Day 1: Celebrity name drops, juror dismissals

The criminal trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs has officially kicked off in New York. This week's goal? To seat a 12-person jury (with six alternates) by next week's opening statements.

Already, it seems to be a not-so-easy task to find jurors who could take part in the case with absolutely no preconceived notions of Combs, per my colleague Patrick Ryan's dispatches from the courtroom.

Many of the potential jurors seen so far have admitted to being aware of the allegations against Combs; some even said they had seen the 2016 hotel surveillance video showing Combs kicking, hitting and dragging his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura-Fine.

Day 1 of trial involved celebrity name-drops, juror dismissals

For the first time, Combs was allowed to trade his tan jail uniform for more upscale courtroom attire. He arrived from Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center wearing a navy blue sweater over a white collared shirt. Dark glasses shielded his eyes, while salt-and-pepper tufts flecked his goatee.

After the rapper hugged his team, the judge got down to business. Here's a quick breakdown of what ensued:

Jurors were asked about certain celebrities. Potential jurors were given a list of people and places that are somehow related to Combs' case. The list included Michael B. Jordan, Kid Cudi, Cassie Ventura-Fine, Michelle Williams (from Destiny's Child), Mike Myers, and Danity Kane's Dawn Richard. We're in the process of reaching out to each of these stars to see if they'd like to offer any clarity or comment.

Several people were already dismissed: One woman was excused from the courtroom because she said she'd be "uncomfortable" hearing from sexual assault victims (a family member "went through something like that"). The defense also objected to a woman who'd seen a screenshot of the video showing Combs physically assaulting Cassie and admitted it could be "damning evidence."

Read on for our takeaways from the first day of trial.

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