Thousands of households will tune in to watch the 98th Academy Awards as they get underway.
The biggest award show for the film industry is set to take place on March 15th at 7 p.m. EST and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien. One of those who could be tuning in is Sean “P Diddy” Combs, who is currently in FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey.
Sam Mangel, a federal prison consultant, previously spoke to the Mirror US about if one of Hollywood’s fallen stars will be able to tune in to see who wins the biggest prizes on Sunday night.
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Mangel, who has spent time in a similar detention center to the Brooklyn MDC where Diddy was previously housed, noted that inmates are typically locked in their cells at 9 p.m. If the same rules apply, with the Academy Awards starting at 7:00, he’ll be able to watch at least an hour of the show before he is ordered to bed.
However, being confined to a cell doesn’t necessarily prevent inmates from viewing, as certain cells offer sightlines to the television. Occasionally the facility keeps televisions running throughout the night, and provided you have a radio you can continue listening.
“The way you listen to TV in prison is you can buy a radio on commissary,” Sam explained, “They’re about $40 and they’re made out of a clear plastic. And if you’ve ever been to a gym where if you’re watching television, they’re tuned to an FM station, each television has the same premise.”
He further explained, “So the TVs are tuned to an FM station and you can listen to the TVs. If the TVs are on at night, you can listen to TVs all night.”
Usually, the numerous televisions are set to sports, news, and a Spanish language channel – and given the popularity of the Academy Awards, they might switch it up for Combs and his fellow inmates.
It comes after it was confirmed that Diddy will be released from prison a month and a half early, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The disgraced rapper’s release date was pushed up from June 4, 2028, to April 25, 2028. The I’ll Me Missing You hitmaker’s 50-month-long sentence was reduced due to his participation in a drug-abuse rehabilitation program, which he began in November of 2025.
After Diddy was accepted into this program, his representative released a statement that read, “Mr. Combs is an active participant in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and has taken his rehabilitation process seriously from the start. He is fully engaged in his work, focused on growth, and committed to positive change.”
The spokesman went on to add, “He works in the chapel library, where he describes the environment as warm, respectful, and rewarding.”
While completing this program lead to his early release, he is still set to face five years of supervision, as well as drug testing and mental health meetings prescribed under his sentence, which he is currently in the process of appealing. In December, his lawyers filed an appeal demanding either his immediate release, a reversal of the conviction, or a reduced sentence.
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