Diddy ‘Trying To Stay Positive’ For 1st Christmas Behind Bars: Details

On the morning of November 22, Sean “Diddy” Combs entered a NYC courtroom for a pre-trial hearing. Wearing prison khakis, the rapper’s face “lit up” when he saw his family members sitting in the second row, an eyewitness said. Led by his mother, Janicesix of his seven children had arrived a few minutes earlier and were sitting together and holding hands when their father appeared. “He smiled, waved, blew kisses to them and mouthed ‘I love you’ to them,” said the eyewitness Us Weeklyadding that the music mogul appears to be in good spirits.

Not long. Five days later, Diddy’s bail application was refused for the third time. He spent Thanksgiving behind bars – and is now set to celebrate Christmas while incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The rapper, 55, was arrest and charge on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering on September 16, and pleaded not guilty the following day. (Its trial scheduled to begin in May 2025.) Since his arrest, more than 20 civil cases have been filed against him, and he has denied all charges.

It will be a Christmas unlike any other for Diddy, one marked by loneliness and without his usual luxuries. “He’s trying to stay positive,” a source told the latest Us Weekly cover story. In recent years, founder Sean John has been surrounded by famous friends and loved ones, including his mother and children (he is father to Quincy, 33, Justin, 30, Christian, 26, Chance, 18, twins D’Lila and Jessie, who turns 18 on 21 December, and 2-year-old Love). The source added: “The holidays will be particularly difficult for the family without their father.”

Mixed Emotions

The cement halls of MDC are not very festive at this time of year. “There are no embellishments,” said a federal prison consultant Sam Mangelstating that contraband and anything with sharp edges or pins are prohibited in the facility. Holiday visitors are welcome, but stays are short – Mangel says they usually last 30 minutes to an hour – and are limited to four people at a time. Phone calls are capped at 15 minutes. “When their family leaves, inmates become very serious,” Mangel said. “It’s getting very depressing.” Former prisoner Brad Rousewho spent time with MDC between 2008 and 2009 and now works as a mentor assisting criminal defendants and their families, says Us that Christmas is particularly difficult for fathers with young children at home. “The holidays were more painful for them,” he said, adding, “It’s a very hard and difficult place.”

The prisoners are given a few breaks. Mangel says staff give prisoners time in the closed recreation yard to play sports tournaments, and they are free to enjoy dominoes, chess and card games. Religious services are usually offered, and televisions are on and tuned to major sporting events. There can be a sense of camaraderie. “It wasn’t easy being in jail during the holidays,” Rouse said, “but we were all in it together.” (He recalls an inmate drawing customized holiday greeting cards featuring sketches of Santa Claus or their children for fellow inmates to mail to their families in exchange for cans of mackerel.) Another former inmate who was incarcerated in the 90s and early 2000s agree that the atmosphere is lighter, at least for a while. “Everybody gives a ticket that day,” he said Us. “Like, if someone’s going to get hurt, don’t do it on Christmas. Wait until tomorrow, you know?”

The inmate remembers getting a grocery bag on Christmas Day, filled with things like Reese’s candy, coffee and powdered drink mixes. “When everyone was locked in their cells, they would bring bags on a pushcart and put them out,” he said, adding, “It was cool. It really felt like a gift.” For about 10 days before and after Christmas, the prison commissary would carry special items, including pepperoni and provolone cheese, which inmates try to collect as currency. Mangel says inmates do something called “FOGU” with the sweets they receive. “It’s like a hodgepodge of candies and cookies, and then they put a little bit of water or milk in it, and they mash it into a ball and it’s their version of a little holiday treat.”

Mangel predicts that Diddy can eat his holiday meal with his famous inmate Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto mogul who was convicted of fraud and is housed in the same unit. “I think they will probably eat together and discuss what part of the world they were in last year with their families,” he said. “They are from higher socio-economic backgrounds before coming in there. So they can reminisce (about) which island they were on last year.”

Hang In

On the outside, Diddy’s family is doing their best to stay strong. On November 4, Quincy, Justin, Christian, Jesse, D’Lila and Chance posted a video to their Instagram accounts showing them all on a call with their dad, which could be heard on a speaker like Love he sang “Happy Birthday.” The source says that the older boys have been taking care of the younger children and that the family “believes in Diddy’s innocence and that he will be exonerated.”

Janice, notes the source, has been there emotionally for her grandchildren, who are being cared for by a close family friend in Florida. “Diddy’s mom is based in Los Angeles but he’s been visiting back and forth.” She has also been involved in holiday planning, trying to keep things festive for the children. “The family will honor (Diddy) over Christmas,” adds the source, “they are trying to talk to him as much as they can.”

Diddy focuses on his defense, but the hits keep coming. During his November 22 hearing, prosecutors alleged that he had been trying to obstruct his trial by organizing social media campaigns aimed at corrupting the jury pool; they included redacted notes found during a prison raid and claimed he had “contacted witnesses through third parties” and used other inmates’ phone accounts. Diddy denied the allegations, and his lawyers argued that seizing the notes breached attorney-client privilege.

At the end of November, a fashion designer Bryan Bongolan filed a lawsuit claiming he hanged her from a 17th floor balcony while threatening to kill her in 2016. And on December 8, her longtime friend Jay-Z was named in a lawsuit in October where a woman claims that the two rappers raped her in 2000. Diddy denied all the allegations. “He has been organizing character witnesses and people who can speak for him,” said the source. “This is the hardest time in Diddy’s life, but he’s not giving up on himself.”

For more information on Diddy, watch the exclusive video above and select the latest edition of Us Weekly – on newsstands now.

With reports from Travis Cronin, Molly McGuigan, Andrea Simpson and Amanda Williams

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