Diddy seen in prison yard as footage from Fort Dix circulates online

NEW YORK: New video has surfaced online showing Sean Combs, widely known as Diddy, in the prison yard at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, where he is serving a 50-month federal sentence.

The footage, described in reports as one of the few public sightings of the music executive since he began his prison term, shows him walking in the facility’s outdoor recreation area during his allotted yard time. Inmates at the federal prison are generally allowed about two hours outside each day when weather conditions permit.

Combs is serving the sentence after his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. His release is scheduled for February 23, 2028. Date had earlier been brought forward from April 2028 after credit for good behaviour was taken into account.

Details reported about his time in custody indicate he has kept to a routine at the prison. Along with yard time, he has reportedly been assigned duties in the prison chapel and is able to listen to approved music on an inmate tablet system during designated hours.

The latest footage has emerged amid continuing public interest in Combs’ life in prison and discussion about whether he could receive a presidential pardon. However, no official move on executive clemency has been announced, and there has been no indication that his sentence will change outside the normal federal release process.

Fort Dix had been Combs’ preferred facility at the time of sentencing and that the court approved that request. The video offers a fresh glimpse of the Bad Boy Records founder as he continues serving his sentence at the federal correctional institution.

Combs has been one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in music. He topped Forbes’ annual hip-hop rich list in 2014 and 2017. His career honours include three Grammy Awards, three BET Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. Beyond music, he worked as a producer on the reality television series Making the Band and appeared in the films Made, Monster’s Ball and Get Him to the Greek.

He also founded the clothing brand Sean John in 1998 and received the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Menswear Designer of the Year award in 2004 after previously being nominated in 2000. From 2007 to 2023, he served as a brand ambassador for Cîroc, and in 2013 he co-founded the digital television network Revolt. In 2008, he became the first male rapper to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.