Sharay “The Punisher” Haynes, the sex worker who took part in several of Diddy’s infamous “freak-offs” with Cassie, has voiced his support for the sentence handed down to the disgraced music mogul.
Haynes testified about his encounters with Diddy and Cassie during the mogul’s racketeering and sex trafficking trial earlier this summer. On Friday (October 3), Diddy — whose real name is Sean Combs — was sentenced to 50 months, or just over four years, in prison and fined $500,000.
According to TMZ, Haynes said that although he initially believed Diddy should be released on time served, he now agrees with Judge Arun Subramanian’s decision.
The escort supported the judge’s stance on protecting victims of domestic violence but added that he believes Diddy genuinely feels remorse for his actions. Haynes also mentioned he was never asked to write a letter either supporting or opposing the mogul.
Speaking separately to The Shade Room, Haynes, who recently released a book titled In Search of Freezer Meat, said he was “hoping for time served.”
“But after hearing the judge pointing out that after apologizing from the hotel video with Cassie and then being under investigation, he had a freak-off with Jane, where he actually abused her — and the judge has to respect the victims and their experiences,” he said. “I think the time he got was warranted.”
In an earlier interview with TMZ, Sharay “The Punisher” Haynes described the verdict as “the right one.”
“I always saw it as more a domestic violence scenario,” Haynes told TMZ, adding that Diddy and Cassie were in a “long-term” and “loving” relationship where their “sexual lifestyle was consented.”
“It was just hard for me to shift from this is just a domestic violence type of relationship to a criminal sex trafficking scenario,” he continued.
Haynes agreed that his testimony may have helped Diddy’s defense. “I feel like if the deciding factor of this scenario of the sex trafficking charges was gonna be based on consent or lack thereof, I definitely feel like my testimony could have possibly influenced the way it was viewed by jurors,” he said.
“Because the coercion part of it was obviously the main factor if we’re gonna prove that, right?” he added, noting that his “experience would not lead you to believe that someone was sex trafficked.”
The sex worker and author also called the domestic violence element of the case “undeniable,” while expressing that he believed the jury “made a mistake.”
Haynes said he feels “terrible” for Cassie and another woman who briefly dated Diddy and testified under the name “Jane Doe.” He added, “Women, in general, deal with a lot of shame associated with their sexuality. So to have two women have to pretty much broadcast their sex lives to the world and be under the scrutiny of that type of perception and judgment, it’s ugly.”
In a May interview with CNN, Haynes apologized to Cassie for any discomfort she may have experienced during their encounters but maintained that she appeared to consent to sex. During his testimony, he recalled receiving instructions from Diddy during sexual activity with Cassie that often lasted several hours.
