


After attending the first day of Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ racketeering and sex trafficking trial in New York City, Sunny Hostin shared her perspective on the case as a former federal prosecutor on The View.
“He’s accused of a lot of sex-related crimes and I was a former sex crimes, human trafficking federal prosecutor so this is what I did for a living,” she explained at the top of the show Tuesday (May 13.) “And I will tell you that it is probably the most disturbing case I’ve heard in my career.”
Diddy is facing charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty but could be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted.
Hostin recounted the day in court, saying she listened to the opening statements and got a glimpse of Diddy himself, who did not look like the man “we used to see.”
“He looks very much like a defeated mogul,” she said. Hostin pointed out that his hair was “all gray” because he didn’t have access to hair dye while being held in federal detention. She added, “He dressed like Mr. Rogers. He’s got sort of like a gray sweater, he’s walking feebly. That could be a defense tactic.”
The View host added that she plans to return to the court room after the broadcast is over to watch singer Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, testify in court.

Sara Haines pointed out that she hoped the public would be “past the victim shaming” by this point, adding, “Anyone knows when there’s a victim involved, there’s abuse. There’s a psychology to that.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin added that Diddy is backed by “one of the most high powered defense teams,” but hoped Ventura’s testimony could sway the jury.
“What I think the prosecution is going to be able to do today with Cassie Ventura’s testimony is have her speak to how those acts were not consensual and, on the trafficking side of things, that she was denied her personal freedom,” Griffin said.
Later on in the conversation, Hostin hesitantly admitted that racketeering cases can be “really hard to prove.”
“The government has to prove Sean Combs had this Bad Boy Records, and the liquor and all the branding, and he used that as a criminal enterprise to traffic women and commit sexual abuse,” she explained. “And it’s a stretch, it’s a really hard case to prove. But it’s an eight-week trial so maybe they will be able to do that.”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.