THE sketch artist who drew Sean “Diddy” Combs revealed the bizarre critique he had about her drawings.
Jane Rosenberg, who has been sketching courtroom cases for decades, gave an inside look at the eight-week-long trial of music producer Diddy.
Courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg has been sketching for 45 years[/caption]
Rosenberg drew Sean “Diddy” Combs during his trial[/caption]
She also drew Donald Trump during his trial[/caption]
Combs was on trial for sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting prostitutes to take part in his drug-fueled “freak-off” sex parties.
On July 2, he was acquitted of the more serious trafficking and racketeering charges but convicted of the two prostitution charges.
During the lengthy trial, cameras were not allowed inside the New York courtroom, leaving the public to rely on Rosenberg’s sketches to see what was going on behind the scenes.
Rosenberg spent the past 45 years drawing sketches for major cases, ranging from those involving Martha Stewart to John Gotti.
The artist said that during the Diddy trial last month, the defendant turned to the artist and mouthed something incoherent, Rosenberg told People.
When she asked him to repeat it, she said she got the message right away.
Rosenberg told the outlet that Diddy had asked her to make him look “softer.”
“And he said, ‘You made me look like a koala bear,’” she recalled.
The artist said she ran into Diddy’s family later that day, who got a kick out of what he had to say.
“In the elevator, they were saying, ‘Thank you for being such an unbiased artist,’” Rosenberg said.
“And I told them, ‘Today, Diddy said I made him look like a koala bear.’
“And they all started chuckling.”
Rosenberg said that the music producer was hard to draw at first, and took some time to understand.
“He was not a simple likeness to do,” she said, adding that she had to learn to draw his jaw.
Diddy’s charges explained by a lawyer
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained the set of charges Diddy is facing to The U.S. Sun:
“Diddy is facing three charges, or three sets of charges.
“The first is racketeering, which you typically see with organized crime enterprises – so the mob, cartels, street gangs -but we’re seeing it a lot more in sex trafficking cases.
“And you don’t need an organization like the mob, as long as it’s an enterprise, which is something that consists of two or more people, and they engage in two or more RICO predicate acts, that’s enough for racketeering.
“Racketeering is a powerful charge because it allows the government to bring in all sorts of evidence of criminal activity, as well as all sorts of people, into that racketeering conspiracy.
“And anyone who’s a co-conspirator, they’re on the hook for any criminal acts committed in furtherance of the conspiracy.
“The most serious charge, though, is sex trafficking.
“What separates sex trafficking from normal sex? Adults, of course, can consent to any type of sex, no matter how freaky it is. But sex trafficking has one of three elements: force, fraud, or coercion.
“And the government is saying that Diddy used force to force these men and women to participate in these freak-offs, and he coerced them by drugging them.
“The least serious charge is the prostitution, sometimes called the Man Act, and that’s engaging in prostitution using some sort of interstate commerce across state lines. That obviously is unlawful.
“Typically, you don’t see federal cases for prostitution only, which is why it’s the least serious of the crimes.”
“He’s got an unusual look,” she said. “And he doesn’t look anything like he used to.”
HARSH FEEDBACK
It’s not uncommon to receive critiques on her sketches, Rosenberg said as she reflected on the harsh criticism she received when she drew Tom Brady.
During the 2015 “Deflategate” hearing, Rosenberg was responsible for sketching the famous quarterback who was accused of underinflating footballs during the New England Patriots’ season.
Fans of Brady were not pleased with her drawings and even sent her death threats.
“People found me and hunted me down,” she said.
Other celebrities and politicians, such as Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and John Gatti, have also provided her feedback in the past.
“Giuliani told me I made him look like his dog, Weinstein told me to give him more hair, John Gotti asked me to trim down his chin,” she said.
“And Trump once stood over one of my sketches and said, ‘I need to lose some weight.”
