Entertainment
BREAKING: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution
by Wale Ewedimi
American convicted singer, Puff-Daddy also known as Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution following a bombshell nine-week sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.
See the charges below:

Combs was charged with five counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force or fraud, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
He was found not guilty of sex-trafficking and racketeering. Prosecutors called 34 witnesses to the stand over a more than six-week period, including three women who accused him of abuse.
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Diddy’s ex, told jurors that he coerced her into drug-fueled sexual encounters with male escorts for about a decade.
“I felt pretty horrible about myself,” Cassie told jurors, saying that he lured her into a lurid world under the false pretenses of a romantic relationship — keeping compliant with physical and verbal abuse, as well as the threat of blackmail.
“I felt disgusted,” Cassie said as she testified about these encounters, called “Freak Offs”, “Hotel Nights,” or “King Nights,” which are core to prosecutors’ case.
Diddy allegedly recorded many of these encounters, giving him blackmail material to hold over his victims’ heads, prosecutors said at trial.
The prosecution contends that Diddy’s abuse was part of a sprawling criminal enterprise that relied on other violent acts, such as alleged kidnapping and arson, and included other crimes such as drug distribution and witness tampering, made possible by his devoted employees and inner circle.
A key piece of evidence in prosecutors’ case is a spring 2016 video apparently showing Diddy attacking Cassie in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel during an alleged Freak Off.
Cassie described the alleged horrors in detail during her days on the stand. She was coerced into performing for days even when she had a urinary-tract infection or other injuries stemming from sex acts.
“When we were having frequent Freak Offs,” Cassie alleged, “sometimes they were back to back. I was actually doing the Freak Offs with the infection.” She said the infections were painful and frequent.
“It got to the point where Cipro didn’t work anymore,” Cassie also remarked, referring to the powerful antibiotic.
“Occasionally, I would get sores on my tongue from the Freak Offs, [from] taking drugs, substances, friction in my mouth,” she claimed.
Cassie added that she developed an “ongoing, ooff-and-on addiction with opiates.” Cassie said she would take opiates to come down from the ecstasy.
“Opiates made me feel numb, which is why I relied on them so heavily,” she said. “I didn’t want to feel what was actually going on … it was just an escape for me.”
Cassie also alleged that Diddy raped her after a post-breakup dinner in 2018. “I just remember crying and saying ‘no,’” she said on the stand.“
Jane,” another Diddy accuser who took the stand, entered into what she believed was a romantic relationship with him in early 2021.
He took her on a trip to Turks and Caicos for her birthday and they swiftly developed pet names for each other, Bert and Ernie.
“He was really charming, really nice, and I was just drawn to him,” Jane testified. As they spent more and more time together, which included using molly during their sexual encounters,
Diddy told Jane about his fantasies — involving her having sex with other men. One night, after they had been awake for 12 hours, Jane said Diddy suggested: “I can make this fantasy a reality if you’d like. I can make that happen.”
Since the idea was “turning him on” and Jane cared deeply about him, she agreed. “I felt that that night just opened like a Pandora’s box in our relationship. It just completely set the tone for our relationship going forward,” she said.
As time went on, Jane repeatedly told Diddy that she no longer wanted to participate in these encounters.
She broke into tears while describing how Diddy doled out ecstasy so she could stay awake during those dayslong events that sometimes involved multiple male escorts.
“He would be like: ‘You’re not getting tired on me, are you? Let’s finish strong, hard. Let’s end on a high note,’” Jane said.
Diddy was so demanding about these sexual events that he pressured her into not using condoms, saying “he didn’t want to see a rubber while he was watching.”
If she brought it up, he would “guilt-trip” her. Jane said she went along with Diddy’s desires given how much she’d fallen for him. “I just didn’t want to disappoint my lover.”
Diddy maintained his power over Jane financially, prosecutors claimed. Jane said that in spring 2023, they entered into a “love contract” in which he agreed to pay her rent.
As a result, she felt pressure to make Diddy happy, lest he cut off his support. In the summer of 2024 — when Diddy knew he was being investigated by the Feds — Jane said that Diddy pressured her into an encounter.
“I said, ‘I don’t want to!’” Jane recalled of that evening. Diddy got close to her face and said: “Is this coercion?” and compelled her to take ecstasy. “I had to perform oral sex on Anton. It just felt like forever.”
Diddy allegedly watched. “I felt so sick … I just felt disgusted. I just felt terrible.
”Mia, a former Diddy assistant, said that he attacked her multiple times.
“The highs were really high and the lows were really, really low,” Mia told jurors. The work environment varied wildly depending on Diddy’s ever-changing moods.
“He’s thrown things at me. He’s thrown me against the wall … He’s thrown me into a pool … He’s also, uh, sexually assaulted me,” she said.
Mia said he’d sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. One night in 2010, when she was staying at Diddy’s Los Angeles home,
Mia woke to “the weight of a person on top of me.” The person was Diddy. Mia remembered Diddy undoing his pants.
“He put himself inside of me … I just froze.” Mia said she felt “terrified and confused and ashamed.”
Another time, when she was leaving a closet area, “He was standing right in front of me.”
Diddy, she said, “had his penis out” and forced her to perform oral sex.
Entertainment
Nigerian-British Singer Talay Riley Dies in London Stabbing, Others Mourn
Grammy-winning Nigerian-British singer and songwriter Talay Riley, whose real name was Mark Yinka Orabiyi, has been stabbed to death at the age of 35 in East London, sparking an active murder investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
Emergency services responded to reports of a stabbing around 9 a.m. on Friday, June 5, 2026, at a property on Pankhurst Avenue in Silvertown. Riley was found with multiple stab wounds in the garden of the property and was pronounced dead at the scene despite paramedics’ efforts.
A second man was also injured in the incident and hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries. Police arrested three individuals nearby on suspicion of murder; two have since been released, while a 27-year-old man remains on bail pending further inquiries.
Born in Nigeria and based in the UK, Talay Riley was renowned as a hit songwriter who collaborated with global stars including Dua Lipa, Usher, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Nick Jonas, and Khalid. He also worked closely with Craig David on the 2018 album The Time Is Now.
Tributes have poured in from the music industry. British rapper Stormzy commented, “I’m sorry, bro.” Craig David wrote: “Sending so much love to you and the family. His beautiful energy will continue to be felt and shown from the other side.”
In a family statement, relatives described Riley as a “beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend whose kindness, talent, and spirit touched many lives.” They added: “We will always cherish his kindness, beautiful spirit, and remarkable talent.”
Homicide detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation and have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information about the incident to come forward.
Entertainment
Legendary Beauty and the Beast singer Peabo Bryson dies at 75
As news of his passing spread, fans and fellow artists took to social media to share tributes, celebrating a career that bridged decades, genres, and cultures, leaving behind a timeless body of work that continues to resonate with listeners worldwide.
The velvet-voiced R&B balladeer and two-time Grammy Award winner, Peabo Bryson whose soaring duets defined a generation of Disney classics, has died at 75.
Bryson is survived by his wife, Tanya Boniface Bryson, his children, and his grandchildren.
His family confirmed that the singer passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
The news follows reports from earlier in the week that Bryson had been receiving medical care after suffering a stroke.
In a heartfelt statement, his family expressed both their grief and their gratitude for the life he lived.
“For more than five decades, Peabo’s extraordinary voice served as the soundtrack to some of life’s most cherished moments,” the statement read.
“His music carried generations through joyful celebrations, great love stories, and enduring moments of comfort and inspiration, creating a legacy that will forever live in the hearts of those who loved him and the countless lives he touched through song.”
Born Robert Peapo Bryson on April 13, 1951, in Greenville, South Carolina, he began his professional musical journey in the 1970s.
Over the course of his distinguished career, he established himself as one of R&B’s most consistent and respected performers, celebrated for his smooth tenor and emotional range.
While his solo catalog featured numerous hits—including “Feel the Fire,” “I’m So Into You,” and “Can You Stop the Rain”—Bryson gained international fame for his legendary collaborations. He is perhaps best known for his work on two of Disney’s most iconic animated films:
“Beauty and the Beast” (1991) where his duet with Celine Dion -the film’s title track- and earned him his first Grammy Award.
Also, “A Whole New World” (1992) which is his collaboration with Regina Belle for Aladdin became a global phenomenon, winning him a second Grammy and cementing his status as a master of the romantic power ballad.
Beyond his commercial success, peers and colleagues remembered Bryson for his deep passion for his craft and his genuine connection to his fans.
Comedian and television host Loni Love, reflecting on a recent encounter with the singer on a cruise ship, described him as someone who spoke with immense love for his music and shared stories with profound warmth.
As news of his passing spread, fans and fellow artists took to social media to share tributes, celebrating a career that bridged decades, genres, and cultures, leaving behind a timeless body of work that continues to resonate with listeners worldwide.
Entertainment
Kanye West performs to 118,000 in Turkey, heads to the Netherlands
The 48-year-old rapper is set to perform in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8.
• Kanye West
US rapper Kanye West on Saturday performed for two hours in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium to an audience of 118,000, state-run Anadolu Agency said.
Among the audience were fans from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Poland and the Middle East, Anadolu said.
The 48-year-old rapper is set to perform in the Netherlands on June 6 and 8.
Ye has faced a global backlash, not least for his release of “Heil Hitler”, a song promoting Nazism.
In April, Britain denied Ye entry on grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good, forcing the cancellation of a planned appearance at the Wireless Festival in London.
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