Diddy’s First Christmas Behind Bars
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00:00The world is intrigued for what it's like for Diddy behind bars because it's such a stark contrast to the luxurious world
00:06he usually inhabits. So for the latest Us Weekly cover story
00:09we reveal what the holidays will look like for the disgraced rapper as he remains locked up in the
00:15Metropolitan Detention Center as he awaits his trial. This is a man who has had everything.
00:20He's had so much power and now he has zero autonomy in jail.
00:24Our readers are compelled because they want to see if justice is being served.
00:28The 55-year-old rapper was arrested and indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering on
00:35September 16th, and he pleaded not guilty the following day. A source told us that he's trying to stay positive
00:41but the holidays will be especially hard for the family without their father. Federal prison consultant Sam Mangle tells us that the cement walls of
00:50MDC aren't very festive this time of year.
00:53Visitors are welcome on the holiday
00:55but stays are brief, usually only about 30 minutes to an hour, and they're limited to four people at a time while phone calls are
01:02capped at 15 minutes.
01:04Mangle continued, when their family leaves inmates are solemn.
01:07It becomes very depressing. Former inmate Brad Rouse, who spent time at MDC between 2008 and
01:142016, told us that Christmas was especially tough on fathers with young kids at home.
01:19He shared, the holidays were more painful for them. It's a very hard, difficult place.
01:24The inmates do catch a few breaks around the holidays though.
01:28Mangle says staffers give prisoners time in the enclosed recreation yard to play sports tournaments and they're free to enjoy
01:35Donnemos, chess and card games.
01:38Religious services are usually offered and TVs are on and tuned in to major sports events.
01:43Rouse told us, it wasn't easy to be in jail during the holidays, but we were all in it together.
01:49Another former inmate remembers getting a goodie bag on Christmas Day filled with things like Reese's Candy,
01:55powdered drink mixes and coffee. For about 10 days before and after Christmas, the commissary would carry
02:01special items including pepperoni and provolone cheese.
02:05Mangle predicts that Diddy may eat his holiday meal with fellow famous inmate
02:09Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto mogul who was convicted of fraud and is housed in the same unit.
02:15He says, I think they'll probably eat together and discuss what part of the world they were in last year with their families.
02:21They're from high socio-economic backgrounds before coming in there so they can reminisce about what island they were on last year.
02:28So what's on the Christmas Day menu? Breakfast is cereal with skim milk and fruit, the same as the weekly standard.
02:34For lunch, prisoners get a choice of baked Cornish hen or
02:38barbecued tofu, served with mac and cheese or spinach and cranberry sauce, plus dinner rolls or a holiday dessert.
02:44Former inmate Brad tells us, it wasn't like being in a restaurant,
02:48but the staff put a little effort in. For dinner,
02:51they can cap off their evening with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with potato chips and fruit.
02:57The Christmas meal is served at 11, while the sandwich dinner is given in a bag to accommodate staff who want to get home to see
03:03their own families. They're not trying to accommodate inmates here. For more on Diddy's trial, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly.