Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer argued that his client should be released immediately because his infamous freak tape showed amateur pornography, not a sex crime.
Combs’ lawyers, led by Alexandra Shapiro and Nicole Westmoreland, made the startling argument Thursday in an appeals hearing before three federal judges in New York.
Lawyers for the disgraced music mogul also argued that Combs was unfairly treated in a federal trial last year and deserves to be released under the First Amendment.
Combs’ lawyers say the 56-year-old was wrongly convicted under the Mann Act, a federal law that prohibits transporting people across state lines for sex crimes, because he recorded amateur pornography, which the U.S. Constitution protects as free speech.
“The freak-offs and hotel nights were highly choreographed sexual performances involving the use of costumes, role-play, and stage lights, and were filmed so that Combs and his girlfriend could later view this amateur pornography,” his lawyers argued.
“The production and viewing of this type of pornography is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be prosecuted constitutionally,” Combs’ attorneys added.
His lawyers also argued that Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the case and sentencing, improperly relied on arguments that ultimately acquitted Combs.
“We’ve made it abundantly clear,” Shapiro said at the hearing. “The district court should not consider conduct for which it was acquitted.”
Shapiro argued that his client’s 50-month sentence was “the highest sentence ever imposed on a Mann Act defendant under the same defense level.”
Combs’ team called for the embattled record executive’s “immediate” acquittal, or “at the very least” the release of the “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper and alleviation of the grudge against him.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Slavik said the defense’s argument about amateur pornography was “baseless” because Combs “is in a completely different position than an adult film distributor.”
Prosecutors argued that “he hired commercial sex workers to have sex with his girlfriends for his own sexual gratification, transported them, and sometimes directly participated in the sex acts.”
Mr. Slavik also agreed that Judge Subramanian “correctly applied” the not guilty verdict, considering “the aggravated manner in which (Mr. Combs) committed the Mann Act violation.”
But the appellate panel appeared unconvinced by either side, with one judge even calling Combs’ team “losing the case” during their arguments.
It is unclear when the appellate judges will make a decision on Combs’ possible release.
Mr. Combs was arrested in September 2024 on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation for the purpose of prostitution, and was later convicted of transportation for the purpose of prostitution in July 2025.
Combs was found guilty on two charges, although each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. However, he was acquitted of higher racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
He was sentenced in October 2025 and transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to a low-security federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey, the same month.
Judge Subramanian said at the jailed music mogul’s sentencing hearing that Combs’ punishment would mean “a hard life in prison, away from his family, friends and community,” but added that Combs “has a life after that.”
“Mr. Combs, you are being sentenced for a crime for which you were convicted, not a crime for which you were acquitted,” the judge continued. “However, under the law, the court ‘shall have regard to’ the nature of the crime and the characteristics of the defendant.”
As Page Six previously reported, last month Combs’ release date was moved up from June 4, 2028 to April 25, 2028.
The surprising development came after Combs was accepted into a substance abuse rehabilitation program in November 2025, which in many cases could result in a shorter sentence.
“Mr. Combs is an active participant in a residential substance abuse program and has been committed to the rehabilitation process from the beginning,” a representative for Combs said in a statement at the time.
It added: “He is fully committed to his job, focused on growth and committed to positive change.”
Combs had previously had his release date postponed from May 8, 2028 to June 4, 2028, after allegedly violating multiple prison rules.
