtain any photographs or something like that.” Visiting hours are restricted, and guests undergo background checks.

The Sean John founder — recognized for carrying Alexander McQueen and Gucci — has been given two uniforms and, in accordance with Blair G, three pairs of socks and used undergarments. He’ll even be strip searched commonly. “You’re topic to a strip search at any time,” says a second former inmate who was incarcerated at MDC within the early 2000s, describing it as an disagreeable expertise. “You’re gonna take off all of your garments. [The guard] is gonna test your mouth. He’s gonna inform you to show round, bend over, unfold your butt, cough, flip again round [and] raise your genitals and squat.”

Dwelling in Worry

MDC has a status for violence. In 2020, inmate Jamel Floyd died after being pepper sprayed by correction officers, and in July, Edwin Cordero was fatally injured in a battle. Cordero’s lawyer described MDC Brooklyn to the New York Occasions as “an overcrowded, understaffed and uncared for federal jail that’s hell on earth.” Cordero’s widow, Ashley, tells Us, “The jail is disgusting. They’ve rats working via there and every part. No human being must be dwelling like that.” Her recommendation to Diddy is to not belief anyone. “That jail is clearly not protected.”

The primary former inmate says Diddy could possibly ingratiate himself with guards and fellow prisoners. “If the guards take a liking to Diddy, he’ll get further meals, further outing of his cell.” Provides Blair G: “He’s wealthy… so they may not deal with him so dangerous [as a] type of extortion.” Nonetheless, the second former inmate says Diddy’s fame received’t essentially translate. “Folks on the skin would view you as a ten, however you robotically grow to be a 5 in jail. It’s a complete different world.” Provides Mangel: “Diddy’s prices are problematic within the Bureau of Prisons. It will not shock me in any respect if different individuals have been screaming and threatening him.”

Straightforward Goal

Diddy’s alleged crimes could put him in peril with different inmates, as Mangel tells Us sexual offenders are “particularly focused.” In a 14-page indictment that was unsealed on September 17, prosecutors declare he “abused, threatened and coerced ladies and others round him,” including that the star “engaged in a persistent and pervasive sample of abuse towards ladies and different people [that] was, at instances, verbal, emotional, bodily and sexual.”

He’s accused of orchestrating “Freak Offs” during which he would lure feminine victims into taking part in “elaborate and produced intercourse performances” that usually occurred in lodge rooms, the place he would allegedly ply ladies with medicine and use “power, threats of power and coercion to trigger victims to interact in prolonged intercourse acts with male industrial intercourse employees,” which he would additionally report on video.

His arrest got here amid a slew of civil lawsuits filed towards him for sexual assault and bodily violence — the eleventh was filed on September 23. Diddy’s ex Cassie Ventura was the primary to file final November, claiming he’d abused her and pressured her to have intercourse with male intercourse employees. (Diddy has denied the allegations within the civil lawsuits, together with with Ventura. The case was settled sooner or later after the November 2023 submitting.)

An insider tells Us that Ventura — who has two younger kids with husband Alex High quality — “is relieved” Diddy is behind bars. “The extra tales which have come out about him, the extra she feels validated,” says the insider. “She is aware of much more that may come to gentle, and it is rather scary and darkish. She lastly seems like she will be able to shut the door on that chapter.”

Diddy pleaded not responsible to all prices and has denied the entire allegations towards him. In a press release to Us, a spokesperson for Sean Combs says, “Mr. Combs stays sturdy, wholesome, and disciplined, absolutely dedicated to his protection with the unwavering assist of his household, authorized crew, and the reality. He has not but had the chance to defend himself, and no felony or civil claims have but been confirmed in court docket. Mr. Combs stays harmless till confirmed responsible. He won’t be distracted by the limitless stream of conspiracy theories or the sensationalized reimagination of his life. As for the legendary events he hosted, they have been extremely wanted by the world’s most outstanding names. Any try and distort them is pure fabrication by those that clearly weren’t invited or are making up tales to seem related.”

What’s Forward

If convicted, Diddy faces anyplace from 15 years to life in jail. “When it comes to what sentence he’s prone to obtain could be very depending on whether or not it’s a plea deal versus a trial,” says Jennifer Beidel, a former assistant U.S. lawyer within the Southern District of New York. The subsequent step is for Diddy and his authorized crew to resolve if he’ll go for a plea deal or go to trial. In a September 17 interview with CNN, Agnifilo stated he deliberate to take Diddy’s case to trial: “I imagine he’s harmless of the fees, and he’s going to go to trial, and I imagine he’s going to win.” Beidel estimates it will seemingly be six months to a yr till a trial occurred.

His subsequent court docket look is scheduled for October 9. Within the meantime, Baroni says Diddy is probably going reeling as he adjusts to his new regular. “He’s going through the toughest of instances within the hardest of locations. His life won’t ever be the identical.”

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For those who or somebody you realize has been sexually assaulted, please contact the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

With reporting by Travis Cronin, Sarah Jones, Andrea Simpson & Amanda Williams