What the Diddy verdict could mean for the rap mogul — and the entertainment industry at large

After a landmark case spanning weeks of witness testimony and arguments, rap mogul and entrepreneur Sean (Diddy) Combs got his verdict.

After returning Wednesday morning, the jury announced their findings: Combs was guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy.

Those charges largely stemmed from his now-infamous "freak-offs": sex parties, often drug-fuelled, that prosecutors alleged some were forced to participate in against their will. Also connected were Combs's relationships with two women — R&B singer Casandra (Cassie) Ventura, and an unnamed woman referred to as "Jane."

Both of Combs's convictions were for offences against them. But looking to both expert opinion and reaction among fellow entertainers, it would hardly seem to be a doomsday scenario for Combs.

"Diddy beat the RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]," wrote rapper 50 Cent, who has been involved in a decades-long feud with Combs. "That boy a bad man!"

"Oh, this makes me physically ill. Cassie probably feels so horrible," singer Aubrey O'Day, formerly of the girl group Danity Kane, wrote on her Instagram story. "I'm gonna vomit."

"I guess a jury just never wants to believe that a woman stays because of power and coercion," wrote actor Rosie O'Donnell on Instagram. "Wow."

That sentiment was reflected in the courtroom. Combs pumped his fist as the verdict was read out, and celebrated with his family once the session was adjourned.

"I don't think there's any way ... even if he ends up doing jail time, of saying this was not a win for him. Because it could have been so much worse," Variety's music executive editor Jem Aswad told CBC News Network.

In a legal sense, that comes from what some called an unexpected verdict for Combs.

Catherine Christian, an American defence attorney and former prosecutor, said the case came down to questions around consent. 

In an interview before the verdict, she said the trial was largely influenced by 2016 video footage of Combs assaulting Cassie in a hotel hallway as she ran from him; Combs addressed and apologized for the incident, for which the statute of limitations had expired, so it could not be prosecuted.

However, Christian said, prosecutors framed the video as tangential evidence of criminal conspiracy and trafficking. "They're saying that her running was trying to free herself from one of those freak-offs," she said. 

Further, she said, the conspiracy charge alleged that he used his powerful connections and resources to host and protect those parties "by committing crimes, including sex trafficking and bribery and kidnapping and arson."