From ‘Love contracts’ to ‘movie nights’: The twisted terms of the Diddy trial

As the jury hears from witnesses in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial, they’ve also encountered an array of terms not usually found in a courtroom.

Initially, jurors learned all about his so-called “freak offs” when his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura took the stand in May, code for drug-fueled multi-day sex sessions often involving male sex workers.

Now, another ex-girlfriend, who dated the rapper from 2021 through 2024 and testified under the pseudonym Jane Doe, has introduced a series of new phrases into the trial lingo, like “movie nights” and “love contract.”

The music mogul faces five federal counts of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors have accused him of threatening, abusing and coercing victims “to fulfill his sexual desires” from 2004 to 2024. He’s pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.

Here are some helpful terms to know when following Diddy’s trial:

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Rather than just being the standard shorthand for the capital of Georgia, this is used to describe a certain person. In text messages between Doe and Diddy between 2021 and 2024, the pair have been referring to someone nicknamed “Atlanta” or “ATL,” which stood for Cabral, the name of an escort based in Atlanta, Georgia. They also referred to him as “Sly” or “Chef.”

“I didn’t like being surprised with whoever, any new stranger... I had the idea I would choose that person,” Doe said, explaining that she reached out to the man they dubbed ATL on Instagram after she and Diddy watched porn that he’d starred in.

Drug-fueled, days-long sex sessions in which Diddy and his partner invited a male escort to join. These often occurred in hotel rooms or sometimes private residences and entailed red lights, music, alcohol, drugs, as well as bed sheets and towels covering the furniture “for excessive use of baby oil everywhere," Doe told the court.

Despite the name, they often spanned more than just one night; they could last anywhere from 12 hours to three-and-a-half days, according to Doe. Doe and Diddy had “hotel nights” in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Turks and Caicos, she testified. These nights were also known as “Freak Offs,” “Debauchery,” and “Wild King Nights.”

Introduced during Doe’s cross-examination Tuesday in a discussion about how the former couple used drugs together, she explained the phrase as meaning: “When Sean lets loose and wants to party hard.”

Diddy often posted messages on social media in celebration of “F*** It Fridays.”

On March 31, 2023, he posted on X: “F*** IT FRIDAY IS ALL ABOUT YOU protecting your mind, your spirit, and your energy! Letting all of the stress and negativity go! So happy F*** IT FRIDAY!!! Said with love, from LOVE.”

This is truly just baby oil, no second meaning here, although it’s a term that comes up a lot during the trial and no babies are involved. Diddy and Doe typically used two dozen bottles of baby oil per “hotel night,” she testified. Ventura previously testified she and the rapper would use 10 bottles of baby oil per “freak off.”

Internal hotel records seem to support these claims. Diddy’s guest profile at the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel had several internal notes attached, including one that warned he “always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil, place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”

Federal agents allegedly seized “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” during the raids of Diddy’s Los Angeles and Miami homes, the indictment says.

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Doe has been using this term to refer to male escorts who she slept with while Diddy watched during sex marathons. The entertainers would be paid — typically thousands of dollars in cash — by the rapper after the sessions. A man known as “The Punisher” testified that he was paid either $1,200 or $2,000 in cash each time he saw Diddy and Ventura.

Paul, Don, Cabral, and Anton are a few names of “entertainers” that Doe has frequently mentioned.

In spring 2023, the mogul and Doe had a “love contract,” a verbal agreement in which the couple decided to take a two-year break from “hotel nights.” When forming the agreement, Doe initially asked for $15,000 a month but Diddy said he would pay her $10,000 a month — all of which she used for her rent on a new home. Since April 2023, the rapper has continued to pay her rent, she testified.

Doe said that she felt “obligated” to perform in “hotel nights” out of “fear of losing the roof over my head,” she told the court.

This was an alias that Diddy used to check into hotels, including when hosting a “freak off.” Frank Black is an homage to Biggie Smalls, who used the nickname Frank White, the rapper’s former assistant testified last month.

Diddy also used the aliases Ryan Lopez and Jackie Star, hotel records revealed.

These “movie nights” are a far cry from popcorn and a classic movie. According to Doe, during these nights, she and Diddy would watch porn or tapes of their previous sex sessions and discuss fantasies. Doe bought the rapper a “mobile TV” for his birthday one year for this purpose.

She figured “this television could suffice as an entertainer” during “movie nights,” Doe told the court.

In October 2023, Doe expressed concern over Diddy’s drug use. He agreed to be sober for 30 days — but first requested a so-called “sobriety party.” This entailed a “hotel night” at the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel. Doe, who was sober, slept with two escorts before getting sick and running to the bathroom. The rapper told her she’d feel better now and encouraged her to sleep with a third man. “I was disgusted. I was repulsed,” she testified.

The Diddy trial is expected to last until early July.