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    Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Path From Harlem to Stardom, and Now Federal Court

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    Jason Swain was on his way home to the Bronx when friends told him that something had happened to his brother at a charity basketball game in Harlem. Nine young people at a City College of New York gymnasium were crushed to death in an overcrowded stairwell. Dirk Swain, 21, was lying on the gym floor with a sheet draped over his body.The promoter of the December 1991 event was a 22-year-old novice music producer named Sean Combs.For more than six years, the Swains and other families pursued wrongful death suits, saying Mr. Combs had oversold the game, and that bad planning and inadequate security had led to the tragedy. By the time their cases were settled, Mr. Combs had skyrocketed from a junior record label employee to global superstardom; the $750,000 that he contributed to the $3.8 million in settlements represented a fraction of his wealth as hip-hop’s newest, flashiest mogul.Mr. Combs never accepted full responsibility for the deaths and, for many people, the stampede faded into history. But not for the families who lost their loved ones.“Every one of those nine people was doing something positive in their life,” Mr. Swain said in an interview.The City College incident was Mr. Combs’s first moment of notoriety, but far from his last. In the ensuing three decades, he has repeatedly faced allegations of violence or serious misconduct. The beating of a rival music executive. Gunshots fired in a nightclub. The threatening of a reality-TV cast member. An assault of a college football coach.If found guilty of all charges, Sean Combs, who has spent the last seven months in a Brooklyn jail, could spend the rest of his life in prison.Willy Sanjuan/Invision, via Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      What Is Lorazepam? The Drug From ‘The White Lotus’ Carries Real Risks

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      Prescription drugs like lorazepam — used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and sleep disorders — play a role in popular TV shows like “The White Lotus” and “The Pitt.”Victoria Ratliff, the wealthy financier’s wife on season 3 of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” has a problem: She keeps popping pills.And her drug of choice, the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam, has left her a little loopy.In the show, which follows guests vacationing at a fictional resort, Victoria pairs her medication with wine, which leads her to nod off at the dinner table. Sometimes she slurs her words.When she notices that her pill supply is mysteriously dwindling, she asks her children if they’re stealing them.“You don’t have enough lorazepam to get through one week at a wellness spa?” her daughter, Piper, asks.“The White Lotus” is not the only show to recently feature these drugs. The new Max series “The Pitt,” which takes place in an emergency department, includes a story line about a benzodiazepine called Librium.This isn’t a case of Hollywood taking dramatic liberties. Benzodiazepines such as lorazepam and chlordiazepoxide are notorious for having the potential to be highly addictive. They may also come with difficult — sometimes fatal — withdrawal symptoms.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      South Korean R&B Singer Wheesung Is Found Dead at 43

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      The artist was known for popularizing the musical genre in the country, but convictions for drug abuse damaged his image.The South Korean singer-songwriter Wheesung, who popularized R&B music in the country but had documented struggles with drug abuse, was found dead in his home in Seoul on Monday evening, police said. He was 43.Fire department officials found the singer, whose birth name was Choi Whee-sung, in a state of cardiac arrest in his apartment around 6:30 p.m. on Monday. An officer at Seoul Gwangjin Police Station said there was no evidence of a break-in or foul play, and that the authorities were investigating the possibility of a drug overdose.The death is the latest in a string of tragedies to strike the country’s booming entertainment industry. Several South Korean celebrities have died including Kim Sae-ron, a young actress who was found dead at her home a few weeks ago. Police ruled Ms. Kim’s death a suicide.Mr. Choi, who also went by Realslow, began his career in 2002 with the album “Like a Movie” and quickly gained critical and popular acclaim, winning several South Korean music awards in the same year. `He released around a dozen albums and also starred in musicals, playing iconic roles including Zorro and Elvis Presley. Mr. Choi also helped write music for some of South Korea’s most successful K-pop bands, including Twice and Super Junior.His career suffered a setback in 2021, after he was found guilty of purchasing and using propofol, a powerful sedative that is a controlled substance in South Korea, on several occasions. He received a suspended sentence of one year in prison, avoiding jail time on the condition that he didn’t reoffend. He was also fined 60.5 million won (around $41,000), ordered to perform community service, and undergo drug treatment.With the drug charge, Mr. Choi came under scrutiny from the media and faced harsh public criticism, with some people posting hateful comments online. In South Korea, the social standing of celebrities usually hinges on having a blemish-free reputation and blameless character.Singers in South Korea posted tributes in honor of Wheesung on their social media accounts. “His music was a big part of my 20s,” the rapper Paloalto wrote on Instagram along with a picture of Mr. Choi’s first album cover. “Thank you for being there with me.”Wheesung had been scheduled to perform on March 15 with the singer KCM in Daegu, a city in the country’s south.Tajoy Entertainment, the company that managed Wheesung, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.In South Korea, call 109 for the health ministry’s suicide prevention hotline, or visit the Korean-language site 129.go.kr/109. More

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      in Movies

      A Sly Stone Primer: 15 Songs (and More) From a Musical Visionary

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      The Sly & the Family Stone leader is the subject of a new documentary directed by Questlove. Here’s what to know about his brilliant career and crushing addiction.In Sly & the Family Stone’s prime, from 1968 to 1973, the band was one of music’s greatest live acts as well as a fount of remarkable singles including “Everyday People” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” There was a shining optimism to its sound, which mixed funk with the ecstasy of gospel, a little rock and a touch of psychedelia — as well as a vision of community and brotherhood that stood out in a period of political separatism.The visionary behind it all was Sly Stone, who wrote, produced and arranged the music, winning acclaim as the author of invigorating anthems and an inventor of new, more complex recording sounds. But by the early 1970s, he was ravaged by drug addiction, kicking off a cycle of spirals and comebacks and sporadic, desultory live appearances. Now Stone, 81, is the subject of “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius),” a documentary directed by Ahmir Thompson, better known as the Roots drummer Questlove, that debuts on Hulu on Thursday.Stone, who was born Sylvester Stewart and grew up in Vallejo, Calif., had gospel in his blood. His father, K.C., was a deacon in a Pentecostal church, and Sly began performing with his younger brother Freddie and younger sisters Rose and Vet in the Stewart Four, which released a single, “On the Battlefield,” in 1956 on the Church of God in Christ label.In 1967, “Dance to the Music” became the first of Sly & the Family Stone’s five Top 10 singles.Stephen Paley/Sony, via Onyx CollectiveAs he learned to play guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and harmonica, Stone’s ambition swelled. In 1964, he produced and co-wrote Bobby Freeman’s No. 5 hit “C’mon and Swim,” and soon talked himself into an on-air gig at KSOL, the Bay Area’s AM soul music powerhouse, where he read dedications in his nimble baritone and mixed in Bob Dylan and Beatles songs to the format. “I think there shouldn’t be ‘Black radio.’ Just radio,” he later told Rolling Stone. “Everybody be a part of everything.”After having a small local hit in the Viscaynes, one of the few integrated groups in doo wop, he assembled Sly & the Family Stone with a lineup of men and women, Black and white. In 1967, “Dance to the Music” became their first of five Top 10 singles. Two years later, they performed at Woodstock, providing one of the weekend’s high points. The days of playing nightclubs were over. “After Woodstock, everything glowed,” Stone wrote in his 2023 memoir.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      Young Thug Released After Guilty Plea in Lengthy YSL Case

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      The star Atlanta rapper admitted to six counts, including participating in criminal street gang activity, ending his role in the longest trial in Georgia history.The star Atlanta rapper Young Thug pleaded guilty to participating in criminal street gang activity in a dramatic courtroom scene on Thursday, bringing his starring role in the longest trial in Georgia history to an unexpected conclusion after bumpy witness testimony complicated the state’s prosecution.After hearing sentencing recommendations from both sides, the judge in the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, sentenced Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, to time served, plus 15 years of probation. He was released Thursday night, according to Fulton County jail records.Mr. Williams, 33, was matter-of-fact as he admitted to six counts, including possession of drugs and firearms, before turning contrite as he addressed the courtroom. Prosecutors had described him in opening statements 11 months ago as “King Slime,” the fearsome leader of a pack that terrorized the streets of Atlanta via gang warfare, robbery and drug dealing for nearly a decade as his music career took off.His guilty plea on Thursday followed a tense courtroom moment in which the judge asked Mr. Williams if he was ready to accept a non-negotiated plea, instead of a negotiated deal with prosecutors, because of an impasse over sentencing. Mr. Williams, looking stricken, conferred with his lawyers briefly before the judge called a recess to allow him to decide.In a non-negotiated plea, the judge is responsible for deciding the sentence based on recommendations from both sides.Upon returning, Mr. Williams said he would accept the blind plea; he also pleaded no contest to two additional counts, leading a criminal street gang and conspiracy to violate the RICO act, the state’s racketeering law.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      The Mysterious ‘Ketamine Queen’ at the Center of the Matthew Perry Case

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      One year after Mr. Perry’s death, Jasveen Sangha is in jail awaiting trial on charges that she sold him the ketamine that killed him.A few weeks after Matthew Perry was discovered floating facedown in a hot tub, the woman who prosecutors say supplied the ketamine that killed the actor was indulging in afternoon tea at a five-star hotel in Japan and taking mirror selfies while modeling a kimono. Several months later, she posted highlights from a trip to Mexico, where she enjoyed caviar at the airport, sitting poolside at the beach and admiring a drink within a coconut.The woman, Jasveen Sangha, liked to share images of a glamorous life on social media, of herself rubbing elbows with celebrities and traveling around the world to Spain, China and Dubai.But her home was a midrise building for the aspiring upper class in North Hollywood, an unglamorous space in an unremarkable part of town. It was there, prosecutors say, that Ms. Sangha manufactured, stored and distributed illegal drugs for at least five years, including those connected to the deaths of Mr. Perry and another man.When the authorities raided Ms. Sangha’s fourth-floor apartment in March, they said they found cocaine, 79 vials of ketamine and three pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine. Prosecutors emphasized in court documents that customers knew her as the “Ketamine Queen.” Ms. Sangha in a photo taken from her Instagram account.“Given the volume of drugs defendant sold, there are likely more victims,” they wrote in court documents.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      What to Know About the Lawsuits Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

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      The music mogul, who faces federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, has been accused in civil court of raping and drugging people. He has denied the allegations.In November 2023, the R&B singer Cassie filed a lawsuit against the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, her former record label head and boyfriend, accusing him of rape, of forcing her to participate in sexual encounters he called “freak-offs” and of ongoing physical abuse for about a decade. Mr. Combs, who is also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, has “vehemently” denied the allegations.Over the following months, more than 20 additional lawsuits were filed against Mr. Combs — including more than half of them after he was indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution in September. He has pleaded not guilty and remains detained in a Brooklyn jail; the trial is scheduled for May 5.The Lawsuits Against Sean Combs, Known as DiddyOCTOBER 202411 Lawsuits From Anonymous Plaintiffs in federal court in New YorkA legal team led by Tony Buzbee, a personal injury lawyer in Houston who has used a phone hotline, Instagram and a news conference to solicit clients with claims against Mr. Combs, filed six suits alleging sexual assaults from 1995 to 2021, followed by five additional suits alleging sexual assaults from 2000 to 2022.Tony Buzbee, a Houston lawyer, held a news conference to announce he had a large number of individuals with claims against Mr. Combs — and to solicit more.Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle, via Associated PressThe accusations: In two suits from the first batch of filings, women accused Mr. Combs of raping them at parties in New York City; one plaintiff said Mr. Combs raped her in 1995 at a promotional event for a music video by the Notorious B.I.G. Four of the plaintiffs are men, including one who said he was working security at a White Party in the Hamptons in 2006 when Mr. Combs drugged him, pushed him into a van and raped him. Another man accused Mr. Combs of groping his genitals at a 1998 White Party, when the plaintiff was 16. A third man’s suit involves a 2008 encounter in a stockroom at Macy’s, where he said Mr. Combs forced his penis into the plaintiff’s mouth.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Matthew Perry’s Death Shines a Harsh Light on Ketamine Treatment

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      Was Mr. Perry, whose struggles with substance abuse were widely known, a good candidate for a drug used to relieve depression? Doctors say his case raises thorny questions.The actor Matthew Perry, who had long struggled with addiction, grew intrigued by ketamine a few years ago during a stay at a rehab facility in Switzerland where he received daily infusions of the powerful anesthetic “to ease pain and help with depression.”“Has my name written all over it — they might as well have called it ‘Matty,’” he later wrote of ketamine, which is known for its dissociative properties, in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” It felt, he said, “like a giant exhale.”“As the music played and the K ran through me, it all became about the ego, and the death of the ego,” he wrote. “And I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die.” As much as he was drawn to it, he wrote, he found the hangover unpleasant and ultimately decided that “ketamine was not for me.”But he eventually returned to the drug, getting ketamine treatments from doctors at clinics and then, as he grew addicted to it, buying it from illicit sources and getting multiple injections each day at his Los Angeles home, the authorities have said. On Oct. 28, after he received several shots from his personal assistant, he did die — face down in his hot tub. An autopsy determined that Mr. Perry had died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” with drowning one of several contributing factors.“Matthew Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine,” Anne Milgram, the head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said at a news conference last week. “When clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make quick money.”Drugs and paraphernalia connected to a person accused of distributing ketamine to Mr. Perry. While ketamine poses a lower addiction risk than opioids, it can produce an out-of-body experience that some people enjoy.U.S. District Court Central District, via Agence France-PresseWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      ‘The Interview’: Jelly Roll Cannot Believe How His Life Turned Out

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      We’ve all had the experience of being in a bad emotional place and, in response, putting on a song. We know that song isn’t going to fix the problem, whatever it may be, or even change the feeling. But the music we turn to when we’re struggling can be like a hand on our shoulder. For a legion of Americans today, the music that does that is by Jelly Roll.Listen to the Conversation With Jelly RollFrom jail and addiction to music stardom — the singer tells David Marchese he’s living a “modern American fairy tale.”Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppJelly’s real name is Jason DeFord, and he’s from Antioch, Tenn. He’s 39-years-old, burly (though he’s trying to lose weight), with a face covered in tattoos. In a sign of the breadth of his audience, he has been able to score on the country, rock and pop charts with hit singles like “Need a Favor” and albums like 2023’s “Whitsitt Chapel.” His southern-rock and hip-hop-inflected country songs are almost all about clawing toward some semblance of stability, which is an experience that informs a lot of his music, because it’s one he knows well. Jelly was in and out of prison starting as a teenager and into his mid-20s. He has dealt with personal loss and substance-abuse issues — both his own and that of his teenage daughter’s mother. He has also dealt with the professional despair of a long run to nowhere as an aspiring rapper. But that’s before he switched to singing and, beginning in 2021, started to hit it big.The musician — one half of a down-home power couple with his wife, Bunnie Xo, who hosts the popular Dumb Blonde podcast — will set off on a cross-country headlining arena tour later this month. He also has a new, highly-anticipated album, “Beautifully Broken,” scheduled for release this fall. He is, by any measure, a star — and still figuring out just what that means.Can you share some of the things that fans come up and tell you? I’ve heard it all, Bubba. I’ve heard everything from “Your music was played at my daughter’s funeral; she had an accidental overdose” to “Your song helped me get through rehab; I listened to ‘Save Me’ on repeat for 30 days straight.” Or “It was our morning song before we did our gratitude list.” Yeah, everything from funerals to hospitals to recovery centers. I’ve heard the good stories, too: “I got sober.” It’s crazy, the range of emotions.Is it ever hard for you to be the recipient of that? Nah, I feel honored that I have a purpose. I spent so much of my life being counterproductive to society that to be in a place where I’m able to help people has completely changed my mentality. More