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Live updates: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend testifies about abuse in sex trafficking trial

Live updates: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend testifies about abuse in sex trafficking trial

Associated Press13 hours ago

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' recent ex-girlfriend described enduring drug-fueled sex marathons until the hip-hop titan's arrest in September as the key witness began testimony Thursday. She is expected to resume her testimony Friday.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 13:27:46
Title:
Jane's second day of testimony starts with sexual topics
Content: Comey, the prosecutor, questioned Jane about sexual subjects right from the start on Friday, beginning with a trip Jane said she took with Combs to Las Vegas in 2023 when they had a 'hotel night' with an 'entertainer.'
The prosecutor asked Jane if Combs ever used the word 'freak' with her. Jane said he would say 'he wants his freak.' She said she understood that to mean 'he wanted me to be wild and sexual.'
Jane's description of 'hotel nights' has closely paralleled Cassie's earlier testimony about 'freak-offs' she had with male sex workers, under Combs' direction.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 13:19:25
Title:
Jane returns to the courtroom
Content: Jane is back to resume her direct examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey.
The jury has entered the room. Combs, wearing a dark sweater on Friday, is conversing with his lawyers and writing notes.
The judge gave prosecutors a small victory prior to the resumption of testimony when he ruled that statements Jane made that cast a disparaging light on the sexual performances she endured during her three years of dating Combs can be used during her examination.
Defense lawyers had argued they should be inadmissible. But the judge said the opening statement by the defense opened the way for admission of the exhibits because the defense asserted that Jane was a willing participant and that sexual activities were all consensual.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:58:28
Title:
Judge meets with attorneys before jury arrives
Content: As he has throughout the trial, Judge Arun Subramanian is meeting with prosecutors and defense lawyers in the courtroom on Friday before the jury is brought in so disputes about evidence can be settled.
The judge also discussed efforts to improve the ability of Combs to communicate with his lawyers from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been held since his September arrest.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:43:00
Title:
Ex-aide says she was 'brainwashed' when she sent loving texts years after rape
Content: A former personal assistant who accuses Combs of rape testified Monday that she continued sending the hip-hop mogul loving messages for years after her job ended in 2017 because she was 'brainwashed.'
The woman, testifying under the pseudonym 'Mia,' pushed back at defense lawyer Brian Steel's suggestions that she fabricated her claims to cash in on 'the #MeToo money grab against Sean Combs.'
Steel had Mia read aloud numerous text messages she sent Combs. In one from 2019, she told Combs that he'd rescued her in a nightmare in which she was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly, the singer who has since been convicted of sex trafficking.
'And the person who sexually assaulted you came to your rescue?' Steel asked incredulously. He rephrased, asking if she really dreamed of being saved by a man 'who terrorized you and caused you PTSD?' Prosecutors objected and the judge sustained it.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:31:00
Title:
Cassie's friend is grilled about being dangled off a balcony
Content: Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, a friend of Cassie and a graphic designer who is suing Combs, testified Wednesday that in 2016, Combs held her over the edge of a balcony at a Los Angeles high-rise for 10 to 15 seconds, an episode she said traumatized her and left her with lasting night terrors.
On Thursday, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland challenged Bongolan's credibility, suggesting she lied or exaggerated. The lawyer noted Combs was on tour for much of September 2016, including East Coast shows around the time cellphone metadata shows Bongolan photographed her injuries.
'You agree that one person can't be in two places at the same time,' Westmoreland asked.
'In like theory, yeah. It's hard to answer that one,' Bongolan replied.
She also acknowledged smoking marijuana with Combs not long after, and attending one of his concerts and a private party roughly a week later.
'You weren't too fearful enough to not go to Mr. Combs' event, were you?' Westmoreland asked.
'I always had a feeling inside, but yes, I went,' Bongolan said.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:18:00
Title:
Judge threatens to kick Diddy out of court
Content: Before Jane testified Thursday, while jurors were at lunch, Judge Arun Subramanian said he saw Combs energetically nodding at the jury twice while his lawyers cross-examined a prior witness. The judge warned that any further attempts to engage with jurors could get Combs ejected from the courtroom.
'There should be no efforts whatsoever to have an interaction with this jury,' Subramanian told Combs' lawyers.
Combs seemed relaxed and smiled broadly afterward, possibly reacting to his attorney's withering cross-examination. He has been active in his defense throughout the trial, regularly writing notes and consulting with his legal team.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:10:00
Title:
Jane's relationship with Diddy turns sour
Content: A single mother, Jane said she got to know Combs during a 'girls' trip' to Miami in 2020 with a friend who was dating him. Jane said she dated him from 2021 to 2024, in what began as a loving and passionate relationship.
However, she grew emotional — lowering her head and wiping tears — as she explained how the relationship changed in May 2021, when Combs began sharing his sexual fantasies involving her with other men and role-playing. She agreed to go along, thinking it was a one-time event sometime in the future that would make him happy.
Within hours, she said, she was in a Miami hotel room watching Combs' assistants set up for a group sex encounter.
Jane's description of 'hotel nights' closely paralleled Cassie's earlier testimony. Both described trying to rush through the encounters just to get them over with. Jane said the encounters sometimes lasted over 24 hours.
The judge has taken steps to protect Jane's anonymity, including warning observers not to describe or sketch her in a way that would reveal her identity.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-06 12:04:39
Title:
An ex-girlfriend testifies about Combs' abuse and control
Content: Combs' recent ex-girlfriend described enduring drug-fueled sex marathons until the hip-hop titan's arrest in September as the key witness began testimony Thursday.
The woman, using the pseudonym 'Jane,' is among several witnesses at Combs sex trafficking trial who accuse him of violence, including his former girlfriend, R&B singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura.
Cassie testified in the trial's first week that Combs assaulted her repeatedly and forced her into 'hundreds' of encounters with male sex workers called 'freak-offs' while Combs watched, directed and sometimes filmed.
Jane said she repeatedly told Combs, in person and in writing, that she didn't want to have sex with other men. But Combs, who paid her rent and controlled other parts of her life, kept pressuring her and she felt 'obligated,' she said.
Jane spoke barely above a whisper to an attentive jury. Several jurors leaned forward as she testified, while Combs mostly stared at her, but she never appeared to look back.
▶ Read more about the trial onThursday

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