P Diddy’s mother was heckled as she arrived with the rapper’s children for his hearing over a host of sex trafficking and racketeering charged.
Janice Combs, 84, looked somber in oversized glasses and a fur coat, as she clutched onto a supporter’s arm as they walked to the courthouse.
The pensioner kept her head down as she exited a black car to the sound of furious crowds gathered outside the venue, where Diddy, 54, is gearing up for a blockbuster case.
‘Janice, your son is a predator,’ one man shouted. ‘Your son is a predator and he deserves to be locked up.’
The rapper’s daughters held hands as they entered the hearing just minutes before it was set to begin.
Jessie James and D’Lila Star, both 17, kept silent as they were asked if they had ‘any comment’ over their father’s trial.
But the response they received from the gathered crowds was more warm than their grandmother’s – as they were told to ‘stick together’ and their guardian was demanded: ‘look after those girls’.
Diddy entered the courtroom via a side door today, wearing prison clothing. He smiled and hugged his lawyers as he went into the room.
The judge offered Diddy a trial date on May 5, on the request of his legal team. Prosecutors said they estimate their cause will take about three weeks, while Combs’ lawyers say they’ll need about a week to make their case.
He will remain behind bars as he waits for the trial, despite surrendering his passport, selling his private jet and offering up his $48 million home to secure bail.
They further filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing, accusing the government of leaking sensitive information from the case.
Concerns have been raised about how surveillance footage of Diddy beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel was made public.
Diddy’s attorney said: ‘A series of unlawful government leaks, which have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pre-trial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.’
In a statement to the judge on Thursday afternoon, the government responded: ‘We have concerns about Mr Agnifilo’s statement.
‘He baselessly accused the government of engaging in a racist prosecution.’
Cassie could still be called to testify as a star witness during the upcoming trial, despite allegedly signing a non disclosure agreement.
The singer settled a suit with Diddy in November 2023, but her coming forward is widely considered a catalyst in further investigations into Diddy’s behavior.
In her lawsuit, Cassie claimed that Diddy brutally beat and sexually abused her for over a decade throughout their tumultuous relationship.
Janice Combs has previously slammed the ‘public lynching’ of her son as she blasted the accusations levelled against him as ‘lies’.
‘These lies thrown at him are motivated by those seeking a financial gain, and not justice,’ she said.
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