Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs have urged a US appeals court to overturn his prison sentence of more than four years for prostitution-related offences.
Combs, 56, was sentenced in October following a high-profile trial that detailed allegations of so-called “freak-offs” — sexual encounters involving hired male escorts and his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, along with another unidentified woman.
Although he was acquitted by a jury of the most serious charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering, Combs was convicted on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.
He was absent from the Manhattan court on Thursday as his legal representative, Alexandra Shapiro, argued before a three-judge panel that the 50-month sentence was excessive and unfair in relation to the offences.
Shapiro contended that the trial judge improperly relied on evidence tied to allegations on which Combs had been acquitted, including claims of threats involving Ventura and another woman.
However, prosecutors opposed the appeal, arguing that certain incidents were directly connected to the transportation offences and were therefore valid considerations during sentencing. They cited examples including Combs allegedly showing Ventura explicit videos shortly before further encounters, which they said demonstrated coercive behaviour.
The prosecution’s arguments included complex legal reasoning, with one prosecutor even using a pizza analogy to explain how different “parts” of evidence contributed to the sentencing decision.
The three-judge panel did not immediately issue a ruling, with one judge describing the case as “exceptionally difficult”.
Combs is separately appealing his conviction, although that issue was not fully addressed during Thursday’s proceedings. He is currently being held at the low-security Fort Dix prison in New Jersey and is expected to remain incarcerated until spring 2028.
