The high-profile trial with rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs at the centre kicked off earlier this week. As has been reiterated over the last year with the hip-hop mogul in mainstream focus, the once-rap-kingpin has had close ties to A-list celebrities throughout his career since the late ’90s. Over the years, he has hosted one too many notorious ‘White’ parties, which have attracted the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mariah Carey, Ashton Kutcher, and Kim Kardashian among many others.
However, a surprising development during his ongoing trial, which kicked off on May 12, saw K-pop sensation BTS being dragged into the mess. Fans may just as well exhale a sigh of relief right now because the beloved Hallyu boy group doesn’t share any connecting ties with the Bad Boy Records exec accused of sexual assault, trafficking, racketeering and other counts. (Except for that one time the septet covered Puff Daddy’s song “I’ll Be Missing You.”)
No BTS Diddy connection, and yet mentioned during jury selection
The unexpected mention of the significantly influential and iconic K-pop band ultimately forged a link with P Diddy’s trial only because a potential juror name-dropped them during a conversation. Given her popular position in the TikTok age, True-crime podcast Rotten Mango host Stephanie Soo documented the experience of attending the initial stage of the trial.
Prior to Monday’s opening statements in the P Diddy case, the court convened for the trial’s jury selection from May 5 onwards. With the accused music mogul also in attendance, Stephanie Soo had to share what all went down at the scene. And so, she posted a nearly two-hour-long YouTube video titled, “I Spent 8 Hours In A Courtroom w/ Diddy & This Is Everything He Did,” on May 11.
Then, why is BTS in focus now?
Owing to Sean Combs’ massive celebrity status, his musical career and fellow A-list associations remained unavoidable in the trial. During the jury selection process, potential jurors were questioned about their musical tastes, and how well they knew about other stars like Kanye West, Michael B Jordan and Kid Cudi, to name a few.
Soo’s account detailed that one such juror in the running opened up about having an affinity for music genres such as rock, hip-hop, which ultimately had her narrowing down her fondness of the BTS septet. “Another juror walks in and she says that her musical interest are rock, hiphop, and as well as quote, ‘I’m actively watching the concert of the group called BTS or Bangtan Boys,’ There was nothing else notable, I just wanted to say that,” Stephanie highlighted in her lengthy video.
Diddy trial: Jury selection
While it remains unconfirmed whether the female juror in question was ultimately selected for the trial, an NBC report detailed that 12 main jurors were picked for the courtroom proceedings. The group including eight men and four women have come together to decide whether Diddy is guilty of five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Of the four main women jurors selected for the job, multiple individuals expressed their interest in hip-hop music. Juror No 28 is a 30-year-old Bronx woman, who works as deli clerk. She listens to hip-hop and reggaeton. Her other hobbies are reading and playing video games. Juror No 55, on the other hand, is a 42-year-old female hailing from Manhattan. As an aide in a nursing home, her interests like in cooking, painting and watching Harry Potter and Disney movies.
Thirdly, Juror No 160 is a 43-year old Westchester County female working as a physician assistant. In addition to dancing in her free time, she likes to listen to R&B and hip-hop. Lastly, Juror No 217 is a 74-year-old woman from Manhattan who is employed as treatment coordinator and listens to classical music. She also likes to travel.
Except for the 12 main jurors, six alternate jurors were also picked for the task. This secondary lot welcomed four men and two women, with their ages ranging from 24 to 71.