A former escort is speaking out about his experiences with Diddy as the Bad Boy Records founder continues to face trial for federal sex trafficking and racketeering.
In a recent interview with TMZ, ex-escort Shawn Dearing, a self-described “small-town guy,” first explained that he wasn’t initially seeking any attention or other involvement in connection with Diddy’s case.
But when he realized his photo had made it to 50 Cent’s Instagram, where frequent Diddy-focused trollings have generated no shortage of salacious headlines, Dearing found himself in a position of fielding multiple requests for comment.
“I respect the individuals first and foremost,” Dearing told TMZ of his time as an escort. “I seek no attention from the stories that we shared. So when the photo came out, I was kind of shocked. My brother hits me up like, ‘Dude, 50 is posting about you.’ I’m just a small-town guy. I don’t go out seeking attention and such.”
Going into more detail about his hired sessions with Diddy and Cassie, Dearing said the latter was “one of the most cordial, respectful people.” At the time, Dearing said, he looked up to Diddy and Cassie both.
“She just showed me the utmost respect from day one,” he recalled, pointing to a specific moment in which she told him there was “just something about you” and “an energy.” This moment had a profound impact on him, Dearing added.
While Dearing told TMZ he “didn’t see any physical beating or anything of that nature,” he did note that it seemed as though Cassie was “controlled” by “respect.” He described the limitations of Cassie’s involvement with other participants in alleged “freak-off” sessions.
“It was a moment of ‘we can’t do anything without [Diddy] here,’” he said. “It was a freeze-up. It was one where I could see she’s a human. She wanted to speak. … I could see she understood her role, I guess, in a sense. As did I.”
Dearing also likened a brief and “very subtle” exchange he once had with Diddy to “mob movies.”
Diddy has denied the allegations against him in his federal case. Complex’s Shawn Setaro has been in attendance for the trial, providing regular updates on key testimony highlights, including from Cassie’s own time on the stand.
Kid Cudi, who was briefly romantically involved with Cassie and was allegedly harassed by Diddy as a result, also took the stand, at one point drawing laughs in the courtroom after saying that Diddy looked like “a Marvel supervillain” during a meeting.
If convicted as charged, Diddy is facing a maximum sentence of life behind bars on the racketeering charge alone. Current speculation, however, places a potential sentence in the range of 10 to 20 years.
