‘It’s Not Top Grade By Any Means.’ One Big Difference Between Diddy And Elizabeth Holmes’ Thanksgiving Meals This Year

Diddy at Howard University in a leather jacket and chains in 2023, Elizabeth Holmes walking into court in a black suit in 2025.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Diddy’s spent a few holidays behind bars now, and with an expected prison release date of June 4, 2028, he’ll likely spend quite a few more in a cell. Holidays are still a bit special in prison, and I’ve always been a little fascinated by the differences between incarceration locations when it comes to handling Thanksgiving, Christmas and more. You need look no further than Elizabeth Holmes’ meal versus Diddy’s to highlight one big difference.

What Elizabeth Holmes (And Co.) Will Be Eating On Thanksgiving

Elizabeth Holmes, the famous Theranos founder and subject of documentaries like The Inventor and series like The Dropout, is currently being housed at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, which is located in Bryan, Texas. The convicted swindler has called life behind bars “hell and torture” since she reported to the camp in 2023, but in some ways she has it good compared to convicts in other locations.

In fact, because Bryan is seen as a “camp” there’s one big difference between meals at the Federal Prison Camp and elsewhere: They are allowed to have bones. So, on Thanksgiving Day, Holmes will get to sit down and eat a turkey leg, bone in baby.

Of course, that meal will be on the early side, at 11 am, but along with the traditional veg and starch trimmings, Ms. Holmes will get what the prisons call “turkey on the bone.” You may think this is not a big deal, but prison consultant Sam Mangel told Business Insider it’s actually an indicator of “trust.”

The bones can be fashioned into weapons. [Drumsticks are] a step up in the trust level.

It sounds great, but the prison expert was also quick to note the good eating is only good compared to some.

The drumsticks, I can tell you from experience, tended to be filled with, you know, tendons. While they looked good, there was just a nominal amount of meat on them. It's not top grade by any means.

Holmes was sentenced to 11 years, so she'll be doing the drumstick thing for a while longer. In addition, Jen Shah and Ghislaine Maxwell are also currently housed in the same institution and will receive the same meal. But what about prisoners elsewhere? What’s Diddy eating today?

What Will Diddy Be Eating On Thanksgiving?

Like the women at the Federal Camp, Diddy's big meal will also come early in the day, but he won't have an option for a bone-in turkey meal. Information from Fort Dix lists a turkey roast with gravy for the main meal. We previously reported sides with the meal included mashed potatoes and corn. We hear cornbread may also be involved. So, lot's of starch in this meal.

Soy chicken and veggies will be offered as an alternative. Later in the day, a choice of peanut butter and jelly or deli sandwiches will be served, per US. Those will come with potato chips.

Not a bad spread. but you'll notice there are no bones in sight here. That's not the only difference between prisons, but it certainly is a big one. In addition, more minimum security prisons often allow their inmates real cutlery. Think: knives and forks, rather than sporks. Mangel also noted:

Anybody who's not in a camp is not going to get a plastic knife. They're going to get a spork, something that can't be used as a weapon.

All in all, Thanksgiving and Christmas are better days for people like Diddy and Holmes in prison, but New Year's is notably less of a pleasant day. Those who work the beat are also very honest that "Nobody wants to be here," so turkey bone-in, knives or sporks, it's still not the best day.

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Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways. 

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