• YouTuber MrBeast has plans to launch a mobile phone service called Beast Mobile.
• The service is likely to operate as an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, according to an investor deck.
• Other celebrities, such as Ryan Reynolds and the "SmartLess" podcasters, have taken a similar approach.

YouTube's top creator, MrBeast, wants to do more than just appear in videos on your phone. He wants to power your mobile phone service, too.

The content creator, who has over 450 million subscribers, is planning to launch a phone business called "Beast Mobile" as one of his company's next ventures, Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold said on Wednesday, speaking at The New York Times' DealBook Summit.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is unlikely to try to build a mobile network from scratch. Instead, he may launch Beast Mobile via a business model known as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, according to an investor deck from early 2025 that Business Insider reported on earlier this year.

An MVNO phone service typically utilizes the built-in infrastructure of a major carrier, such as T-Mobile or Verizon, allowing the virtual network operator to focus on branding and marketing the service to customers. The strategy has been in vogue among celebrities like the "SmartLess" podcasters, President Donald Trump, and Ryan Reynolds, who sold his Mint Mobile business to T-Mobile in 2023.

"The ultimate objective is to focus on the marketing and sales and outsource everything to a third party," Alex Besen, an MVNO consultant and founder and CEO of The Besen Group, told Business Insider earlier this year.

MrBeast's ambition to sell wireless plans taps into a broader push at his company to diversify the business beyond YouTube and media.

Over the past few years, the company has expanded into a variety of business lines, including its chocolate-bar brand Feastables and lunch-food brand Lunchly.

The company is also planning to get into financial services, Housenbold said on Wednesday.

Peter Kafka contributed reporting.

• Jeffrey Epstein's estate asserted attorney-client privilege for 277 emails with Kathryn Ruemmler.
• A court document says Ruemmler communicated with Epstein about lawsuits involving Epstein's victims.
• The estate says it shouldn't have to turn over the emails in a lawsuit.

Kathryn Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs, came under a microscope last month after a cache of emails showed a deeper relationship between her and the now-dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein than previously known.

Those emails aren't the entirety of the communications between her and Epstein.

Epstein's estate is keeping secret 277 additional emails between him and Ruemmler, saying they are protected by attorney-client confidentiality. Many of those emails contain discussions of lawsuits by women who accused Epstein of sexual assault, according to a court filing made public this week.

The document, a 500-page list of emails the estate claims are privileged, indicates that Ruemmler gave Epstein legal advice or otherwise acted as his attorney.

At the time, Ruemmler was a co-chair of the white-collar defense and investigations practice at the Big Law firm Latham & Watkins, which previously said Epstein wasn't a client of the firm. Ruemmler hasn't publicly said whether she worked as an attorney for Epstein in an individual capacity.

Ruemmler — who now serves as Goldman Sachs' chief legal officer and general counsel — previously said she regrets her association with Epstein. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs said Ruemmler and Epstein had a "professional relationship."

Ruemmler, through a Goldman Sachs spokesperson, declined to comment for this story.

A battle between Epstein victims and his estate executors

The emails between Epstein and Ruemmler listed in the court document, known as a privilege log, span from October 2014 until June 2019, shortly before Epstein was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. They are distinct from the emails made public in November by the House Oversight Committee, which were obtained from the Epstein estate through a congressional subpoena.

The emails released in November show Ruemmler seeking career and real estate advice from Epstein, Epstein introducing her to his world of powerful contacts, and the two griping about Donald Trump's first term.

Before joining Goldman Sachs, Ruemmler was considered a legal star within the Democratic Party. She served as the top White House lawyer during President Barack Obama's administration and was considered a possible pick for Supreme Court justice or US attorney general.

A number of the emails released by the House committee — as well as those listed in the privilege log — show that Ruemmler was looped into email discussions with other attorneys whom Epstein had personally hired, including Darren Indyke, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr, Martin Weinberg, and Roy Black. A small handful of Ruemmler's emails to Epstein in the Oversight committee's tranche were also redacted for what was described as "privilege."

Epstein — a financier who counted ex-Apollo CEO Leon Black, ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley, Prince Andrew, Trump, and Bill Clinton among his acquaintances — killed himself in jail in August of 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges related to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution as part of what was a widely criticized deal with Florida prosecutors.

The privilege log was filed in a case brought by several Epstein accusers against his estate's executors, Indyke and Richard Kahn, alleging they facilitated Epstein's sex-trafficking operation while respectively serving as his longtime personal lawyer and accountant. Indyke and Kahn have denied wrongdoing. Daniel Weiner, an attorney representing Indyke and Kahn, declined to comment on the privilege log but said the accusations against his clients are meritless.

"Messrs. Indyke and Kahn reject as categorially false any suggestion that they knowingly facilitated or assisted Mr. Epstein in the sexual abuse or trafficking of women, or that they were aware of that abuse during the time they provided professional services to Mr. Epstein," Weiner told Business Insider.

The 513-page document was initially filed to the court docket in September, under seal. Public versions of it, with redactions for victim information, were filed on Monday and Tuesday,

The log offers brief descriptions of each email for which the Epstein estate executors are asserting attorney-client confidentiality — arguing it shouldn't have to turn the emails over to opposing lawyers — without disclosing each message's contents.

Sigrid McCawley, an attorney representing the Epstein accusers in the lawsuit, said the estate ought to disclose many of the emails. She declined to comment on Ruemmler's presence in the log.

"Years after Epstein's death when his privilege protection should no longer matter, Epstein's executors Indyke and Kahn are making overbroad privilege assertions and refusing to produce critical information that would uncover the inner workings of his decades-long sex trafficking operation," McCawley told Business Insider.

Epstein named Ruemmler as a backup executor to his estate in a January 2019 draft of his will, according to a copy released by the House Oversight Committee earlier this year. The final edition of the will, completed shortly before his death, replaced her with Boris Nikolic, a former Bill Gates advisor. Indyke and Kahn, Epstein's first choice, ultimately became co-executors of the estate.

The privilege log's descriptions of the emails indicate that Ruemmler worked on a range of Epstein's legal problems, including numerous civil lawsuits from women who accused him of sexual abuse, as well as responding to "criminal complaints against Epstein." None of the emails are described as "estate planning" — a designation used in the log for some of the emails between Epstein and Indyke.

"Attorney client communication regarding strategy of defense of legal claims against Jeffrey Epstein," reads the description for one April 2019 email.

According to the document, Ruemmler and Epstein also communicated about a lawsuit from accusers that sought to undo his Florida plea deal, and about a long-running lawsuit that accuser Virginia Giuffre filed against his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. (Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of trafficking girls to Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.)

Other descriptions for the emails are more vague. One, from October 2014, is described as "Attorney client communication providing information at legal request regarding sexual assault claims against Jeffrey Epstein."

The email has the subject line "CONFIDENTIAL – JE."

• MrBeast confirmed he's launching a financial services platform and a phone company, Beast Mobile.
• His holding company, Beast Industries, is expanding beyond YouTube with new businesses and hires.
• The company generated over $400 million in revenue last year and is looking to control costs.

MrBeast is looking to launch a financial services platform, the CEO of the top YouTuber's company said Wednesday at The New York Times' DealBook Summit.

The CEO's comments confirmed earlier reporting by Business Insider that Beast Industries was laying the groundwork to expand into financial services and mobile phones.

"We're also launching a phone company, Beast Mobile, and a financial services platform in there, wrapped in financial literacy and access to the world's information, in making sure we're doing good while doing well," Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold said.

A company application filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office on October 13 listed plans for a "mobile app and online services for a range of banking, financial advisory, crypto exchange, and other services." It would exist under the "MrBeast Financial" brand.

The trademark application aligned with a 2025 fundraising pitch deck that laid out plans to expand into fintech. That deck, which was viewed by Business Insider, described customized offerings that would target MrBeast's audience, supported by financial literacy content. The deck listed nine potential offerings, including student loans, insurance, and credit insights. It said the company would launch by partnering with a fintech company to leverage its existing infrastructure "while avoiding regulatory, credit risk, and capital requirement."

Housenbold, who became CEO in September 2024, also said at the summit that the company was building a marketplace to match creators with Fortune 1,000 marketers who want to access the creator economy.

Housenbold joined MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, onstage at the summit. During a wide-ranging interview, Donaldson spoke about how he's trying to focus on improving his videos in the coming year and how media fragmentation has made it more difficult for YouTube channels looking to grow today.

Donaldson is the No. 1 creator on YouTube, with over 400 million subscribers. He has expanded beyond the platform, with an Amazon show "Beast Games," a chocolate bar company called Feastables, an analytics firm called Viewstats, and other ventures.

Beast Industries took in over $400 million in revenue last year, according to investor materials viewed by Business Insider. The company lost money last year, mainly because of high costs in its media business.

The company has recently been hiring new executives with a focus on sponsorships and scripted content. It has also been on a cost-cutting push as it looks to reduce media-related losses.

• GM has hired a former Tesla exec as it brings back staff from its failed robotaxi startup Cruise.
• Ronalee Mann will report directly to GM's chief product officer, according to an internal message seen by BI.
• Mann will focus on "removing unnecessary friction" from GM's processes, the message said.

GM is turning to former employees from its failed robotaxi startup Cruise as it embarks on a new self-driving vehicle push.

The Detroit auto giant has hired Ronalee Mann, a former Cruise and Tesla executive, to report to Sterling Anderson, GM's chief product officer, Business Insider has learned.

Mann, who previously worked as a strategy and operations manager at Cruise, recently joined GM as head of product operations, according to an internal Slack message seen by Business Insider.

Mann left Cruise in April 2024 and also previously worked as a director of strategic programs at Tesla. She will focus on "streamlining" GM's operations and "removing unnecessary friction" from its "systems, tools, and processes," Anderson wrote in the Slack announcement.

Anderson, who has previously worked for Tesla as its Autopilot chief, added that Rashed Haq, another former Cruise executive, would join GM as the company's new VP of autonomy.

In his Slack message, Anderson praised Haq's work at Cruise, adding that he would "keep us focused on execution and progressing toward safe autonomy." Haq announced his new role on LinkedIn last week. Mann's move has not previously been made public.

A spokesperson for GM declined to comment. Mann did not immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment.

GM's self-driving shake-up

Anderson has shaken up GM's software divisions since arriving at the century-old automaker in May. Bloomberg reported in August that Anderson, who also cofounded the self-driving startup Aurora, told employees he would seek to rehire some former Cruise employees to help build a new autonomous vehicle platform for personal use.

GM shut down Cruise last December after investing more than $10 billion in the robotaxi startup since 2016.

Cruise got the green light to operate an autonomous robotaxi service in San Francisco alongside Waymo, but was banned from operating in California and had to recall its entire fleet after one of its robotaxis seriously injured a pedestrian.

GM's software division has seen some significant executive turnover in recent months. The company's senior VP of software and services engineering and head of AI have both left since October, and CNBC reported last week that senior vice president Baris Cetinok would also depart this month.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at tcarter@businessinsider.com or Signal at tcarter.41. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• The White House has celebrated Christmas since the administration of John Adams in 1800.
• First ladies traditionally oversee decorating the White House for Christmas.
• Melania Trump's White House Christmas decorations this year are themed "Home Is Where The Heart Is."

December means homes across America are decking the halls, and the White House is no exception.

Ever since President John Adams and first lady Abigail Adams hosted the first White House Christmas party in 1800, first families have partaken in festive holiday traditions while in office.

First ladies have traditionally chosen a theme for the White House Christmas decorations and overseen the planning process, a practice that began with Jacqueline Kennedy.

This year, first lady Melania Trump decorated the White House around the theme "Home Is Where The Heart Is" in a scaled-back display following the demolition of the East Wing in October.

Take a look at how the occupants of the White House have celebrated Christmas through the years.

The White House halls have been decked for the holidays every December since John and Abigail Adams held the first White House Christmas party in 1800.

The Adams' White House Christmas party was held in honor of their 4-year-old granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, according to the White House Historical Association.

Every president has brought their own traditions into the White House.

Grover Cleveland, for example, lit up the first electric lights on a Christmas tree at the White House to the delight of his young daughters.

Calvin Coolidge was the first president to host a public Christmas celebration at the White House, with the first National Christmas Tree lighting in 1923.

Over 6,000 people attended the first National Christmas Tree lighting.

The president's participation in the tree lighting ceremony has been a yearly tradition since then.

This year's National Christmas Tree lighting will air on Great American Family on December 5, a day after the live event.

Glowing trees lit up the North Portico of the White House in 1931.

A Christmas wreath also glowed above the door.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent 10 consecutive Christmas holidays in the White House throughout his four terms.

The East Room featured a Christmas tree decorated with string lights and tinsel.

Roosevelt invited four generations of family into the White House for Christmas.

Roosevelt's children and grandchildren enjoyed spending Christmas Eve at the presidential residence, where they would partake in two of his favorite holiday traditions: hanging stockings and reading "A Christmas Carol," according to the White House Historical Association.

Children joined Roosevelt at the White House to ring in Christmas with carols in 1940.

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt also invited Girl Scouts to sing carols with her in the East Room in 1936.

President Harry Truman welcomed some unusual guests to the White House in December 1948 when he was gifted turkeys for his Christmas dinner.

The turkeys were gifted to him by the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation.

President Dwight Eisenhower and first lady Mamie Eisenhower posed with their family in 1958 on the North Portico of the White House.

The North Portico featured two lit Christmas trees.

Eisenhower's family also took a Christmas Eve picture in front of a tinsel-covered tree.

The Eisenhowers had two children, Doud Dwight, nicknamed "Icky," and John.

First lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of themed White House Christmas decorations.

In 1961, decorations themed around Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" took over the Blue Room, enthralling first daughter Caroline Kennedy.

In 1962, the White House Christmas tree was decorated with ornaments inspired by children, including candy canes and gingerbread cookies.

The tree also reused many of the Nutcracker ornaments from the previous year.

A holiday banner was hung for the annual Christmas Pageant of Peace on the White House Ellipse in 1963.

Flags were ordered to fly half-mast through December, mourning the death of Kennedy in November.

The Johnson family's White House Christmas decorations included a 5-foot red, green, and gold piñata in 1964.

Piñatas are a traditional holiday ornament in Latin American countries.

In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson and first lady Lady Bird Johnson's dog Yuki sniffed their Christmas tree in the Yellow Oval Room.

The Johnsons piled presents underneath the Norway spruce.

Christmas in the Nixon White House was a lively affair.

First lady Pat Nixon told Empire Magazine their holiday traditions included the president playing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on the piano for friends and family.

President Gerald Ford attended the White House Christmas in 1975 with his wife, first lady Betty Ford, and his daughter, Susan Ford.

The theme of the White House Christmas decor that year was "Old Fashioned Children's Christmas."

First lady Betty Ford presented the official White House Christmas tree in 1976.

At that year's lighting, Gerald Ford said that he was proud to have real trees throughout the White House as a former National Parks ranger, according to the National Park Service.

In 1983, the Reagans decorated their tree with ornaments made by two South Korean children they brought to the US on Air Force One for heart surgery.

One of the children, Brett Halvorson, reunited with Nancy Reagan in 2007.

"As I was only 4 years old, my memory of Mrs. Reagan is very vague," Halvorson told ABC News in 2016. "But what I do remember is that I felt comfort and love from a woman that was a complete stranger."

For their White House Christmas card, the Reagans commissioned artists to paint holiday scenes from inside the Executive Mansion.

The tradition of sending White House holiday cards dates back to 1927.

The Reagans also incorporated pop culture into their playful decorations.

Nancy Reagan shared a moment with ALF during a children's Christmas party at the White House in 1987.

In 1984, then-second lady Barbara Bush helped place the star on top of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse.

Bush was joined by Joseph Riley, president of the Christmas Pageant of Peace committee.

When the Bushes became occupants of the White House themselves, Christmas was a family affair.

George H.W. Bush's grandchildren were treated to a story when they spent Christmas Eve at the White House in 1991. 

President George Bush celebrated all four of his Christmases as president at Camp David.

Bush also spent Christmas at Camp David during his son George W. Bush's presidency, The Washington Times reported.

The Clinton White House had plenty of edible decorations each year.

Over the course of several years, the Clintons enjoyed gingerbread house versions of the Washington Monument, Mount Vernon, and even a replica of Hillary Clinton's childhood home.

In 1994, Hillary Clinton decorated the White House around the theme "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

The ornaments on the Official White House Christmas Tree were designed by schoolchildren across the US and the National Society of Tole and Decorative Painters, The New York Times reported.

In 2001, President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush read books to local schoolchildren surrounded by Christmas trees decorated with lights and fake snow.

The president and first lady hosted students from Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, which American Airlines Flight 77 flew over before it crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Laura Bush chose a "Red, White and Blue Christmas" theme for their final Christmas in the White House.

The patriotic theme was inspired by letters the president and first lady received following the September 11 attacks.

In 2009, first lady Michelle Obama decorated the White House around the theme "Reflect, Rejoice, Renew."

Christmas trees on the State Floor shone with lights and ribbons.

In 2011, she chose the theme "Shine, Give, Share."

In keeping with the "Shine" element, gold star decorations adorned the hallway on the White House's ground floor.

For the Obamas' last year in the White House, larger-than-life replicas of their dogs Bo and Sunny added a playful and personal touch to the decorations.

The replicas were made with over 25,000 yarn pom-poms.

First lady Melania Trump's non-traditional Christmas decorations in 2017 created a stark scene in the East Wing.

Not everyone was a fan of Melania Trump's ghostly white branches in the East Colonnade, which sparked a series of memes.

Melania Trump's crimson topiary trees, part of the 2018 theme "American Treasures," also garnered criticism.

"We are in the 21st century and everybody has a different taste. I think they look fantastic," Melania Trump said in response to criticism of the decorations. "I hope everybody will come over and visit it. In real life they look even more beautiful and you are all very welcome to visit the White House, the people's house."

She opted for a more traditional approach with her 2019 decorations, which had the theme "The Spirit of America."

The Grand Foyer was lit up with green Christmas trees covered in fake snow and white lights that shone overhead to make "a glistening winter garden," the White House said.

In 2020, Melania Trump went with the theme "America The Beautiful," offering a "tribute to the majesty of our great Nation."

Small details throughout honored themes like 100 years of the 19th Amendment and wildlife in the US.

In 2021, first lady Jill Biden chose the theme "Gifts from the Heart" for the White House Christmas decorations.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wrote in the 2021 White House Holiday Guide that "Gifts from the Heart" such as faith, family, friendship, and unity "tie together the heart strings of our lives."

Christmas trees in the State Dining Room featured photos of the Bidens, as well as past presidential families.

Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt were pictured with their families.

In the East Colonnade, clear blue circles and dove-shaped cutouts lined the windows, and glowing stars dangled from the ceiling.

The doves and shooting stars represented "peace and light brought to us all by the service of frontline workers and first responders during the pandemic," according to the White House Holiday Guide.

Wreaths in the China Room featured stars comprised of interlocking hands.

The China Room displays tableware and china sets used by past presidential families. As part of the 2021 White House Christmas decorations, the Bidens displayed the Obama china.

The Grand Foyer and the Cross Hall decorations centered on the "Gift of Faith and Community."

"The hallway alcoves and tree displays depict wintry scenes of life within our towns and cities, reflecting the solace of faith, the lasting bonds of community, and the perseverance of the American spirit," the White House Holiday Guide read.

The theme of the 2022 White House Christmas decorations was "We the People."

"For this year's holidays at the White House, we hope to capture the spirit embodied in the very idea of America: We the People," the first lady wrote in a welcome letter in the 2022 White House Holiday Guide. "During your visit to the People's House, through rooms full of history and holiday décor, in the mirrored ornaments and reflective lights, our hope is that you feel at home and find yourself in the great story of America."

Wintry trees and white lanterns lined the East Colonnade.

The decorations were meant to evoke "the feelings of peace and tranquility after the first snowfall," according to the 2022 White House Holiday Guide.

Renderings of White House pets Commander and Willow were shown enjoying holiday gifts in the Vermeil Room.

The White House pets were depicted sitting in gift boxes from Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that delivers care packages to deployed troops, first responders, and military families.

In keeping with the "We the People" theme, the gingerbread White House also featured a gingerbread model of Independence Hall.

Located in the State Dining Room, the gingerbread White House took 20 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 30 sheets of gingerbread dough, 30 pounds of chocolate, and 40 pounds of royal icing to construct.

The Bidens also added the first-ever menorah to the White House Christmas decorations in 2022.

The menorah was created with leftover wood from a Truman-era White House renovation and added to the White House's permanent collection.

In 2023, Jill Biden chose the theme "Magic, Wonder, and Joy."

The theme was a tribute to "how children experience this festive season," according to the 2023 White House Holiday Guide.

The decorations featured nods to candy, Advent calendars, Santa Claus, and other nostalgic childhood holiday traditions.

Santa's sleigh, pulled by reindeer, stretched across the Grand Foyer of the White House.

For the Bidens' final Christmas as president and first lady, Jill Biden decorated the White House around the theme "A Season of Peace and Light."

"As we celebrate our final holiday season here in the White House, we are guided by the values we hold sacred: faith, family, service to our country, kindness towards our neighbors, and the power of community and connection," the Bidens wrote in the 2024 White House Holiday Guide.

White dove cutouts were featured in the Cross Hall and the Red Room, symbolizing peace.

The ceiling decorations were also intended to evoke falling snow.

In 2025, Melania Trump returned to the White House and offered a scaled-back Christmas display after the demolition of the East Wing.

The East Entrance and East Colonnade, once large canvases for White House Christmas decorations, were demolished to make way for Donald Trump's planned ballroom.

Instead of entering through the East Entrance, tours began at the North Portico.

The Official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room featured AI-generated and 3D printed ornaments.

The ornaments were decorated with the official bird and flower of every US state and territory.

The Red Room contained 10,000 butterfly cutouts.

The Red Room's Christmas tree was adorned with ornaments highlighting Melania Trump's Fostering the Future program, part of her Be Best campaign focused on children's wellness.

Unlike in past years, the White House Christmas display did not include the China Room, the Vermeil Room, or the White House Library.

The East Room featured a patriotic display of red, white, and blue Christmas tree ornaments and golden eagle tree toppers in collaboration with America250 in recognition of America's semiquincentennial in 2026.

However, the White House Creche that is usually displayed there was undergoing restoration. Only a portion of the Nativity scene, which dates back to the 18th century, was featured in the Grand Foyer.

• Former Danity Kane member Aubrey O'Day spoke about Diddy in Netflix's "Sean Combs: The Reckoning."
• O'Day discusses receiving explicit messages from Diddy and an eyewitness account of an assault.
• Director Alexandria Stapleton told BI it was important to include O'Day's "complicated" feelings in the doc.

Netflix's Diddy docuseries "Sean Combs: The Reckoning" features many shocking revelations, but one of the most emotional ones comes from singer Aubrey O'Day.

In the doc, O'Day describes receiving sexually explicit messages from the disgraced music mogul and reads an affidavit of an eyewitness account of her being sexually assaulted by Diddy and another man while she looked "very inebriated."

"Does this mean I was raped?" O'Day says in the docuseries. "I don't even know if I was raped, and I don't want to know."

The four-part docuseries directed by Alexandria Stapleton chronicles the rise and fall of Combs, also known as Diddy, as he goes from hip-hop mogul and billionaire business owner to the subject of a federal prosecution and over 60 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse.

Combs, who pleaded not guilty, was ultimately convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and is serving a 50-month prison sentence. He was acquitted of the most serious charges, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force or fraud, and is set to be released in May 2028. The allegations related to O'Day were not part of the criminal trial; Combs has denied all wrongdoing in the civil cases.

Combs' spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told Business Insider the Netflix docuseries is "a shameful hit piece," pointing in particular to the fact that it counts Diddy's rap rival Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson among its executive producers.

Netflix disagreed with the characterization. "The claims being made about 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning' are false," a Netflix spokesperson told Business Insider. "This is not a hit piece or an act of retribution."

The Diddy doc director says O'Day's story shows 'the gray area' of the Combs saga

O'Day, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, which was formed by Combs for the 2005 MTV series "Making the Band," is first seen in the docuseries reading an email Combs sent her in 2008, the year she was fired from the group.

In it, he says, "I don't wanna just fuck you. I want to turn you out." He ends the email by saying he's going to finish masturbating while watching porn and thinking of her.

Later in the docuseries, O'Day reads an affidavit from one of the civil lawsuits of an alleged Combs victim. It states that this woman witnessed O'Day being sexually assaulted by Combs and another man in 2005.

While opening doors looking for the restroom, the woman said she opened one door to find Combs and the other man in sexual acts with O'Day, who was "sprawled out on a leather couch, looking very inebriated." The woman wrote in the affidavit that she is "100% certain" that the person was O'Day.

O'Day says in the docuseries that she has no memory of this and sought out the eyewitness to speak to her.

"Even after I told her I didn't have a recollection of this, I said, 'Could she be making a mistake?' I asked in every way I possibly could think of, and she was certain," O'Day says in the doc.

O'Day adds that she hadn't spoken out about the incident previously out of fear that Combs and his team would discredit the woman who wrote the affidavit.

"You realize the burden that that puts on my soul for the past year, which is if I expose one victim who's got a civil lawsuit, that gives Diddy and his legal team credit to take down everybody else as potential liars," O'Day said. "It goes right back on my shoulders, just like that."

Stapleton, the director, told Business Insider that O'Day's revelations in the docuseries spotlight "the gray area" in the Combs legal saga.

"Her stories are really very, very complicated," she said. "It took a lot of conversations for her to feel like, 'I want to be public about this.'"

"It was never about not sharing it; it was more potentially, 'How do I present to the world that this isn't a binary feeling that I have? That I'm not going to sit here and say yes, this is absolutely true when I don't know if it's true, and also be like this is total BS when part of me feels, what if it is true?'" Stapleton said. "Aubrey, in real time, was trying to figure out."

O'Day did not respond to a request for comment.

"Sean Combs: The Reckoning" is streaming now on Netflix.

• RetrievAir CEO Benton Miller secured funding on "Shark Tank" for his new pet airline.
• The model allows large dogs to fly in the cabin with their owners, instead of an airline underbelly.
• Miller wants RetrievAir to be accessible to the everyday pet owner. Fares average $775 per seat.

Traveling with large dogs is a nightmare. Airline restrictions force heavier dogs into the often unsafe cargo hold, and only the uberrich can afford to ferry their furbabies on a private jet.

Frustrated by how hard it was to fly with his own Labradors, Maple and Willow — and often having to leave them behind — entrepreneur Benton Miller founded RetrievAir, a pet airline that lets oversized dogs (or any-sized dog or cat) ride in the cabin alongside their owners.

In an interview with Business Insider, Miller said the pet-air-travel sector represents a $5.5 billion US market with plenty of room for more players. RetrievAir fares average $775 per seat.

Miller recently turned to ABC's "Shark Tank" reality show for funding and secured $776,000 from guest Shark and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian in exchange for a 15% stake — a nod to Ohanian's "Seven Seven Six" venture fund. Ohanian has a 100-pound dog named Adora.

Miller said Ohanian "understands burn" because of his tech background and "knows how to scale to a billion-dollar company." RetrievAir, which launched in May, secured over $500,000 in sales within weeks of opening bookings.

Some veteran Sharks, including Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, were skeptical of RetrievAir's $80,000-a-week operating costs. But Miller said sales have since picked up, more cities have been added, and some routes — like New York to Florida — are even selling out.

RetrievAir is not your typical flight experience: Customers book flights online, but instead of navigating a crowded terminal, flyers and their pets meet at a small private airport about 45 minutes before takeoff. Security is faster and tailored to animals.

The pets don't have to be caged and stuffed under the seat in front of you, and Miller said the chartered 30-seater Embraer E135 jet was modified from a 50-seater — giving each seat ample room for humans and animals to spread out.

Dogs over 40 pounds must sit in a paid, assigned seat next to their owner. Lighter pets can sit on their owner's lap or at their feet, and each seat has a leash to secure the animal.

And there's a flight attendant — trained in basic pet behavior — to keep everyone safe, watered, and full of treats.

Miller said the white noise from the engines relaxes most dogs, and they commonly sleep during the flight. They recommend owners of more anxious dogs bring a familiar toy or blanket to help comfort them.

Dogs must have their Rabies vaccine to fly. Luggage, snacks, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are included for human passengers.

The plane makes a pit stop on the ground every two hours so the animals can use the bathroom (Miller said pet accidents are rare) and the jet can be cleaned. A flight from New York to Denver, for example, would stop in Chicago.

It's less convenient than a nonstop, but it serves two purposes: It protects the health and comfort of the animals, and it allows RetrievAir to sell the trip as one long, single itinerary or split it into individual legs to capture more potential customers.

Pet-focused public charter carriers aren't new. Companies like BarkAir and K9 Jets already schedule shared flights for humans and their pets. Miller said Ohanian's involvement — paired with RetrievAir's efficiency-focused model — has helped put the company on a stronger footing.

"We've had profitable days, profitable weeks," he said. However, he added that their load factor, or the percentage of seats sold, still does not consistently reach the 50% level needed across all routes to reliably generate revenue.

Still, he said he's focused on keeping the service accessible to everyday pet owners by offering lower fares and opening new routes, while maintaining the semi-private jet experience that makes the model work.

Fares range from $300 to over $3,000 per seat

Miller said the average fare is around $775 one-way per seat.

Some shorter upcoming trips, like New York to Washington, DC, in February 2026, are priced as low as $300. He said the lower DC price is possible because the plane flies into a smaller, less expensive airport about 30 miles from the city.

This could be a pain for travelers, but Miller said the location saves money. He added that he prefers these out-of-the-way airports because they're also less congested and cover broader areas.

"Waukegan National Airport in Illinois is 45 minutes north of Chicago, but it's also 45 minutes from Milwaukee," Miller said, adding that smaller airports also reduce the risk of air-traffic delays.

Some RetrievAir trips are more expensive, such as the New York to Los Angeles route, which costs a little over $3,000 one-way per seat in February, or around $6,000 if the dog is over 40 pounds and requires its own seat.

That compares with the roughly $6,700 one-way ticket on BarkAir or K9 Jets on the same route for one seat. The two competitors charter Bombardier and Gulfstream jets that are half the capacity or smaller than the Embraer jet that RetrievAir uses.

RetrievAir flies to six US destinations and plans to add six more in 2026. Unlike both BarkAir and K9Jets, RetrievAir does not fly internationally, but plans to do so in the future. Miller said Seattle is among its highest-requested destinations.

"There are more pets than kids in the city," he said. "Seattle attracts Canadians, especially in the Vancouver area, who may have a vacation home in Arizona or California and need our service."

Specific boarding and seating strategies

RetrievAir's Embraer jet is operated by the third-party carrier RVR Aviation. Miller's team handles scheduling and bookings, while RVR manages the aircraft, maintenance, and crew.

The plane has three seats per row: a single seat on one side of the aisle (seat A) and two seats on the other (seats B and C). Miller said dogs up to 40 pounds can share their owner's seat space and are placed in the A seats by the window.

Bigger dogs, however, need their own seat and are placed in B and C with their owner — with the pup riding in the window seat and away from where they could more easily sniff their neighbor.

Miller said there are precautions to ensure that aggressive or reactive dogs are kept away from other pets, like boarding back to front to minimize interactions. Pets and their owners are denied boarding if the crew anticipates an issue.

"There's a bit of an honor system when booking, that's when we ask for the temperament of the pup," Miller said. "We will talk with the owner if the pet is not friendly, but if we think the pup may be too aggressive, we will ask them not to fly and refund their ticket."