Costco has denied selling baby oil after Diddy’s lawyer suggested the rapper had so many bottles of it at home because he likes to buy in bulk, like any regular American.
The rapper’s attorney, Marc Agnifilio, made the bizarre statement earlier this week when asked about the more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil that federal agents allegedly found in Diddy’s Miami home.
‘I don’t think there were a thousand. I think it was a lot. I mean, there’s a Costco right down the street. I think Americans are buying in bulk, as we know,” Agnifilo told the New York Post.
“And you know, these are consensual adults doing what consensual adults do. We can’t become so puritanical in this country as to think that sex is somehow a bad thing, because if it were, there wouldn’t be any people left.”
But Costco, the member’s only retailer, has now told the story TMZ Thursday that they do not sell baby oil at any locations nationwide.
Costco has denied selling baby oil after Diddy’s lawyer suggested the rapper had so many bottles of it at home because he likes to buy in bulk.
Costco, the only member retailer, told TMZ on Thursday that they do not sell baby oil at any locations in the country
Diddy, real name Sean Combs, is accused of arranging “Freak Offs,” described as “elaborate and produced sex performances,” arranged and directed by the star while he masturbated and often recorded them.
In addition to the stash of baby oil, prosecutors also found bondage equipment, sex tapes, hidden cameras and rooms for sexual performances.
The complaint stated that some “Freak Offs” would last days, requiring Diddy, 54, and the victims to be given IV fluids to recover from the exercise and drug use.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Agnifilio said his client is positive about his chances in court.
“He’s just laser-focused, he’s committed, he’s helpful, he’s confident. We are going through our defense as we do every day and his mood is relatively good.”
Marc Agnifilio said the bottles likely came from Costco and disputed that there were as many as 1,000
A photo from inside Diddy’s Miami home shows law enforcement conducting thorough searches
Diddy’s arrest came 10 months after allegations of sexual and other abuse against the music mogul, and an announcement from prosecutors that he was under investigation for sex trafficking.
The allegations started with a lawsuit by Diddy’s ex Cassie Ventura, claiming she was beaten and raped by the star.
The lawsuit was settled the day after it became public, but Diddy has since been dogged by other claims.
The indictment against him also alleges that he coerced and abused women for years, while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to control his victims.
It indirectly refers to an attack on his ex-girlfriend Cassie, which was captured on video.
Prosecutors wanted him jailed. His lawyers suggested he be released on a $50 million bond for home detention with electronic monitoring. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with the government.
Like many older hip-hop figures, Diddy, the founder of Bad Boy Records, had cultivated a friendlier image with the public.
The father of seven was a respected businessman whose annual Hamptons ‘White Party’ was once an essential invitation for the jet-setting elite.
But prosecutors said he facilitated his crimes by using the same companies, people and methods that brought him to power.
They said they would prove the charges with financial and travel records, electronic communications and videos of the “Freak Offs.”
In March, authorities raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Florida, seizing drugs, videos and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube, prosecutors said.
They said agents also seized weapons and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers.
A conviction on each charge would require a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with the possibility of a life sentence.