There are many voices in the new Netflix docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” but some of the most intriguing are two of the jurors which delivered Sean “Diddy” Combs a split verdict in court this year.
Jurors 160 and 75 both spoke as part of director Alexandria Stapleton’s project, giving intriguing information on how they interpreted the accusations against Combs in court, and how they think his celebrity might have influenced their verdict.
Combs was on trial on charges of sex trafficking by force, transportation for the purposes of prostitution and racketeering. His New York City trial began on May 5, 2025, and the jury delivered a verdict on July 2, after three days of deliberation. They ultimately found Combs guilty on the two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, but acquitted him on the sex trafficking or racketeering charges. The mixed verdict landed Combs in prison for four years, including time served — a mild sentence, considering he faced life behind bars.
Juror 160, a Millennial woman, identified herself as “of that generation who basically grew up listening to the music that he was involved in. From Biggie to 112 … I even like Day26. I wasn’t a personal fan of his, but in general, the music.”
She said a critical part of the verdict was the actual charges brought forward. The music mogul’s violence toward his longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura — which Diddy showed plainly in an infamous video released by CNN — was not part of the discussion.
“[It’s] unforgivable, honestly. You can’t beat that small girl like that the way he did… [but] domestic violence wasn’t one of the charges,” she said.
Meanwhile, Juror 75, a middle-aged man who said that before the trial he had “zero knowledge about” Combs, said he was confused about how guilty Combs could be when his Ventura had stayed in their on-and-off relationship for 11 years.
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“That was a very, very interesting relationship versus two people in love,” he said. “They are overly loved. They cannot explain. She wanted to be with him. He took her for granted. He never thought that she would leave and go. So just like both hands clapping together, you cannot clap with one hand, they both end like this. Then you get the noise”
“The very next day, the following day [following domestic violence incidents], if you see how they’re getting back together and exchanging text messages and like nothing ever happened,” he said later in “The Reckoning.” “So now we are confused … what’s going on here? He’s beating her, and the next minute they’re going on dinners and trips. It’s like going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. That’s my answer. I mean, if you don’t like something, you completely get out. You cannot have it both ways.”
Despite being confident about their verdict, Juror 160 knew it would be controversial.
“When we were in the deliberation room, and we’ve come to an agreement, and we’re only saying that he’s guilty for these two counts, my words exactly were, ‘Oh S-H-I-T,’” she said.
Combs’ camp has been vocal about their disdain for “The Reckoning,” releasing a statement on Dec. 1 saying, “Netflix’s so-called ‘documentary’ is a shameful hit piece. Today’s GMA teaser confirms that Netflix relied on stolen footage that was never authorized for release. As Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos know, Mr. Combs has been amassing footage since he was 19 to tell his own story, in his own way. It is fundamentally unfair, and illegal, for Netflix to misappropriate that work.”
Read the whole response here.
From Variety US