An awkward encounter between Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bono has resurfaced amid the rapper’s indictment for sexual assault and sex trafficking.
Diddy presented Bono and his fellow U2 band members with the award for Best Original Song – Motion Picture at the 2014 Golden Globes. Footage of the January 2014 awards ceremony has recently garnered online attention, particularly for how Diddy congratulated Bono on the group’s win.
While greeting Diddy, 54, and his fellow presenters Usher and Kate Beckinsale on stage, Bono, 64, accepted a hug from Diddy before appearing to swerve his head away from the rapper, who seemingly was leaning in to kiss Bono on the cheek. Bono went on to call the win “personal” while speaking about U2’s song “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Despite the uncomfortable interaction, Bono and Diddy later posed for pictures at a Golden Globes afterparty in Los Angeles. (Bono and Diddy’s reps did not respond to Us Weekly‘s request for comment. A source close to the situation tells Us, “It was an awkward moment and nothing more.”)
A Timeline of Diddy’s Legal Troubles, Accusations and Arrests
The Golden Globes footage resurfaced amid Diddy’s ongoing legal issues, which began when his ex-girlfriend Cassie filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in November 2023. The lawsuit — in which she accused Diddy of sexual abuse and rape — was settled one day after it was filed. Diddy denied the allegations at the time.
In the wake of Cassie’s lawsuit, several individuals came forward with their own lawsuits against the Grammy winner. Diddy’s homes in L.A. and Miami were also raided in connection to a Homeland Security sex trafficking investigation in March.
On September 16, Diddy was arrested in New York City on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His 14-page indictment featured many shocking revelations, including that he allegedly hosted parties known as “Freak Offs” where he orchestrated “elaborate and produced sex performances” between women and male sex workers. In addition to filming the incidents, the indictment claims that Diddy “distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims” to keep them “obedient and compliant.”
Bono and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs embrace at the 45th GRAMMY Awards on February 21, 2003.
The indictment also revealed that law enforcement seized “narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” during Diddy’s home raids earlier this year, as well as multiple firearms and ammunition. (Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo claimed in a September 18 letter to appeal Diddy’s bail denial that the firearms belonged to the artist’s security personnel.)
Diddy pleaded not guilty to his arrest charges but was denied bail and ordered to remain in jail until his eventual trial. Diddy filed a notice to appeal the federal court order denying him bail on September 30.
“He’s innocent. I believe he’s innocent. I believe he’s innocent of the charges,” Agnifilo said during a September 17 appearance on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins. “He is going to go to trial. And I believe he’s going to win.”
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Diddy has since been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking by 120 victims, lawyer Tony Buzbee of the law firm Buzbee Law Firm and the AVA Law Group, per CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister earlier this month. No lawsuits have been filed as of yet.
As the drama continues to play out, Diddy’s mother, Janice Smalls Combs, called the charges against her son “heartbreaking” in a statement shared with Us through her attorney Natlie G. Figgers on Sunday, October 6.
“To bear witness [sic] what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words,” she said. “Like every human being, my son deserves to have this day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence.”
Diddy’s Ups and Downs Over the Years: Indictment, Home Raid and More
Janice concluded her statement by writing, “I beg you to think about those who have been wrongfully persecuted, to remember that not everyone who has made mistakes in life deserves to have their entire existence judged by a single action or a few mistakes. My son is not the monster they have painted him to be, and he deserves the chance to tell his side.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
