Usher, Ne-Yo Were Present When Diddy Punched Cassie At Party, Dawn Richard Testifies
While on the witness stand Monday (May 19) in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial, Dawn Richard testified that the Bad Boy founder allegedly punched his artist and girlfriend at the time, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, while attending a star-studded dinner party in 2010.
The Diddy-Dirty Money singer claims the incident took place in a restaurant where Combs and Ventura were 'quietly' arguing when Combs allegedly punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain.
'She immediately bent over, he [Combs] told her to leave,' Richard testified. 'No one intervened.' Usher, Ne-Yo, record exec Jimmy Iovine and 'other celebrities' were allegedly present in the restaurant, but Richard did not testify that they directly witnessed the alleged moment of abuse.
Richard added that she rode home with the couple and witnessed Cassie be assaulted again for saying Combs 'embarrassed' her.
'He grabbed her by the neck and popped her, slapped her in the mouth,' Richard testified, adding that Combs then said to Ventura, 'Shut the f**k up.'
'He would tell her he owned her,' Richard added. 'I told her he should leave. Cass looked torn. She would listen, but I could see the fear.'
Richard previously recalled the evening in question in her September 2024 lawsuit against the No Way Out artist.
'In front of dinner guests, Mr. Combs hissed at Ms. Ventura in a screaming whisper and forcefully punched her in the stomach causing her to double over in visible pain, crying,' the lawsuit reads. 'Ms Clark escorted Ms. Ventura out of the restaurant and Mr. Combs remained and continued socializing with dinner guests.'
Diddy's attorney Erica Wolff addressed Richard's lawsuit at the time, telling VIBE in a statement, 'Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.'
It continues, 'If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year. It's unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.'
More from VIBE.com
Dawn Richard Claims Diddy Warned That "People Go Missing" For Going Against Him
Misa Hylton Reacts To Backlash For Appearing At Diddy Trial: "I'm A Mother First"
Cassie's Husband, Alex Fine, Calls Sean "Diddy" Combs A "Demon"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Diddy's ex testified she researched what it means to be a 'cuck' to understand freak offs
Since opening statements, the defense has tried to humanize the unorthodox appetites of Sean Combs. On Tuesday, the defense asked an accuser about her research into a sex fetish central to the trial. "I would use the word 'cuck' for him," she said of Combs' desire to watch her have sex with other men. The defense team for Sean "Diddy" Combs broke new ground on Tuesday in their ongoing efforts to humanize his unorthodox appetites — this time by asking one of his accusers to describe her "research" into the fetish of cuckolding. "I just wanted to know why my partner wanted so many of these nights, and what was driving him," the accuser, "Jane," testified when asked by one of Combs' lawyers to describe her research. "I would use the word 'cuck' for him," she said her research led her to conclude. Jane, who is using a pseudonym, is the second ex-girlfriend and sex-trafficking accuser to testify against Combs at his federal trial in Manhattan. She spent Tuesday under a cross-examination that is due to continue on Wednesday and Thursday. Like the trial's first sex-trafficking accuser, R&B artist Cassie Ventura, Jane told the jury that Combs used violence, false promises, and drugs to coerce her into dayslong sessions of sex with male escorts. During these marathon sessions — Ventura called them "freak offs," Jane called them "hotel nights" — Combs would masturbate, make recordings, and give detailed instructions, like, "more baby oil," both women testified. Both Ventura and Jane described complying with these 72-hour threesomes — sometimes more men would be involved — out of love, and financial and emotional dependency. Both said Combs met their protests with scorn and insults, and with threats to withhold his affection and cash. Both described harrowing violence at Combs' hands. Ventura was beaten to the point of injury by Combs more than a dozen times in their on-and-off decadelong relationship, according to multiple witnesses, contemporaneous text messages, and photographs of her bruised face and body. "Is this coercion?" Jane testified that Combs taunted her last year, after a beating that covered her face with bruises. She said he then demanded she hide her welts and black eye with makeup, pop an ecstasy pill, and have sex with an escort, telling her, "you're not going to ruin my fucking night." Part of the defense strategy has been to portray the millionaire music and lifestyle mogul sympathetically, as a business genius who has struggled with mental health issues, drug addiction, and anger. Since the May 12 opening statements, his attorneys have made a point of calling him "Sean," instead of the other names they said he's otherwise known as, such as "Diddy" and "Puff." They have repeatedly asked prosecution witnesses to describe his generosity, including on Jane's first day of cross-examination. For two years, Combs has paid the $10,000 monthly rent on Jane's 5,300 square foot Los Angeles-area home, she testified Tuesday. He also invested $20,000 in her dress design business, she said. "I would assume that it would be close to that," Jane responded when defense lawyer Teny Geragos asked if it were true that Combs had wired her a total of $150,000 in the three years they dated, between 2021 and 2024. Jane being asked to describe her research into "cuckoldry" may be part of a challenging effort to humanize and normalize Combs and his appetites. His lawyers made a point during the cross-examination of his former assistants to highlight Combs' penchant for putting applesauce on his cheeseburgers. Freak offs or hotel nights. which the defense calls consensual, may be presented by the defense as a similar, though more extreme, example of a personal preference — a "lifestyle," as Geragos lightly called it on Tuesday. Geragos pressed Jane for a detailed description of her research into cuckoldry, repeatedly asking, "what else?" and "what were some of the other things" Jane had learned. Only after Jane used the word "bi-curiosity" did the line of questioning end, and the defense lawyer move on. "Cucks could also have a bi-curiosity that they were too ashamed to experience themselves," Jane said her research showed her. "So they use the woman to venture out into this curiosity — without venturing out into this activity themselves," she added. Prosecutors have shown these sex performances in a much darker light than as merely part of an exploration of a "curiosity" or a "lifestyle," calling them coercive and humiliating, as have Ventura and Jane. "I just felt like it was all I was good for to him," testified Ventura. She told jurors that freak offs would leave the walls, couches, and carpets of the hotel suites that Combs rented soiled with baby oil, lubricant, candle wax, blood, and urine. "I just felt pretty horrible about myself," she told jurors. "I felt disgusting." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Combs' ex accuses him of abuse but says she loves him
An ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs who accuses him of kicking, punching and dragging her has testified at his sex trafficking trial that she still loves the hip-hop mogul. "He was my baby," said the woman, who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy. Asked under cross-examination by defence lawyer Teny Geragos if she still loves Combs, Jane said, "I do". The woman said she enjoyed taking care of Combs, bathing him and falling asleep with him while watching television after "hotel nights", their phrase for drug-fuelled encounters in which she would have sex with male entertainers while Combs watched. The questioning was part of Combs' strategy to portray Jane as a willing participant in the sexual encounters with him, not a victim of sex trafficking as prosecutors allege. She said she agreed to these "hotel nights" while "under a lot of emotional pressure" - and already hooked on love and a desire to stay in a relationship with Combs. Jane testified that she partook in the encounters, sometimes grudgingly, because they pleased Combs and she enjoyed spending time alone with him afterward. Combs, 55, and the founder of Bad Boy Records, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Combs used force and threats of cutting off financial support to coerce women into taking part in the encounters, sometimes known as "Freak Offs". Over three days under questioning by prosecutors in Manhattan federal court, Jane said that she agreed to have sex with a male escort in front of Combs early in their relationship but that he later dismissed her requests to stop and threatened to stop paying her rent. On Monday, Jane said Combs kicked, punched and dragged her during an altercation at her Los Angeles home last June. Later that night, he told her to perform oral sex on a male entertainer even though she said she did not want to, Jane said. Under questioning on Tuesday, Jane said she researched the terms "cuck" and "cuckold" during her relationship with Combs to try to understand his desires. The words refer to men who enjoy watching female partners with other men, Jane said. "I just wanted to know why my partner wanted so many of these nights and what was driving him," Jane said. Combs' defence lawyers are expected to cross-examine Jane until Thursday. Testimony is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process. with AP
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Diddy's ex testified she researched what it means to be a 'cuck' to understand freak offs
The defense team for Sean "Diddy" Combs broke new ground on Tuesday in their ongoing efforts to humanize his unorthodox appetites — this time by asking one of his accusers to describe her "research" into the fetish of cuckolding. "I just wanted to know why my partner wanted so many of these nights, and what was driving him," the accuser, "Jane," testified when asked by one of Combs' lawyers to describe her "research." "I would use the word 'cuck' for him," she said her research led her to conclude. Jane, who is using a pseudonym, is the second ex-girlfriend and sex-trafficking accuser to testify against Combs at his federal trial in Manhattan. She spent Tuesday under a cross-examination that is due to continue on Wednesday and Thursday. Like the trial's first sex-trafficking accuser, R&B artist Cassie Ventura, Jane told the jury that Combs used violence, false promises, and drugs to coerce her into dayslong sessions of sex with male escorts. During these marathon sessions — Ventura called them "freak offs," Jane called them "hotel nights" — Combs would masturbate, make recordings, and give detailed instructions, like, "more baby oil," both women testified. Both Ventura and Jane described complying with these 72-hour threesomes — sometimes more men would be involved — out of love, and financial and emotional dependency. Both said Combs met their protests with scorn and insults, and with threats to withhold his affection and cash. Both described harrowing violence at Combs' hands. Ventura was beaten to the point of injury by Combs more than a dozen times in their on-and-off decadelong relationship, according to multiple witnesses, contemporaneous text messages, and photographs of her bruised face and body. "Is this coercion?" Jane testified that Combs taunted her last year, after a beating that covered her face with bruises. She said he then demanded she hide her welts and black eye with makeup, pop an ecstasy pill, and have sex with an escort, telling her, "you're not going to ruin my fucking night." Part of the defense strategy has been to portray the millionaire music and lifestyle mogul sympathetically, as a business genius who has struggled with mental health issues, drug addiction, and anger. Since the May 12 opening statements, his attorneys have made a point of calling him "Sean," instead of the other names they said he's otherwise known as, such as "Diddy" and "Puff." They have repeatedly asked prosecution witnesses to describe his generosity, including on Jane's first day of cross-examination. For two years, Combs has paid the $10,000 monthly rent on Jane's 5,300 square foot Los Angeles-area home, she testified Tuesday. He also invested $20,000 in her dress design business, she said. "I would assume that it would be close to that," Jane responded when defense lawyer Teny Geragos asked if it were true that Combs had wired her a total of $150,000 in the three years they dated, between 2021 and 2024. Jane being asked to describe her research into "cuckoldry" may be part of a challenging effort to humanize and normalize Combs and his appetites. His lawyers made a point during the cross-examination of his former assistants to highlight Combs' penchant for putting applesauce on his cheeseburgers. Freak offs or hotel nights. which the defense calls consensual, may be presented by the defense as a similar, though more extreme, example of a personal preference. Geragos made a point during Tuesday's cross of eliciting a detailed description of Jane's research into cuckoldry. Asked to elaborate, Jane said she learned that "Cucks could also have a bi-curiosity that they were too ashamed to experience themselves." She added, "So they use the woman to venture out into this curiosity — without venturing out into this activity themselves." Prosecutors have shown these sex performances in a much darker light, calling them coercive and humiliating, as have Ventura and Jane. "I just felt like it was all I was good for to him," testified Ventura. She told jurors that freak offs would leave the walls, couches, and carpets of the hotel suites that Combs rented soiled with baby oil, lubricant, candle wax, blood, and urine. "I just felt pretty horrible about myself," she told jurors. "I felt disgusting."
