As the sex trafficking trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs continues, major media companies reporting on the matter have requested to review evidence at the center of the trial. A consortium of media brands filed the request earlier this week, which would allow viewing of the so-called “Freak-Off” footage mentioned in earlier reports.
As reported by Variety, the media companies include the Associated Press, Business Insider, Vox Media, Wall Street Journal, and more, all of which are requesting to view the footage of the parties infamously and allegedly masterminded by Sean “Diddy” Combs. During opening statements heard this week, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, mentioned the freak-off parties and accused Combs of ordering her and others to perform extreme sexual acts.
During her testimony, Ventura, who took the stand while in her third trimester carrying her third child, shared with prosecutors that she had handed over visual evidence via laptops that were in her possession.
“While the News organizations appreciate that some trial exhibits in this case may be sexually explicit and sensitive for the alleged victims, the public and the press should be permitted to view and consider this evidence (which lies at the heart of the Government’s case), consistent with the first Amendment right of access to criminal trials,” read a portion of the media companies’ filing.
Variety adds in their reporting that they are not asking for physical copies of the videos, instead only wanting to view the footage to inform their reporting. Attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who represents Ventura, has filed to deny the request, writing that the media companies “did not cite any case, and nor are we aware of any authority, granting this unprecedented request in a sex trafficking case to unseal videos depicting coercive sex acts.”
A decision on allowing the media companies to see the footage has yet to be made.
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Photo: Getty
Consortium Of Media Companies Request To View “Freak-Off” Footage In Diddy Trial
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