Diddy Cites His First Amendment Rights To "Freak-Offs" In Appeal Brief

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Diddy Cites First Amendment Rights Freak Offs Appeal Brief
Sean "Diddy" Combs introduces a tribute to "The Godfather" during the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022. © Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Add HNHH as a preferred source on Google
Prosecutors blasted Diddy and his defense team's attempts to get him out of prison, claiming that his "freak-offs" were not consensual.

While Diddy was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges in his federal case, a jury convicted him on charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, which violates the Mann Act. He and his legal team think this should reflect a lighter sentence or the absence of one at all. They don't have much longer in their appeal process, and their latest brief seeks to change this.

According to Complex, the new Friday (March 13) brief clapped back at prosecutors' assessment of Diddy's appeal from earlier in February. For those unaware, Sean Combs and his team are attempting to void his conviction on grounds that his actions didn't constitute "prostitution," whereas prosecutors are defending the 50-month prison sentence from Judge Arun Subramanian.

Per this report, Combs' team argues that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects his "freak-off" parties. They characterized them as performances more akin to amateur adult films than prostitution.

"[Combs'] convictions do not raise any concern under the First Amendment," prosecutors had argued last month. "[U]nlike any adult film producer, Combs did not provide advance notice that he would film, or seek the participants’ consent to be filmed. [...] Combs’s intent to watch the sex sessions live cannot bring his interstate transportation of others to have sex for money within the First Amendment’s protection."

When Will Diddy Get Out Of Jail?

Syndication: USA TODAY
Sean Combs, photographed in his NYC studio in 2001. © ROBERT DEUTSCH / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is probably the defense's last appeal brief before in-person oral arguments begin on April 9. Both sides will have ten minutes to support or oppose the appeal motion in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Per TMZ, Puff's appeal process also claims that his sentence is four times higher than average Mann Act convictions. They seek "immediate release and a judgment of acquittal, or at least vacate and remand for resentencing."

Diddy's expected jail release date is on April 25 of 2028 at press time. We will see if this appeal process actually pans out for him.

Elsewhere, though, Diddy has more legal trouble to face. A judge denied a motion to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit against him and Biggie Smalls' son CJ Wallace, so this will head to trial.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

Comments 1