Diddy had intense reaction when mixed verdict was read out in court as rapper remains in jail
Sean 'Diddy' Combs dropped to his knees and burrowed his head into his seat as the verdict was read out in court yesterday (2 July), according to reports.
The rapper, 55, was cleared of three out of five charges by a New York jury after a dramatic two-month trial which saw a number of celebrities take the stand.
He was deemed not guilty on charges of racketeering and two counts of sex trafficking by the 12 men and women tasked with deciding his fate, although he was convicted of two counts of transportation for prostitution.
Reactions varied around the world after the verdict was read out on Wednesday afternoon - but of course, 50 Cent was quick to chime in with some comedic relief.
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Combs' future in the federal prison system is still yet to be decided, although the disgraced music mogul had hoped to be released from custody yesterday.
However, Judge Arun Subramanian denied the father-of-seven bail.
Those inside the courtroom have now been discussing what happened at the defence table as Diddy, flanked by his army of lawyers, discovered he had dodged a life sentence.
He had been waiting quietly, staring straight ahead, before the jurors announced their decision, according to the BBC.
Diddy is said to have kept his head bowed when the words 'not guilty' were read out of the weightiest charge, racketeering, but he held his head in his hands by the time it was revealed he had been found not guilty of sex trafficking.
The Bad Boy Records founder then made a prayer sign with his hands and gestured towards the jury, the outlet reported, before making the same motion towards his family.
He was then seen appearing to mouth the words: "I'm coming home."
Sakshi Venkatraman, a digital reporter for the BBC, saw all of this with her own eyes - and she said you could have cut the 'tension' in the courtroom with a knife.
"We came back this morning and the jury continued deliberating, and evidently, they didn't need long," she said yesterday in the wake of the verdict. "The courtroom for the last couple of days has been quiet until it's not, basically.
"The judge will receive a note from the jury and then everyone will flood in - including Combs, his lawyers, the family, the kids, his mum. So that's exactly what happened today.
"At around 10am, the judge received a note, Combs came back in, the lawyers came back in, the kids came back in, so we knew something was about to happen.
"There was tension in the courtroom, the lawyers were moving around, Combs was praying, the family was praying," Venkatraman added. "They all kind of had like a prayer session together."
CNN correspondent Kara Scannell also revealed what she witnessed while having a 'literal front row seat' and a 'clear view of Combs' while the verdict was read aloud.
"His eyes widened, his mouth opened, he looked at his attorney," she explained. "He appeared to be in shock. I think they were in there thinking he was going to walk out that door today.
"He waved his hands as his lawyer was wrapping up. He had passed him, by my count, four Post-It notes trying to get his lawyer's attention. His lawyer looked at the notes.
"Then Combs started waving his hand and his lawyer [Marc Agnifilo] said, 'Look, your honour, he wants to talk to you, but let me talk to him first'."
According to Scannell, it appeared as though Agnifilo ultimately decided against Diddy conversing with the judge after conferring with his client.
The reporter claimed that the attorney, who led Diddy's legal team, then turned to Combs' family to address them too.
He reportedly told the rapper's loved ones: "Winning is winning. You live your life. You have a good life. He'll be back soon."
Scannell added that Combs himself then turned to his family and said: "I'll see you when I get out, we're going to make it through this," before blowing them a kiss.
Topics: Diddy, US News, Celebrity, Celebrity News
Olivia Burke