Since his arrest in 2024, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been an inmate at a New York jail. Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center is somewhat notorious, both for the famous inmates and the grueling conditions. While many have complained about food and sanitation at the jail, one former inmate said Combs doesn’t have much to worry about. According to him, his unit is better than it could be.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs doesn’t have anything to worry about in jail, said former inmate

Combs has been staying in 4 North, a unit in the jail that houses about 20 inmates. According to The New York Times, the dormitory-style unit often holds high-profile inmates and government informants.  

According to Gene Borrello, a former inmate, the unit has rows of bunk beds, televisions, an exercise room, and a microwave for food from the commissary. The bathrooms in this unit have stalls. There is also a common area for inmates to eat meals.

Still, the inmates do not have internet access, and guards conduct multiple check-ins at each inmate’s bunk every day. 

Borrello, who was last housed in 4 North in 2023, said conditions in this unit are far better than in other parts of the jail. He claimed that in this unit, “you have nothing to worry about.”

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs spent time with a famous inmate

Another noteworthy former 4 North inmate is Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. His time in the Metropolitan Detention Center overlapped with Combs’.

“He’s been kind,” Bankman-Fried said of the music mogul.

Though Borrello said 4 North is a better unit than some of the others, Bankman-Fried said the conditions still were not ideal. The jail, he said, wears on a person.

“It’s a position no one wants to be in,” he said. “Obviously [Combs] doesn’t — I don’t. As you said, it’s kind of a soul-crushing place.”

Many people have complained about conditions at the jail

Despite Borrello’s assurances, many inmates in the Metropolitan Detention Center have complained about conditions at the jail. Per PBS, the place has been described as “hell on earth” and an “ongoing tragedy.” Some judges have even refused to send people there due to the terrible conditions. After the closure of Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021, however, MDC is now the only jail in New York City.

Past and current inmates have complained of widespread violence, terrible food and conditions, staffing shortages, and drug smuggling. The jail also reportedly has frequent lock downs, leaving inmates unable to shower or exercise.

In 2023, the jail was operating at just 55% of full staffing. This has worsened conditions and led to increased stress on staff.

The Bureau of Prisons even temporarily paused sending anyone convicted of crimes there to serve out their sentences. This decision came after a district judge announced he would vacate a 75-year-old’s nine-month sentence on tax fraud if the Bureau of Prisons sent him to MDC.

Combs’ lawyers tried unsuccessfully to get him out on bail.