Shocking reason Mike Myers and Michael B. Jordan were named in court

By lunchtime six jurors had been approved for the next stage of the process and seven had been struck.

Diddy appeared to be showing his approval for some jurors by nodding his head up and down or shaking it left and right, giving a subtitle indication of how he was feeling towards each person.

He nodded when a female black juror talked about how her sister had become addicted to crack during the crack epidemic in New York – apparently referring to the 1980s or 90s. The woman was allowed onto the next stage after saying she could put it out of her head when deliberating.

As the selection process went on, Diddy smiled when a black female juror said she didn’t know any people on the list of celebrities who may come up in the case but ‘I wish I did’.

There was more nodding from Diddy when a black male juror was called: the man said that he worked as a kitchen designer and would lose his commissioned work if he served on the jury but he could ‘survive’ on his base pay. This time Diddy looked back at Finley and got a nod in response. The juror was allowed to continue on to the next stage.

Diddy nodded repeatedly when a female juror talked about her Catholic faith and said that if she served on the jury she would have ‘the life of somebody in your hands’, adding: ‘That’s the hard part for me’. She said: ‘I think I could do it but it’s something I have to be very sure that person is (guilty)’.

The woman was excused after telling the court that she had stomach issues which the judge said might disrupt the trial.

Other names mentioned on the list by a female juror who said she recognized them were Michelle Williams from Destiny’s child, actress Lauren London – who was the girlfriend of Nipsey Hussle who was fatally shot in 2019 – and rapper Kid Cudi.

Judge Subramanian said that the list of people and places runs ‘several pages’ and felt like an ‘appendix from Lord of the Rings’. To speed up the process, he ruled that jurors would be given the list to review before they are brought into court and questioned one by one before they seat a final panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.

A fashion designer claims Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs dangled her over a 17th floor balcony and she was only saved when Cassie Ventura intervened.

Bryana ‘Bana’ Bongolan sued the disgraced music mogul for $10 million, claiming her also molested her and detailed his frequent alleged abuse of his then-girlfriend Ventura.

The artist’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, claimed the near-death experience was on September 26, 2016, after one of Diddy’s notorious ‘freak offs’.

Diddy was accused of obstructing his sex trafficking case from behind bars by paying off witnesses and enlisting his own children in a ‘public relations campaign’.

They claimed that he tried to influence potential jurors in his trial by getting seven of his children to post a video marking his birthday on November 4th.

Since 2023, dozens of women and men have been filing lawsuits against Combs claiming he sexually or physically abused them. Many of those people said they were slipped drugs at events hosted by Combs and were abused while they were incapacitated.

Combs has denied all of the allegations through his lawyers.

Some of those lawsuits have claimed that other celebrities were either present for or participated in the abuse.

The great majority of those allegations, however, aren’t part of the criminal case. Prosecutors have chosen to focus on a relatively small number of accusers and allegations where there is physical evidence or corroboration by witnesses.

The trial is in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian. He was appointed a federal judge by President Joe Biden in 2022.

The prosecution team consists of eight assistant U.S. attorneys, seven of them women. They include Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. She was among the prosecutors in the trial of Ghislane Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein.

Combs’ team of seven defense attorneys is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who along with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo is also defending alleged health care CEO assassin Luigi Mangione.

Also on the defense team is Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that went on for nearly two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sits with his attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos during a hearing ahead of his trial earlier this month.

Without identifying them publicly, prosecutors have said four of Combs’ accusers will testify at the trial.

The prosecution will be allowed to show the jury security video of Diddy beating and kicking one of his accusers, the R&B singer Cassie, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.

Diddy’s attorneys are expected to argue at trial that the government is demonizing and distorting the sexual activity of consenting adults. They have also argued that two of Combs’ longtime girlfriends willingly brought a male sex worker into their relationship.

Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was Combs’ on-again-off-again romantic partner for more than a decade. Her 2023 lawsuit against Combs alleging years of abuse, including rape, began the scrutiny that eventually led to his prosecution.

Mail reporter Majorie Hernandez told the latest ‘The Trial’ podcast which celebrity names jurors were screened for, according to reporter Dan Bates, who was inside the courtroom.

The appearance of these celebrities on the questionnaire could mean they will be called as witnesses during the trial, with the court checking for any associations or prejudicial feeling from potential jurors towards them that could disqualify them.

To listen to the full episode, earch for ‘The Trial of Diddy’ now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes providing updates from the courtroom from our best-in-class reporters will be released every Monday and Friday.

Prosecutors on Monday claimed in a filing that superstar lawyer Mark Geragos has been helping Diddy’s defense despite not being a part of his official legal team.

Geragos frequently discusses the case in his podcase, 2 Angry Men, which he co-hosts with TMZ’s Harvey Levin.

The attorney was present in court on Monday, sitting behind Diddy’s sevel lawyers.

Prosecutos say Geragos was advising the defense attorneys on the jury selection process even though lawyers are not allowed to make public statements that coulr interfere with a fair trial.

Geragos’ daughter Teny is officially one of the attorneys representing Diddy in his sex trafficking trial.

An Asian man who works as a lawyer was excused after admitting he read a news article about the jury selection process on Monday despite the judge telling him not to.

The man said he read about who was excused from the jury on the train after he left court.

Prosecutors wanted the man removed while the defense argued he should not be axed because he was honest.

Judge Subramanian decided to dismiss him.

A black woman in her 20s was excused after saying in her jury questionnaire that Diddy ‘had a lot of money’ and could ‘possibly buy his way out for jail’.

The woman also said she was the victim of an attempted rape three years ago and the police could have done more to solve the case.

She was one of six jurors who were excused from the case and by mid morning just on juror had been allowed to proceed to the next stage.

There was no reaction from the group of 32 potential jurors as they filed into court and heard a summary of the case from the judge.

Diddy turned and faced them again, and scanned the group, trying to make eye contact with one of them.

His indictment stated that some ‘Freak Offs’ would last for days, requiring Combs and victims to receive IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use.

Combs’ lawyer claims the rapper was found with so many bottles of baby oil in his home because the star likes to buy in bulk like any other American.

A psychologist who said she has taken sexcual harassment training made it to thenext round of questioning on Tuesday.

She is the first potential juror to make it to the next round on day two of jury selection.

She told the court she can be fair and has experience with lawsuits after her mother was involved in a fatal car crash.

The woman added that her sister was a crack addict before being abused and eventually dying of cancer.

All four of the first potential jurors questioned on Tuesday have been dismissed, as the court continues struggling to find people who have not heard of the claims against Diddy.

One man asked to be dismissed because he had seven stents in his heart and could not face an entire trial.

One woman was dismissed by the judge after saying her son is an executive assistant district attorney in Rockland County. The woman had said she could try to be unbiased, but couldn not assure it.

One man was dismissed after admitting he saw parts of the CNN video of Diddy assaulting Cassie.

The celebrity names that could come up included actors Mike Myers, Michael B. Jordan and Lauren London.

Some other famous names in the music industry were also revealed, including Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, producer Dallas Austin and choreographer Laurieann Gibson.

Potential jurors in the trial of fallen hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs face a grilling by his legal team and government prosecutors over their suitability to judge his guilt or innocence.

And in revealing clues over upcoming testimony, DailyMail.com can disclose some of those bombshell questions that they will be asked to determine if they make it to the 12-person panel.

Many revolve around attitudes to the sensational sex trafficking and racketeering crimes 55-year-old Combs is accused of – and their views on the hip hop industry in general.

Heralded for decades as rap royalty, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs now lives alone in an isolation cell in a notorious New York City jail – deemed too much of a ‘threat to the community’ by authorities to be let out even after offering a $50 million bond.

It’s a stunning fall for the ‘It’s All About the Benjamins’ rapper, who was once hip-hop’s wealthiest and most influential mogul.

But if the feds’ allegations are true it may be just be all the unlimited cash, unchecked power and the Hollywood privilege that goes along with it that landed Diddy where he now sits: facing a slew of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that accuse him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes and physical abuse.

Although dozens of men and women have alleged in lawsuits that Combs abused them, this trial will highlight the claims of four women.

One of them is Cassie, who filed a lawsuit in late 2023 saying Combs had subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape after they met in 2005.

Her lawsuit, which offered the first public account of the Freak Offs described in the indictment, was settled in a day. Four months later, though, federal investigators raided Combs homes in Los Angeles and Miami and confronted him at a private airport in Florida, seizing 96 electronic devices. They also found three AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.

The three-time Grammy winner was indicted last September. He has since been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after judges ruled that he would be a threat to intimidate witnesses and victims if released.

Jury selection for Diddy’s trial began at 9.30am in Manhatan federal court.

Diddy walked into court wearing the same outfit as yesterday: navy crew neck sweater, white shirt and gray pants.

He wore white socks and black loafers: he was not allowed to wear shoes with laces as per the judge’s order.

Diddy hugged three of his lawyers and put his hand on the shoulder of another and put his fist on his chest as he looked at a black male supporter in the public gallery.He then sat down and talked to his lawyer Brian Steel.

Judge Subramanian, prosecutors and the defense will question another three dozen jurors on Tuesday.

They will have to provide information on any criminal background, past experience with sexual assault, and whether they know anything about the claims against Diddy.

The damning evidence is a big blow for Diddy, even as his lawyers have claimed that the security tape of him violently assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway was ‘edited’ and ‘manipulated’.

It was also revealed today that Diddy plans to argue  he was a ‘swinger’ and did nothing wrong during his sex parties, his lawyer said.

Two inmates were reportedly stabbed to death and another speared in the spine with a makeshift icepick.

The reports sparked a multi-agency investigation into the prison last year.

In footage obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, Diddy, 54, stands, champagne glass in hand, like a dictator on his balcony as he calls in the quid pro quo for the hospitality so far extended.

‘We fed you all, we gave you drinks, now it’s time to enjoy life,’ he says. ‘This is a celebration of life. This is the real White Party.

Combs allegedly blew up the car of fellow rapper Kid Cudi after he found out he was in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cassie.

R&B singer Cassie filed a lawsuit in Manhattan’s Federal District Court in 2023 in which she accused the rapper, who goes by P Diddy, of rape and repeated physical abuse.

The lawsuit was the beginning of Combs’ legal demise.

Only 19 potential jurors remained after three dozen were questioned on day one of Diddy’s trial.

One of them, a math teacher, is from the Bronx and said she listens to 90s hip-hop and watches ‘old stuff’ on television like the Golden Girls.

Another potential juror is a high school wrestling coach from Westchester who likes the Yankees and the Eagles.

Sean Combs made a $1billion fortune by the time he turned 50 – but the rap mogul was already making $1,000-a-week from his paper round aged 12.

The former altar boy – aka P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Diddy or just Sean – had a tough start in life where his drug dealer father was shot dead when he was a toddler.

Rap impresario, singer, songwriter and seller of vodka and clothing, Sean Combs is also a noted ladies man, never marrying but dating famous faces including Cameron Diaz and Naomi Campbell.

Prosecutos revealed on Monday that they have been having trouble communicating with the third alleged Diddy victim who was scheduled to testify against him.

Prosecutor Maureen Comey said the witness does not live locally and ‘may not show up’ even after receiving a subpoena.

It means that only three alleged victims would testify against Diddy – one of them being his ex-girlfriend Cassie.

Three dozen potential jurors were questioned by Judge Arun Subramanian about their answers on a questionnaire meant to help determine if they could be fair and impartial at a trial that will feature violent and sexually explicit videos.

Nineteen potential jurors made it through the first day and onto the next round of questioning.

No juror has been seated yet.

The judge gave the would-be jurors a brief description of the sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges against Combs, telling them he’d pleaded not guilty and was presumed innocent.

By day’s end, the jury pool was half its size as some were excluded for personal reasons such as inability to economically endure a trial projected to last two months or because their opinions or past experiences would endanger their objectivity.

Combs, 55, has acknoledged one episode of violence that is likely to be featured in the trial.

In 2016, a security camera recorded him beating up his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.

Cassie, real name Cassandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit in late 2023 saying Combs had subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape.

Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo has said Combs was ‘not a perfect person’ and that there had been drug use and toxic relationships, but said that all sexual activity between Combs, Cassie and other people was consensual.

The rapper’s appearance has changed now that he has no access to the luxurious of the outside like hair dye.

Since being locked up at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following his arrest in September, Combs has grown noticeably grayer and scruffier, and on Thursday appeared in court wearing eyeglasses.

He was holding a black folder filled with documents and hugged his lawyers, fist bumping with one female attorney, Teny Geragos, and exchanging smiles with her.

He waved to a man in the public gallery but nobody from his family was present, unlike previous hearings.

The jurors selected to decide Diddy’s fate in his high-profile sex trafficking trial will be asked a series of unusual questions – including about their views on sex with multiple partners, drugs and hip-hop.

Rapper Sean Combs, 55, is facing myriad civil lawsuits alleging he sexually abused several anonymous complainants between 1990 and 2023 at star-studded events including VMA’s afterparties and his notorious ‘White Party’ functions in New York.

The sordid accusations range from gang-raping minors as young as 13 alongside celebrities including Jay-Z, to drugging women in order to sexually assault them.

Diddy has been granted permission to wear his own clothes at his upcoming sex trafficking trial following a judge’s ruling.

The disgraced hip hop mogul can ditch the prison issue, tan colored top and pants when jury selection begins and for the remainder of the case.

But certain conditions on Diddy, who has designed his own clothing range and once won a prestigious fashion industry award.

Diddy’s lawyers made the application for him to wear clothes other than those from the grim Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is being held, to Judge Arun Subramanian.

Jury selection is expected to wrap up in about a week, with the trial’s opening statements scheduled for May 12. The proceedings are estimated to last eight to 10 weeks.

Stick with us for the latest updates throughout the day and to listen to our The Trial of Diddy podcast click here.

About 35 potential jurors willl be questioned on Tuesday as they are considered for the jury that will decide Diddy’s fate.

It has already proven hard to find jurors who have not heard of the case.

On Monday, maybe admitted they have watched parts of a CNN video that shows the rapper beating up his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie.

Many potential jurors said they were familiar with Diddy, with one admitting he had liked a post making fun of the baby oil found in the mogul’s Miami mansion.

Diddy is facing five felony charges, namely:

• Racketeering conspiracy
• Two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion
• Two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution

The charge of racketeering conspiracy, the federal statute known by its acronym RICO that was once primarily used to target the mafia but in recent years has been wielded in cases of sexual abuse, including against the fallen R&B star R. Kelly.

It allows government attorneys to project a long view of criminal activity rather than prosecuting isolated sex crimes.

If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in ushering hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The 55-year-old disgraced rap mogul will have a defense built around his mental capacity to commit the crimes as his representatives are arguing that he was not of clear mind during the alleged crimes according to court documents.

According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Diddy wants to have a doctor and Columbia professor Dr. Elie Aoun testify on his behalf that he had a ‘mental condition bearing on the issue of guilt.’

The details of his alleged condition had been redacted in the documents but there are a few clues of what it could be but federal prosecutors do not believe in its relevance.

Jury consultant Linda Moreno has joined his top-tier legal team, the Daily Mail can confirm.

She will help defense attorneys to profile potential jurors as selection starts Monday in Combs’ federal criminal trial in Manhattan.

Moreno gained fame as one of the country’s leading jury consultants after high-profile cases including the 2005 trial of Sami Al-Arian, a Florida college professor indicted on terrorism-related charges under the Patriot Act.

Unlike other high-profile cases, the rapper’s trial will not be televised as it is in federal court.

Electronic media, including cameras, are banned in the Manhattan court room.

A sketch artist’s work will be the only visuals coming out of the courtroom.

The disgraced hip hop mogul, who appeared in court wearing glasses, confirmed that he did not accept the offer during his pretrial hearing in New York on Thursday.

The specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but prosecutors said the Bad Boy founder would have faced less prison time if he had accepted it and been found guilty.

The first day of jury selection in the long awaited trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs did not disappoint – and has set the scene for a blockbuster of a court case.

‘I think it’s going to be a long, slow process this week, but remember all of the jurors already know what case they are here for because they have already filled out the written questionnaires,’ said Renato Stabile, jury selection specialist and managing director at New York-based Dubin Research & Consulting.

‘That is unusual. Everyone has had plenty of time to think about whether or not they want to be on this jury.

Diddy jurors will be able to leave court and go home after each day of the trial, TMZ reported.

“There are no plans to sequester the jury, which means you will go home every day after court,” the jury questionnaire obtained by the outlet read.

However, jurors were instructed to “avoid all media coverage and not to go on the Internet or social media with regard to this case for any purpose.”

They are advised to avoid discussing the case with family, friends and colleagues until after the trial is done.

Composed and with his hands in his pockets, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs greeted potential jurors who hold his fate in their hands with a slight nod as the sex trafficking trial that could send him to prison for life began Monday.

The embattled music mogul appeared in court wearing gray slacks, a navy crewneck sweater layered over a crisp white shirt and black-rimmed glasses. His prison garb was notably absent as Judge Arun Subramanian had given him permission to wear civilian clothing during the trial.

His shoes weren’t visible, but they are without laces per the judge’s order.

The most striking change in his appearance was the absence of the unruly white hair he had grown during his time at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. Now his hair is cut neatly, and his white beard remained.

And despite the gravity of the crimes against him, Combs, 55, remained composed and calm, hugging his lawyers as he came in and nodding his head slightly when he faced the jurors with his hands in his pockets.

Until he cracked midway through the process after Diddy’s legal team requested a bathroom break. When the judge asked if they could carry on, Diddy put up his hand and said: ‘I’m sorry your honor, I’m a little nervous today.’