My VERY revealing afternoon with Diddy in his luxury caravan in the Californian desert, writes GUY ADAMS as hip-hop mogul faces allegations of rape, abuse and sex trafficking

Love is thing that I unrecorded for,' declared the hip-hop mogul P Diddy erstwhile I plucked up the courageousness to inquire astir his unconventional ­private life.

'Love is thing that I need. But I ­haven't been capable to beryllium palmy astatine it.'

The temper wrong the luxury caravan wherever I was attempting to interrogation the 41-year-old begetter of six (by 3 antithetic women) was successful the process of becoming precise chilly indeed.

'Is that why,' I continued, 'you've ne'er decided to settee down and get married?'

Before gathering Diddy (real sanction Sean Combs), I'd been told 3 things. First: he'll get late. Second: determination volition beryllium an tremendous entourage. Third: contempt being a household name, Diddy hates – perfectly hates! – talking astir thing involving his home arrangements. All 3 turned retired to beryllium 100 per cent true.

'Look', Diddy replied, leaning guardant from a achromatic leather sofa. 'In a cleanable world, sure, things would person worked retired that way. I would person joined 1 of the women that I've had children with.

'But it didn't enactment retired that way. Right now, I don't person a tendency to get married, oregon a tendency not to get married. So far, it conscionable didn't hap for me. For immoderate ­people it does happen. For others it conscionable doesn't happen. It's thing I permission successful God's hands. OK?'

With that, the enactment of speech was politely, but firmly, closed down: an American PR handler said it was clip for maine to inquire a fewer questions astir 1 of his precocious launched enactment of fragrances.

The twelvemonth was 2011. I was moving successful Hollywood arsenic a analogous for a nationalist newspaper. Diddy ('call maine Sean') was midway done an ­extraordinary translation from streetwise rap creator to billionaire laminitis of planetary manner brands.

My assemblage with this titan of the amusement industry, which took spot connected the acceptable of a euphony video successful the Mojave Desert, respective hours thrust northbound of Los Angeles would past for astir 45 minutes.

But that tiny speech supra marked the closest I came to breaking down the ­impenetrable facade that P Diddy ­maintained passim our encounter.

Thirteen years on, I'm starting to recognize why. For Diddy's intimately protected backstage beingness is contiguous astatine the centre of a grotesque ungraded threatening to stone the US amusement manufacture to its core.

Today, the 54-year-old erstwhile rap creator is banged up astatine the Metropolitan Detention Centre successful Brooklyn, New York, facing a tidal question of transgression allegations, from rape and enactment trafficking to battle and adjacent kid abuse.

Police person raided his homes successful Florida and LA, searching for ­evidence to corroborate claims aired successful a drawstring of lawsuits that impeach the instrumentalist of utilizing his wealthiness and personage to screen up depraved intersexual behaviour implicit respective decades.

Combs's lawyer says the rapper 'emphatically and categorically denies arsenic mendacious and defamatory immoderate assertion that helium sexually abused ­anyone, including minors'.

Last week, a lawyer named Tony Buzbee, who is acting for 120 alleged victims, held an ­extraordinary property league successful which helium promised to record lawsuits successful aggregate states that volition sanction 'many almighty people' with 'many soiled secrets' related to their relationship with Diddy.

Dozens of women person claimed they were drugged and raped by Combs aft gathering him successful exclusive bars and nightclubs that helium frequented passim his euphony career. A antheral employee, euphony shaper Rodney Jones, has portrayed him arsenic an Epstein-like figure, saying helium was forced by Diddy to person enactment with prostitutes, portion the prima ­videoed the encounters.

Their grounds suggests that Diddy's cautiously cultivated ­public representation concealed immoderate precise acheronian secrets.

There was surely thing highly antithetic astir the antheral I met each those years ago. Despite being a high-rolling multi-­millionaire, with the benignant of ­lifestyle others imagination of, helium was strangely melancholy. As I noted then, helium ne'er erstwhile cracked a grin successful the clip I spent successful his company. But the oddball ­behaviour seemed to beryllium precise overmuch portion of a brand.

Our archetypal scheduled gathering was expected to instrumentality spot successful 1 of the Beverly Hills Hotel's celebrated 'bungalows,' wherever Old Hollywood stars specified arsenic Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe held court. But it was cancelled immoderate 3 hours aft our 10am rendezvous time, connected the grounds that Diddy had overslept aft a late-night party.

When we did yet drawback up, connected the aforementioned euphony set, I was made to bent around, watching Diddy being trailed by an entourage that included 2 idiosyncratic assistants, a idiosyncratic chef, a butler, a manservant employed wholly to clasp his toothpicks, and a stylist called Dave, who kindly lent maine 1 of the artist's cashmere cardigans to defender against the cold.

A terms tag, inactive attached, revealed that it had outgo $2,500. Diddy's caravan was fitted with achromatic leather sofas and fur rugs, and lit by dozens of costly smelling Diptyque candles that outgo upwards of £50 a pop.

The antheral himself was wearing diamonds, fur, acheronian glasses and a acceptable of wholly golden teeth. It was portion of an representation that allowed him to merchantability apparel (under the statement Sean John), fragrances ('Unforgivable' and 'I Am King'), and a fashionable marque of vodka (Ciroc).

'What I sell, to beryllium honest, I merchantability lifestyle. I merchantability entertainment. It each falls nether 1 umbrella, 1 mindset,' was however helium explained the concern to me.

His beingness communicative was, connected paper, extraordinary: the lad of a Harlem thoroughfare trader who'd been changeable dormant erstwhile helium was a toddler, Diddy archetypal achieved fame via the cause and crime-fuelled New York gangster rap country of the aboriginal 1990s. When I asked however he'd archetypal achieved success, helium enactment it down to an uncanny quality to place deed songs.

'From the property of 12, I would beryllium capable to perceive records connected the radio, and the archetypal clip I would perceive them, I would say, 'I similar that record.' Each time, it would spell connected to go a top-ten hit,' helium recalled. 'The archetypal clip I heard a record, if I liked it a lot, I conscionable knew it would beryllium a hit. So I felt similar I had an ear.'

In 1997, Diddy archetypal deed the mainstream quality pages via the execution of his champion person and originative spouse Christopher Wallace – known by the signifier sanction 'Biggie Smalls' – during a quality betwixt rival rap gangs.

The aftermath of the ­tragedy saw him merchandise a tribute to his precocious friend: I'll Be Missing You, sampling the Police opus Every Breath You Take. It deed No 1 successful 15 countries. That occurrence convinced Diddy that a ­considerable luck could beryllium made producing a marque of hip-hop that could beryllium sold to America's mediate classes.

By the clip we'd met, the one-time pack subordinate had go a afloat paid-up subordinate of the personage class, starring successful movies specified arsenic Get Me To The Greek (in which helium rubbed shoulders with different fallen star, Russell Brand), and world TV shows, including I Want To Work For Diddy, an Apprentice knock-off successful which helium tests would-be employees by making them implicit important tasks, specified arsenic sourcing him a portion of cheesecake, successful Manhattan, astatine 2am.

By 2010, Forbes enactment his yearly net astatine $30 cardinal (£19 million) and estimated his nett worthy astatine 10 times that amount. He was designated a billionaire successful 2022.

When we met, helium was happiest boasting astir his commercialized occurrence ('Look, I'm 1 of the top that ever did it,' was however helium described his career), and prickly erstwhile it came to astir everything else. 

Throughout this period, he'd kept his assorted ­children and ex-girlfriends successful a ­collection of luxury homes successful Florida, jetting successful from clip to clip to instrumentality them connected holidays successful superyachts. Yet the somewhat unorthodox statement is alleged to person concealed immoderate disfigured secrets.

They archetypal became nationalist past November, erstwhile ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura filed a ­lawsuit accusing him of rape, unit and enactment trafficking, saying helium was 'prone to uncontrollable rage', with claims including helium 'blew up a man's car aft helium learned that helium was romantically funny successful Ms Ventura'.

She accused him of plying her with drugs, beating her and forcing her to person enactment with a succession of antheral prostitutes portion helium filmed the encounters. Towards the extremity of their 13-year narration successful 2018, the suit said Diddy forced his mode into her location and raped her.

A time aft the ineligible ailment was filed, Diddy – who denied wrongdoing – nevertheless settled the case.

Yet the ensuing publicity had wrong days prompted 2 much women to record akin lawsuits claiming that he'd besides abused them respective years earlier. By March, 5 accusers had gone public, and the Department for Homeland Security had opened an investigation.

Then, successful May, CNN obtained a information video from a LA edifice showing Diddy, successful lone a towel and socks, kicking, punching and dragging a woman, identified arsenic Ventura, immoderate clip successful 2016.

'He's a flawed person, but he's not a criminal,' said his lawyers. But detectives disagreed: connected ­September 16, with the fig of complainants ticking up into the dozens, helium was yet arrested.

Diddy's aboriginal is present successful the hands of the US justness system. A bittersweet destiny for a antheral who, erstwhile we met, seemed preoccupied with his bequest arsenic role-model for aspirational achromatic Americans. 'To whom overmuch is given, overmuch is expected,' helium said, erstwhile I asked however helium wanted to beryllium remembered.

'I person to measurement up to that responsibility. To beryllium a shining illustration of a existent person, striving to beryllium the champion I tin be, the champion person, and father.'

That vessel has present good and genuinely sailed.