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By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Before the jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial returned from a lunch break on Thursday, the gray-bearded hip-hop mogul turned to face courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg in the first row to make an unusual request.
“Soften me up a bit, you’re making me look like a koala bear,” Combs said, according to Rosenberg.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five criminal counts of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. During the four weeks of his trial, he has worn sweaters and sported graying hair and a goatee.
Rosenberg, a well-known sketch artist, has been documenting the proceedings for Reuters in Manhattan federal court, where photography and video recording are prohibited.
Combs, also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is not the first high-profile defendant to remark on Rosenberg’s depictions of them.
Earlier this year, Rudy Giuliani told Rosenberg she had made him look like his dog. The former New York City mayor was in court in a civil case stemming from his false accusations that two election workers helped steal the 2020 U.S. presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden.
And in 2023, Donald Trump Jr. had a blunt request for Rosenberg during a civil fraud trial over his family’s real estate business: “Make me look sexy.”
Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts in the trial. He has nonetheless demonstrated good spirits during some breaks in the trial, often making a heart gesture with his hands toward family seated in the front row.
But his behavior in court drew a rebuke on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian. The judge said he had noticed Combs nodding in the jury’s direction during his lawyer’s cross-examination of a witness.
Subramanian said that was “unacceptable” and threatened to kick Combs out of the courtroom if he sought to interact with the jury again.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Stephen Coates)
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