The Combs family exhaled this week as rap impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs walked out of a Manhattan courthouse unscathed and faced pure horrendousness that, in another scenario, could have had him locked up for life. Although the courtroom saga still has some time to drag on, Diddy's sons, Christian and Justin Combs, were quick to give thanks, Love, and perhaps even a little party mentality after the partial victory.
The 55-year-old hip-hop icon was acquitted of the most serious charges, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and racketeering conspiracy, and faced a potential life sentence. Instead, a federal jury delivered a mixed verdict, convicting him on two lesser but still serious counts of transporting people for prostitution. Those charges could send him to prison for up to 10 years, but for now, the Combs family is striving to celebrate what went right.
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"First thing I'm going to do is hug my Pops!" the visibly relieved Christian Combs, 27, said after the verdict. "We were hopeful, but you never know."
His older brother, Justin Combs, 31, also expressed that bittersweet optimism. "We're so happy," he said, standing just outside the court building with his loved ones by his side.
The family was visibly emotional when the jury's decision was read: relieved, tearful, and clinging to hope. Diddy's daughter, Chance, 18, and his adopted son, Quincy Brown, 33, stood watching in respectful silence, experiencing the kind of intense focus that courtrooms often demand.
Despite the snag, however, Judge Gordon denied Diddy's $1 million bail offer, and the rapper remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The family nonetheless indicated that tentative Fourth of July plans had been made to come together if not in body, then in spirit.
The Combs team is close and fiercely loyal, as was on display throughout the trial. As Diddy awaits sentencing Oct. 3, the road ahead remains plenty murky. But this moment, this exhale of relief, was not one the family was about to let slip by without holding.
Also waiting in the wings are Diddy's 18-year-old twins, D'Lila and Jessie, and his youngest, 2-year-old Love, almost certainly too young to understand the weight of the legal battle but not immune to its ripples.
Even as the media and public engage in endless speculation about what's to come from the case, Diddy's kids are standing firm, holding onto hope, and wrapping their arms around the man they still affectionately call "Pops." And, if all goes as planned, fireworks won't be the only thing illuminating the sky this 4th of July.
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