Sean "Diddy" Combs Ex-Chef Breaks Silence After Verdict

With Sean "Diddy" Combs in jail after being convicted in a deadly 1999 shooting, a voice from his past is speaking out more loudly and more nervously than that of his former personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson. And in response to his acquittal on those charges as well as other sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Atkinson has made her own declaration on social media and in the courtroom, and, in doing so, she, but not everyone, no longer feels safe.

Atkinson, who once had a close working relationship with the music mogul, alleged that Combs sexually assaulted her back in 2008, an alleged incident she first detailed in the Investigation Discovery documentary "Fall of Diddy," which premiered earlier this year. In that case, she claimed an argument at his New Jersey mansion became physical when Combs pushed her to the ground.

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He was listed as a potential witness at his most recent trial but was not called to testify. But that hasn't prevented her from speaking out. After the jury's verdict, which found Combs innocent of the sex trafficking and racketeering charges, she wrote a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian asking that bail be denied. In it, she detailed the emotional toll the legal process has had on her, saying, "I'd like to express how terrifying this whole ordeal has been for me personally."

She also repeated her 2008 assault allegation and expressed her fear to the public in her own words, adding in an Instagram post that she stands by her testimony and is scared by what it's wrought. "This past year and a half has been traumatizing. This verdict is devastating," she wrote. Although acquitted, Combs is in prison on unrelated counts, after being convicted of two counts of transporting to engage in prostitution. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years, and he is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn pending his sentencing.

Atkinson speaking out underscores the ongoing emotional and psychological ripple effect for those caught up in high-profile celebrity cases. Her request is more than a legal one; it's a personal plea for safety in a moment that's hard to define, where visibility and openness intersect. As the case unfolds, her words act as a haunting reminder: for some, even as courtrooms are shut and verdicts delivered, the trauma lingers.