Did prosecutors in the sex trafficking trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs play in court a "secret" recording of the voice of Prince "naming names"? No, that's not true: The rumor appeared in a YouTube video whose description labeled the claim "fictional". Despite widespread and intensive news coverage, no outlet covering the trial has mentioned any recording by Prince.
The claim appeared in a May 18, 2025, video on YouTube (archived here) which had the title:
1 MINUTE AGO: Prince's SECRET Recording Just Shattered Diddy's Trial...
This is what it looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: YouTube screenshot)
As of May 19, no such recording had been played at the trial, in which Combs faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The trial has formed the basis of widespread and intensive news coverage since it opened on May 5. If a previously-unheard recording of the voice of Prince, who died in 2016, had been played in court, that would undoubtedly have been mentioned in news reports.
A Google News search for the words "Prince", "recording", "Diddy" and "trial" yielded no relevant results, demonstrating that the rumor was false.
Indeed, the description of the May 18 YouTube video conceded as much, reading:
Disclaimer: This content is fictional and for entertainment purposes only. No official sources confirm the existence of such a recording.
The same or similar fantasy fiction accounts of a Prince recording being played in court at the trial of Combs featured in similar YouTube videos in mid-May 2025.
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For previous Lead Stories debunks about Sean 'Diddy' Combs, click here.
