Sean “Diddy” Combs’ famous White Parties in the Hamptons are remembered for their wild, adult-themed antics. However, for one guest, the experience came much earlier than most. Justin Litovsky, now 30, recalls attending the 1999 bash as a six-year-old, unaware that he was walking into one of the summer’s most talked-about parties.

Mr Litovsky’s parents, David Allen, a photographer, and Maya Litovsky, unknowingly took him to what was billed as a July 3 “afternoon barbecue” hosted by Diddy. However, what they found upon arrival was anything but kid-friendly. The event was packed with bottles of alcohol, scantily clad guests and an atmosphere far removed from what any child might expect at a barbecue.

“I actually wanted to get in,” Mr Litovsky recalled about the pool at the party. “Anytime we went anywhere with a pool, I wanted to swim.” Maya Litovsky told the NY Post that she did not give her son the opportunity to get in there. “There were bottles everywhere and naked women,” she said.

Ms Maya, now an influencer, reflected, “I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate or normal. I wondered how kids were allowed into the party to begin with.”

Justin Litovsky admitted he wasn’t sure at the time if “t**s were a good thing or a bad thing.”

The guest list included high-profile figures like Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, designer Donna Karan, and model Tyson Beckford.

Though Diddy’s parties would later come with a kid curfew, in 1999, Justin Litovsky was the only child at the event. “I don’t remember seeing one other child,” he said. “I’m normally the type to want to go play [with other kids].” Despite the unusual circumstances, Mr Litovsky’s father managed to capture a picture of his son and Diddy. “I don’t look like I have a normal smile in the pic,” he noted.

As the party carried on into the night, Mr Litovsky and his family decided to leave before things could escalate. “We didn’t see people having sex, but we left at 9:30 pm,” Ms Maya explained. “The party continued, and nobody was getting out of the pool. So, who knows what happened.”

Diddy was arrested by federal authorities last month. The rapper is facing allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by over 100 people, with lawsuits expected to be filed across multiple states. The accusers will include victims of sexual assault, rape and abuse of minors, attorneys announced. Spanning decades, these allegations include accusations of drugging and raping women, racketeering and sex trafficking and involvement in criminal activities. Now Diddy is awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and has pleaded not guilty.

The US government has launched a high-profile sex trafficking and racketeering case against music mogul Sean Combs, aka Diddy, accusing him of orchestrating coercive and abusive sexual encounters at luxury hotels. The indictment, which includes accusations of arson, bribery, kidnapping and obstruction of justice, centres on what prosecutors refer to as “freak-offs” – “elaborate and produced sex performances,” involving drugs, prostitutes, and recordings – according to a report in the New York Times. Combs’ legal team, however, insists these encounters were consensual.

According to the 14-page federal criminal indictment, these “freak-offs” were organised by Combs and his associates in hotel suites filled with baby oil, drugs and video equipment. Prosecutors allege that participants were coerced, with some requiring intravenous fluids to recover from the multi-day ordeals. The government claims Combs filmed the sessions and used the footage to blackmail participants into silence.

“Freak-off activity is the core of this case, and freak-offs are inherently dangerous,” said Emily A Johnson, one of the prosecutors. This depiction is echoed in the civil lawsuit filed by singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, against Combs last year. Cassie claimed that Combs directed frequent freak-offs, where she was coerced into performing sexual acts, which he filmed.

Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a vastly different narrative presented by his defence team. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, argued the events were consensual, part of an unconventional but voluntary relationship between Combs and Ventura. Agnifilo pointed out that several men involved denied being coerced or viewing themselves as sex workers.

The racketeering charges stem from allegations that Combs coordinated these events through a network of enablers who managed logistics such as securing prostitutes, booking hotel rooms, and cleaning up after the sessions. Prosecutors argue that violence often accompanied these encounters, a claim the defence denies.

In addition to Ventura’s lawsuit, Combs faces a series of other civil suits from women who accuse him of drug-fuelled sexual abuse. One complainant, Adria English, alleged that Combs demanded she has sex with guests at his famous “white parties.” 

Combs’s lawyers have dismissed the lawsuits as opportunistic.

Combs, who remains in federal custody after being denied bail, is accused of attempting to cover up evidence of the abuse. Prosecutors claim he offered hotel staff bribes and attempted to destroy surveillance footage after an alleged assault on Ventura in 2016.The investigation is underway, and Combs’s legal battle is far from over. 

The allegations against Combs go back to the 1990s when he founded Bad Boy Records, his label, according to Forbes. In 2022, he was in the 14the spot among Forbes’ list of the highest-paid entertainers after he made an estimated $90 million that year.