With so Much Attention Already Devoted to Diddy's Court Case, Will It Actually Be Televised?
When it comes to cameras in a courtroom, it depends on the type of crime.
Published May 5 2025, 12:24 p.m. ET
Although it feels like public interest in crimes is a new thing, the genre of true crime has been around for centuries in various forms. Believe it or not, we didn't always exist in a world where there was an overwhelming amount of things to do. That's kind of how you get an almost rabid enjoyment of activities like hangings or trials, à la the Salem Witch Trials. According to The New York Times, for much of the 19th century, capital punishment took place in public.
If you're shaking your head in astonishment at the idea of a casual stroll becoming a bloody lookie-loo event, it actually gets worse. Vendors popped up around these public executions because they understood that everyone's gotta eat and drink. Oftentimes, illustrations of these state-sanctioned murders were sold after the fact. Decades later, the trials of the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson would put Court TV on the map. This begs the question: Will Diddy's trial be televised?
Will Diddy's trial be televised? Not this time.
Because Sean "Diddy" Combs has been charged with federal crimes, his trial will not be televised, per criminal rules adopted in 1946. Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, "[E]xcept as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom." In 1972, this law was expanded to include televised broadcasts and recordings.
Combs's sex trafficking trial is scheduled to begin May 12, 2025, with jury selection starting May 5. The music mogul arrived at a New York courthouse shortly before 9 a.m., wearing dark glasses and a dark sweater over a white shirt, reported Reuters. He smiled and hugged his lawyers before walking into U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian's courtroom.
The trial is expected to last at least eight weeks, per PBS. Combs's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has stated publicly that his client was "not a perfect person," and admitted that he engaged in drug use and toxic relationships.
However, Agnifilo maintains that any and all sexual activity Combs engaged in was consensual. This includes what transpired between Combs and his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, who went public with a video showing the producer allegedly assaulting her in a hotel hallway.