P Diddy: Guns found at Sean Combs’ homes during federal raids, sources say
Firearms have been found by federal agents searching homes belonging to rapper Sean Combs, three sources close to the matter have told Sky News’s US partner network NBC News.
The 54-year-old‘s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents on 25 March, as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, the AP news agency reported.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ homes raided by Homeland security
Several phones were seized from Combs in Miami before he was scheduled to depart on a trip to the Bahamas, NBC News understands.
The rapper – who is also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – has been embroiled in a string of serious allegations in recent months.
Three women and a man were interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to the probe, according to NBC News.
It’s not yet known what kind of firearms were found or whom they belonged to.
Following the raids on his house in late March, Combs’s lawyer Aaron Dyer said there had been a “gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed”.
“There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,” he added.
Mr Dyer said Combs had not been arrested or had his ability to travel restricted, and neither had any of his family members.
“This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgement of Mr Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
Multiple lawsuits
Combs has also recently faced several lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoing.
In February, a music producer alleged Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
Combs’s lawyer responded by saying: “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies”.
Cassie Ventura and Combs pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
The rapper’s former protege and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, also sued him in November alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
Combs rejected the accusations, calling them offensive and outrageous.
The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Since then, three other women have filed lawsuits in the Southern District of New York alleging that Combs sexually assaulted them. Two said they were teenagers at the time.
Combs has denied all the allegations, calling them “sickening” and “awful”.
Combs is among the most influential hip hop producers of the past three decades, building one of hip hop’s biggest empires and founding record label Bad Boy Records in 1993 working with artists including Notorious BIG, Mary J Blige, Usher and Lil Kim.
A three-time Grammy winner, his latest album, The Love Album – Off the Grid, was nominated for best progressive R&B album at February’s Grammy Awards. He neither won nor attended.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Combs for comment.
Entertainment
Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen
RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.
James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.
Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.
Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.
Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.
“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.
“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”
James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA
Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.
The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.
Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.
“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.
“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”
Read more from Sky News:
‘Nothing left’ of Mel Gibson’s house after LA fires
Boris Johnson brands Vladimir Putin a ‘f****** idiot’
In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.
Entertainment
The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway