Selma Fonseca, who was invited by Diddy to infamous gatherings at his Florida mansion, opened up about the mogul’s “opulent” and “shocking” lifestyle, and why she believes his life is now in danger.
Photographer Selma Fonseca, right, with Sean ‘Diddy’ CombsCredit: Selma Fonseca
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Combs, right, at a party in a crownCredit: Selma Fonseca
Combs at one of his famous ‘White Parties’ in the HamptonsCredit: Selma Fonseca
The Brazilian-born celebrity photographer and socialite was given unprecedented access to Combs’ life in the 1990s and 2000s as he basked in the stardom of being the most famous producer in the world.
By her own estimation, Selma crashed close to 2,000 parties as she made her name as a photojournalist, later publishing two books, including Partying With Selma: Inside The Life of Rock Stars, which goes into her experience of partying with Combs.
Now, as Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in jail for sex trafficking, Selma has described the orgies of excess, including drink, drugs, and sex, which surrounded him.
Selma told The U.S. Sun about how she met Combs for the first time at his birthday party in November 1998.
The rapper and producer was flush from the success of his hit single I’ll Be Missing You with Faith Evans, paying tribute to the late hip-hop icon Biggie Smalls.
She posed for a picture with Combs and says that afterward, she “started seeing him everywhere.”
The following year, Selma crashed a house party thrown by Combs at his mansion in the Hamptons.
It was Labor Day, and everyone was dressed in white, as would become customary for Combs’ White Parties that attracted legions of A-listers.
Combs was strict on the dress code, Selma said, personally turning people away if they weren’t “wearing white from head to toe.”
After the “nerve-wracking” experience of getting past security using somebody else’s name, the photographer managed to speak to Combs in person.
“He’s very nice but he’s not very open,” she said. “That’s why he’s wearing glasses all the time.”
While Selma never had a problem with Combs in person, he guarded his privacy closely.
She recounted another experience at a nightclub where she took a photograph of him with a woman, and Combs “had his bodyguard take my camera” and ordered to see the pictures of him before returning it.
Among the disturbing allegations facing Combs are accusations he threw wild “freak off” sex parties at his home in Star Island near Miami Beach, Florida, where women were induced into days-long orgies.
Some women reportedly had to be strapped up to IV drips following the sex sessions to recover, according to prosecutors.
Selma said she first went to Combs’ Star Island home for a party in March 2008.
“He was having a party at a nightclub in Miami for a new brand,” she said.
“He always loved to go on the DJ booth and start talking. Afterward, he came up to me and said: ‘I’m having a party on Star Island in my house.'”
Star Island, a private, artificial neighborhood just a couple of hundred yards off South Beach, is connected to the outside world by just a single causeway.
Selma said the island “has maybe 20 houses there. Once you go over the bridge, there’s a security guard there, and you have to give your name. It’s like a fortress.”
“It’s very hard to get onto the island unless you know someone who lives there. I gave my name and said I was coming to Diddy’s party,” she said.
“The house is breathtaking. He likes it very modern with a lot of windows. All white. There was a beautiful pool.
“At his parties, there are always beautiful girls in bikinis, naked girls swimming in the pool. It was normal.”
Selma said she had a disturbing experience at that first Star Island party where she believes she was drugged.
“I don’t remember how I got home I was so high,” she said. “There was always something in the drinks.”
The Star Island party had “no more than 50 guests,” Selma said.
“It was very exclusive. There were lots of beautiful girls. He always had some buddies with him. Not necessarily famous people, but people who used to work with him. His entourage.
“They would go inside the house, and then come out to where the party was. A lot of people were inside and I would always wonder why.”
Drugs were something Selma said she saw Diddy use on multiple occasions, handing them out to certain guests.
“He always had a tray of shots he would give to people,” she said. “I think those shots had drugs in them. I had one of those shots and I got pretty happy.”
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Scantily-clad women at a party for Combs’ ‘Vote or Die’ campaign groupCredit: Selma Fonseca
Combs with celebs including Jay Z, Chris Rock, and UsherCredit: Selma Fonseca
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Women in bikinis at one of Combs’ ‘White Parties’Credit: Selma Fonseca
Combs and Victoria BeckhamCredit: Selma Fonseca
She went on: “He always had a bodyguard with a bottle of champagne in his hand. I heard that supposedly, the champagne had drugs in it.
“Maybe now, thinking back, that particular bottle was for him and his guests that he wants to get high with.”
Selma added that she believes the champagne had the party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, in it.
She restated that she never saw Combs personally engage in any of the sexual behavior he is accused of doing so, but admitted that “his parties were very sexual… Even the food was sexual. Very opulent. The best of the best. I think that brings people to a point that they feel important and sexy.”
Selma went on: “This is a guy who spends at least $500,000 on a party. He likes sexy stuff. Look at the women he dates. I think he loves sex. And he likes sexy things. Sexy women, sexy parties, beautiful stuff.”
But she acknowledged that there was a change in his behavior between when she first met him and when she last went to one of his parties, marking his 40th birthday in 2009.
“He got a little cocky when he had a lot of money,” she said. “Maybe he thinks he’s better than God. Like nobody can touch him.
“When people get a lot of money and get so famous, they feel invincible.”
And she claimed that he had treated his on-off ex-girlfriend, Kim Porter, “like s**t,” adding: “Every time he cheated on her, he bought her something, like a house, a Bentley, a ring, or jewelry.
“He just got away with too many things.”
Selma expressed her shock at seeing the tape of Combs beating up his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura when it was released in May this year.
“That was very violent,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that he did all these sex things. He was never inappropriate with me, but maybe he is a freak in the bedroom.”
She went on: “It’s sad that he beat up Cassie and got violent because that shows another side of him.”
Now, she believes that Combs could well die in prison, or if he’s released at the hands of one of his many enemies.
“Somebody could kill him. He has a lot of enemies.”
Jail officials at the New York City detention center where Combs is being held have placed him on suicide watch.
Selma was speaking before news emerged that Combs is facing another lawsuit from a woman who alleges he sexually assaulted her.
Thalia Graves alleges she was raped by Combs and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, at a recording studio in New York in 2001.
She also claims the pair filmed the assault and later shared it with other men in an attempt to humiliate and degrade her.
More than a dozen people to date have filed lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault, including one woman who alleges she was just 17 when Combs and two associates gang-raped her.
Combs was arrested last week at a Manhattan hotel and charged with prostitution, racketeering, and sex trafficking.
He has denied all the allegations against him and remains in jail after being twice denied bail.
