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When jury selection kicked off on May 5 for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile sex trafficking trial, the court called out the names of over 100 people. Surprisingly, among those names were some big celebrities like Kanye West, Michael B. Jordan, Kid Cudi, and Mike Myers.
Now, these celebrities aren’t accused of anything—they’re not part of the case at all. Instead, their names were read aloud in the courtroom because they might come up during the trial, maybe because the witnesses or people involved know them or talked about them. This all happened at a federal courthouse in Manhattan, according to NBC News.
The lawyers asked the potential jurors if knowing any of these famous people would affect their ability to be fair and unbiased during the trial. But no one explained why those particular celebrities were mentioned.
Also on the list were some women who have filed civil lawsuits against Diddy, including his ex-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura. She made serious sexual abuse allegations against him back in 2023, but that case was settled very quickly—in just one day.
Insiders from People magazine shared that Michael B. Jordan, who starred in Black Panther, might have to testify. His name appeared on the list because he briefly dated Cassie Ventura in 2015, which was mentioned in her lawsuit.
Another name on the list was Dawn Richard, a singer from the group Danity Kane and another one of Diddy’s former partners. She’s involved in a separate case accusing Diddy of sexual misconduct.
Right now, Diddy is facing five federal charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting people for prostitution. He’s been held since last year and has pleaded not guilty multiple times, but the court rejected those pleas. Prosecutors accuse the 55-year-old music mogul of exploiting women over the past 20 years by organizing drug-fueled sex parties—called “freak offs”—which he allegedly arranged and filmed.
So far, representatives for Kanye West, Michael B. Jordan, and Mike Myers haven’t commented on why their names were included in court documents. Meanwhile, the trial against Sean Diddy Combs is still underway.