Diddy Sex Trafficking Trial Kicks Off With Jokes From the Judge

The first day of the federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs began this morning with some lighthearted comments by the judge ... who mentions Diddy's various nicknames over the years, and nods to the size of the potential jury pool and the length of the questionnaire each individual filled out.

As proceedings got formally underway, Judge Arun Subramanian made a remark comparing the size of the list of prospective jurors that both sides will question on the stand -- and the questionnaire of people and places in the case -- to the famously vast "Lord of the Rings" trilogy of novels.

As you know, there are many challenges on both sides for jury selection, which is expected to take several days.

Diddy himself arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse in Lower Manhattan with a full head of gray hair and a gray beard, wearing formal clothing, including a sweater over a collar, as well as reading glasses ... the judge previously granted Diddy's request to wear civilian clothing to the trial, instead of jail scrubs ... he was allowed a limited list of very specific items to choose from, and the famously fashionable defendant predictably showed up in style.

Judge Subramanian also referred to the rap mogul's many monikers ... describing the defendant as "also known as Puff Daddy, Diddy, other names ... and Love." (Combs legally changed his middle name to "Love" in 2018.) The judge notes Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and is presumed to be innocent.

Subramanian addressed the defense and the prosecution about potential privacy issues in testimony, noting they'll be addressed via sidebar conversations. He said he expects the trial to last for about 8 weeks.

Diddy has a team of 8 attorneys on his side -- we reported on the list of lawyers that was just finalized last week.

Diddy is being tried on three charges -- one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; one count of transportation to engage in prostitution; and one count of racketeering conspiracy. In April 2025, he was hit with two more charges -- another sex trafficking count, and another transportation to engage in prostitution charge, bringing the total number to five.

The judge also dropped a quick comparison to the Ghislaine Maxwell case -- the former girlfriend of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who's serving 20 years in prison in Florida for similar crimes to what Diddy's charged with.