Diddy trial week 4 recap: Claims of physical abuse, bribery and coercion

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal sex trafficking trial wrapped its fourth week on Friday with even more bombshell claims about the embattled music mogul, including that he dangled a woman off a 17th-floor balcony and coerced another into participating in sex parties.
Combs, 55, has been behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September. He's accused of creating a drug-fueled empire of sexual abuse and violence that went unchecked for years, thanks to his fame, influence and a well-paid network tasked with covering up his alleged crimes.
Now four weeks in, the legal proceedings have included testimony from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, fellow rapper Kid Cudi, and former staffers and flings — including one woman who claimed she was forced for years to participate in Diddy's infamous 'freak-offs.'
Here's a recap of what happened during the fourth week of trial:
Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Ventura who goes by the nickname 'Bana,' recalled for the court a 2016 incident when Diddy allegedly dangled her over a balcony at Ventura's high-rise apartment in Los Angeles.
The women had been hanging out when the rapper burst through the door and Bongolan fled to the balcony, she said. She described how Diddy approached her from behind, grabbed her from beneath her armpits and held her over the ledge, 17 stories from the ground. After nearly 20 seconds over the rail, she was then hurled into balcony furniture.
'You know what the f–k you did,' she recalled Combs saying. But to this day, she said she still doesn't know why the rapper flew into a rage.
The encounter left her with several injuries, which she photographed the next day. The images were presented to the jury and showed Bongolan severely bruised with bandages on her arms and back.
Prosecutors also provided jurors with a text, allegedly sent by Ventura to Combs' former staffer Kristina Khorram following the incident. She wrote that Combs 'went at Bana, choked her, dangled her feet off the balcony. This is crazy. I have to get away.'
Combs has denied these allegations.
Security guard Eddy Garcia testified that Combs offered him $100,000 to hide surveillance video that shows him violently beating Ventura in a hotel hallway back in 2016.
The clip — leaked in part by CNN last year and played in full for the jury toward the beginning of the trial — shows the rapper, clad in just a towel around his waist, chasing Ventura down the hallway, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her to floor. The video shows him kicking her as she lies motionless on the ground, before eventually taking hold of her sweatshirt and dragging her back toward their room.
Ventura previously testified the beating took place when she attempted to sneak out of hotel after Combs punched her in the face during one of his freak-offs.
Garcia, then 24 years old, said he began his shift hours after the 'domestic dispute' erupted, but eventually fielded a phone call from Khorram, who asked him about any security footage.
'Off the record, it's bad,' he recalled telling her.
Diddy later allegedly told the security guard he had too much to drink and 'if this got out, it would ruin him,' Garcia said.
During emotional testimony spanning several days, a woman using the pseudonym 'Jane' recalled the debilitating pressure she felt to participate in Diddy's freak-offs, and how the marathon sex sessions turned their relationship into something she feared.
She said she met Combs in November 2020 and fell 'head over heels' shortly after they started dating two months later. As a couple, they enjoyed elaborate outings and frequent trips, which often involved drugs that made her feel 'relaxed, euphoric, sexual,' she said. Prior to that, she'd only taken drugs twice before.
Jane told jurors things started to change after Diddy suggested she have sex with a male escort in front of him. Despite feeling uncomfortable with the idea, she said she agreed not realizing he was being serious — until he informed her shortly later 'there's somebody coming.'
That first freak-off opened 'a Pandora's box in the relationship,' Jane said, telling the court she had no idea at the time it would become a frequent event. Much like Ventura, she testified that subsequent encounters involved her being plied with drugs to keep her awake and recorded without her consent.
Jane said she went along with the freak-offs for a while, attempting to gain some control by choosing which escorts she slept with. By September 2023, she admitted to Diddy in a lengthy text that the 'dark' encounters made her feel 'disgusted' with herself, but she was afraid to 'lose the roof over my head.'
Jane, a young single mom, cried throughout her testimony. She said she felt 'obligated to perform' in the freak-offs, partly because she believed Diddy loved her and partly because he often threatened to cut her off if she didn't do what he said. At the time, Diddy had been paying her rent.
Jane remained with the rapper up until his arrest.
Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday once again warned Diddy about interacting with and trying to influence the jury, threatening to give him the boot if he continued to ignore the directive.
'I saw your client looking at the jury and nodding vigorously,' said the judge, who called Diddy's behavior 'absolutely unacceptable.'
'If it happens again, if it happens even once, I will hear an application from the government to give a curative instruction to the jury, which you do not want,' Subramanian continued. 'Or I will consider taking further measures, which could result in the exclusion of your client from the courtroom.'
Combs' lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, assured the judge it would not happen again.
The scolding came after Combs seemingly nodded at jurors during Bongolan's testimony about the balcony incident.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges including sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.