A Timeline of the Rise and Fall of Sean 'Diddy' Combs 

Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
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A Timeline of the Rise and Fall of Sean 'Diddy' Combs 

Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)
Rapper P. Diddy arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California, US, March 4, 2018. (Reuters)

For more than two decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs was one of hip-hop's most opportunistic entrepreneurs, spinning his hitmaking talents into a broad business empire that included a record label, a fashion brand, a TV network, deals with companies and a key role in a reality TV show.

But US prosecutors say behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with assistance from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence.

Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Opening statements in his trial are expected Monday.

Here is a timeline of major events in his rise and fall:

1990: Combs, then a student at Howard University, gets his start in the music business with an internship at Uptown Records in New York.

Dec. 28, 1991: Nine people die at a celebrity basketball game promoted by Combs and the rapper Heavy D when thousands of fans try to get into a gym at the City College of New York. A mayoral report lays part of the blame for the catastrophe on poor planning by Combs.

1992: Combs is one of the executive producers on “What's the 411?”, the debut album by Mary J. Blige.

1993: After being fired by Uptown, Combs establishes his own label, Bad Boy, which quickly cuts a lucrative deal with Arista Records.

1994: Bad Boy releases Notorious B.I.G.'s album “Ready to Die.” Two months later, Tupac Shakur survives a shooting in New York and accuses Combs and Biggie of having prior knowledge of the attack, which they deny. Shakur was later killed in a 1996 shooting in Las Vegas.

1996: Combs is convicted of criminal mischief after he allegedly threatened a photographer with a gun.

1997: Biggie is killed in Los Angeles. Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, releases “I'll be Missing You” in honor of his slain star.

1998: Combs wins two Grammys, one for best rap album for his debut “No Way Out” and another for best rap performance by a duo or group for “I'll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans. Also that year, Combs' Sean John fashion line is founded.

April 16, 1999: Combs and his bodyguards are charged with attacking Interscope Records music executive Steve Stoute in his New York office in a dispute over a music video. Combs is sentenced to an anger management course.

Dec. 27, 1999: Combs is arrested on gun possession charges after he and his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a shooting that wounded three people at a New York City nightclub. Some witnesses tell police Combs was among the people shooting in the club. He is later charged with offering his driver $50,000 to claim ownership of the 9 mm handgun found in his car.

March 17, 2001: Combs is acquitted of all charges related to the nightclub shooting. One of his rap proteges, Jamal “Shyne” Barrows, is convicted in the shooting and serves nearly nine years in prison. Two weeks after the trial, Combs announces he wants to be known as P. Diddy.

2002: Combs becomes the producer and star of “Making the Band,” a talent search TV show.

Feb. 1, 2004: Combs performs at the Super Bowl halftime show along with Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and others. A week later, Combs, Nelly and Murphy Lee win a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group for “Shake Ya Tailfeather.”

April 2004: Combs makes his Broadway acting debut in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

2005: Combs announces he is changing his stage name to Diddy, getting rid of the P.

March 2008: Combs settles a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Combs punched him after a post-Oscar party outside a Hollywood hotel the previous year. In May, Combs is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2015: Combs is arrested after a confrontation on the campus of UCLA, where one of his sons played football. Assault charges are later dropped.

2016: Combs launches a Harlem charter school, the Capital Preparatory School. Also that year, he announces he is donating $1 million to Howard University.

2017: Combs is named the top earner on Forbes' list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, which says he brought in $130 million in a single year.

2018: Kim Porter, Combs' former girlfriend and the mother of three of his children, dies from pneumonia at age 47.

2022: Combs receives a lifetime honor at the BET Awards.

Sept. 15, 2023: Combs releases “The Love Album — Off the Grid,” his first solo studio project since 2006's chart-topping “Press Play.”

Nov. 16, 2023: R&B singer Cassie sues Combs, alleging he subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. A day later, the lawsuit is settled under undisclosed terms. Combs, through his attorney, denies the accusations.

Nov. 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits. Combs' attorneys call the allegations false. Dozens of additional lawsuits follow by women and men who accuse Combs of rape, sexual assault and other attacks. Plaintiffs include singer Dawn Richard, a “Making the Band” contestant who alleged years of psychological and physical abuse. Combs denies all the allegations.

March 25, 2024: Federal agents search Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida.

May 17, 2024: CNN airs video that shows Combs attacking and beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016. Two days later, Combs posts videos on social media apologizing for the assault.

Sept. 16, 2024: Combs is arrested at his Manhattan hotel. A sex trafficking and racketeering indictment unsealed the next day accuses him of using his business empire to coerce women into participating in sexual performances. Combs denies the allegations. His attorney calls it an unjust prosecution of an “imperfect person.”

May 5, 2025: Jury selection began for Combs' trial.



Michelle Yeoh Brings Chinese Blockbuster ‘Ne Zha 2’ to Life in English Dub

Michelle Yeoh appears at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, on Feb. 19, 2023. (AP)
Michelle Yeoh appears at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, on Feb. 19, 2023. (AP)
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Michelle Yeoh Brings Chinese Blockbuster ‘Ne Zha 2’ to Life in English Dub

Michelle Yeoh appears at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, on Feb. 19, 2023. (AP)
Michelle Yeoh appears at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, on Feb. 19, 2023. (AP)

When Michelle Yeoh first saw “Ne Zha 2” in Hong Kong, she walked away dreaming about a dubbed version.

The Chinese blockbuster, which this year became the highest-grossing animated film of all time with over $2.2 billion in ticket sales, had seemed to her like an ideal movie for a global, all-ages audience. But even she, who had the benefit of knowing Mandarin, was having trouble keeping up with the subtitles and all the spectacular things happening on screen. How would a kid stand a chance?

The Oscar winner, who is fluent in English, Malay and Cantonese, wasn’t alone in thinking a dub was a good idea. The film studio A24 was already making plans to broaden the audience with an English-language version in collaboration with CMC Pictures. Not too long after, Yeoh got a call asking if she wanted to voice Ne Zha’s mother, Lady Yin. Her response?

“Hell yes,” she told The Associated Press in a recent interview. The English-language dub opens in over 2,500 North American theaters on Aug. 22.

The film tells the story of a rebellious little child, Ne Zha, born as the reincarnation of a demon to mortal parents, who is out to prove his fate is not predetermined. In the first film, he sacrifices himself. In the second, he’s put to the test to try to save his friend and his village. Don't worry if you haven't seen the first either — the sequel tells the audience everything they need to know.

And while this character might be new to American audiences, the mythology is well known in China. Yeoh grew up watching various TV and movie versions, but had never seen it done so vividly.

The making of “Ne Zha 2” took five years and required the work of some 4,000 people from 138 Chinese animation companies. The finished film, which runs an epic 143 minutes, includes 2,400 animation shots and 1,900 special effects shots.

“I think the director and his amazing team, they pushed all the boundaries,” Yeoh said. “They created this magical world that I hadn’t seen to this level of superb animation before. The intricacies are mind-blowing.”

Yeoh also put her stamp of approval on the translation, which she admits is a tricky art.

“With translation, a lot of the times the nuances are lost, right? Because also you have to sync and find the right number of words to say the same thing. And with the Chinese language, especially with the folklores and things like that, the way they say it is very poetic as well. So it is not easy,” she said. “I think they struck a very good balance of not making it too classical, but also more contemporary.”

North American audiences already showed interest in “Ne Zha 2" earlier this year, when the subtitled version earned over $20 million. Some Chinese communities in the US even rented theaters to screen the film. Now, Yeoh believes that the English version will help it resonate globally.

“It’s such a universal language of family, of love, of the underdog, of someone who’s ostracized, misunderstood just because you’re born different,” Yeoh said. “It immerses you into our culture. And it’s such a beautiful way to cross that bridge.”