Diddy trial replay: What did Kid Cudi say about alleged break in, car explosion?

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6 days ago

This page reflects the news from Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on Thursday, May 22. For the latest updates from Diddy's trial, read USA TODAY's live coverage for Tuesday, May 27.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Rapper Kid Cudi took the stand in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal sex-crimes trial, leveling allegations that Combs broke into his home and locked his dog in a bathroom – and that his vehicle blew up in another incident – after the embattled mogul found out he was dating Cassie Ventura Fine.
The rapper, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, dated Ventura Fine briefly in 2011. But she told the court last week that when Combs learned of their relationship, he lunged at her with a corkscrew and kicked her in the back. On May 22, jurors heard Mescudi's recollection of Combs' alleged abuse.
The incidents are just some of the violent acts prosecutors say Combs undertook during a 20-year scheme to coerce women, including Ventura Fine, to take part in drug-fueled sex parties known as "freak offs" and prevent them from leaving his orbit.
Jurors also heard from George Kaplan, a former assistant who alleged he saw Combs physically abuse multiple women during his time working for the rapper. Mylah Morales, a celebrity makeup artist, also told the court she saw injuries on Ventura Fine.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
Following Mescudi's testimony, Morales, a celebrity makeup artist who worked for both Combs and Ventura Fine, recalled a violent January 2010 incident.
Morales remembered falling asleep on a couch in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she was staying with Ventura Fine the weekend of the Grammy Awards. She woke up when Cassie entered the hotel room, and Combs later burst in and demanded to know where Ventura Fine was.
He went into the bedroom and shut the door, and Morales told jurors she heard 'yelling and screaming.'
'I was just frantic, and I didn't know what to do,' Morales said, adding Combs then opened the door and stormed out. She didn't see any injuries on Combs, but she said Ventura Fine 'had a swollen eye and a busted lip and knots on her head.'
She said Ventura Fine seemed 'distraught, upset' but refused to go to a hospital.
Asked why she didn't call the police, Morales said she feared for her life, and she never spoke about the incident with Combs or Ventura Fine.
More: What Kid Cudi revealed Cassie told him about Diddy
Mescudi testified that Combs broke into his home after learning of his relationship with Ventura Fine.
The "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper said the incident started after he received a call in December 2011 from Ventura Fine, who sounded 'scared' and told him Combs had found out about them.
'I didn't think she was still dealing with him,' Mescudi said, adding that he picked up Ventura Fine and took her to a hotel because he wanted to make sure she was safe.
The musician said he received a call from Combs' former assistant Capricorn Clark later in the day, saying the rapper was inside Mescudi's Los Angeles house. Mescudi said he began driving to his home and called Combs on the way, asking if he was inside. Combs, who sounded 'calm,' responded that he was waiting for Mescudi to arrive and that he wanted to speak to him.
Mescudi said no one was ultimately inside. But his dog was locked up in the bathroom, whereas he normally lets his dog roam around the house freely. Some gifts he received from the luxury brand Chanel had also been opened.
Mescudi told the court he reacted to the alleged break in by getting back in his car and calling Combs again because he wanted to 'confront' and 'fight him.'
Combs said he was willing to meet, but after Mescudi reconsidered 'the gravity of the situation,' he decided against it. 'I didn't know who he was with,' he said. 'I didn't know what his intentions were.' Mescudi said he called the police and made a report.
After the incident, he also said he saw changes in his dog's behavior, as the animal became "jittery and on edge all the time."
In January 2012, Mescudi said he got a call from his dogsitter saying that his car was on fire. Mescudi told the court that by the time he returned home, law enforcement officers were on the scene and he saw a Molotov cocktail and the major damage to his vehicle.
Jurors were then shown photos of the destroyed Porsche. There was a large hole in the roof of the car and smoke damage on the doors and interiors.
The testimony is setting the stage for an expected argument that Combs orchestrated the explosion.
The incident came weeks after Mescudi said he went to Connecticut with Ventura Fine to visit her family for Christmas. During that time, Combs texted him a couple times, wanting to speak and 'get to the bottom of it.'
Combs had he was 'in the dark' about his relationship with Ventura Fine, but Mescudi responded: 'You broke into my house. You messed with my dog. I don't really wanna talk to you.'
During cross-examination, Mescudi said he left his door unlocked the day of the alleged break-in and that there was no forced entry or damage to furniture, just opened Christmas gifts and his dog in the bathroom.
He confirmed that Combs was calm on the phone when they spoke after the alleged incident, not cursing at or threatening him. Asked whether he thought Combs would return to his home with a firearm, Mescudi said 'at that point I didn't know. Maybe he would … This crossed a line.'
Asked about Ventura Fine's reaction to the alleged break in, Mescudi said his one-time girlfriend was 'just really shook by the circumstance of him finding out about us,' he said.
Mescudi confirmed that Ventura Fine had told him about Combs' alleged physical abuse, 'that he would hit her, sometimes kick her.' When asked whether he was in love with her, Mescudi said 'yeah.'
'Ms. Ventura was leading two different lives,' defense lawyer Brian Steel said, to which Combs gave a slight nod. "She played you. That's your words," Steel said, implying that Ventura Fine had made both Combs and Mescudi believe they were the only person she was seeing.
Mescudi nodded and said yes.
When asked about their breakup, Mescudi said they ended things because of 'the drama.'
'It was just getting out of hand' he said, adding he 'just wanted to give it some space, for my safety and for her safety.'
One strange delay in Combs' daily legal proceedings: There was a long exchange between prosecutors and defense lawyers about Mescudi's dog. The defense wanted to make sure that Mescudi didn't testify about the long-term effects the alleged break-in may have had on the dog or how the pup might have been 'traumatized.'
'There might be some dog lovers on the jury,' defense lawyer Brian Steel explained, adding jokingly 'He's not going to testify about what the dog thought …it's a serious issue.'
Combs laughed at exchange, and the lawyers agreed there would be no testimony about the dog's apparent emotions, but prosecutors could ask about the immediate effects after the break-in.
See photos: Kid Cudi's Porsche damaged in explosion allegedly orchestrated by Diddy
Mescudi's testimony was mostly soft-spoken as he recalled a brief courtship with Ventura Fine – and the alleged ire it drew from Combs. Mescudi didn't appear affected by the packed courtroom and frequently asked the prosecution to repeat questions.
Kid Cudi did quip back at Combs' attorneys during his cross-examination. One lawyer asked whether Mescudi and Cassie had an "intimate relationship" and said they did everything together. That included hiking, to which Mescudi retorted, "Exercised? No, no. We watched a movie or two."
Steel said they did drugs together, and Mescudi responded with a mocking, puzzled expression. "When you say drugs, what do you mean?" he asked, adding "we smoked some weed, yeah."
The rapper was calm throughout his testimony, even while describing concerns for his own safety.
'Why did you have safety concerns?' Mescudi was asked by Combs' attorneys about his relationship with Cassie, to which hit back 'Because I knew Sean Combs was violent.'
Combs, sitting at the defense table, appeared unphased by Mescudi's testimony, staring forward and not reacting to the fellow rapper's statements. He briefly looked at the photos of the car show to the jury and at one point held his hand up to his mouth, appearing to yawn.
Frederic Zemmour, the general manager of the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills luxury hotel, took the stand as jurors saw activity logs for Combs' stays there.
For one of Combs' stays in 2015, the hotel's documents said that the rapper 'ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil,' and that his room should be placed 'out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.'
The notes also said to 'please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages.' A housekeeping note said to 'monitor outside his room/down the hall to spray air freshener.'
On one occasion, the record showed there was 'candle wax on carpets and night stands' and that a charge of $500 should be added for damage and cleaning.
George Kaplan, a former assistant for Combs, testified that he witnessed Combs physically abuse Ventura Fine while they were all traveling to Las Vegas on a private plane.
He recalled hearing glass break and shatter during the flight and looking back to see Combs standing over Ventura Fine, holding a whisky glass above her. Ventura Fine was on her back with her legs up, trying to create space, and Combs was 'angry,' he said.
There was a 'tremendous commotion,' Kaplan testified, and Ventura Fine screamed, 'Isn't anybody seeing this?'
Kaplan said no one on the plane did anything to help her, and he feared checking on Ventura Fine would jeopardize his career.
In another instance in 2015, Kaplan said he walked into the bedroom at Combs' home and found Ventura Fine lying on the bed crying, appearing to have a bruise above her right eye. Kaplan said Combs 'asked me to pick up several over-the-counter lotions,' including witch hazel, which Kaplan later learned they used to create an anti-swelling mixture.
Kaplan said he resigned at the end of 2015 because he wasn't 'comfortable or aligned with the physical behavior I had seen' and felt guilty about covering up alleged abuse.
Kaplan also recalled an incident at Combs' Miami house where the rapper "threw a bunch of green apples" at model Gina Huynh.
The apples were in a decorative bowl displayed near the entrance of the house. Combs was "very angry," Kaplan said, throwing the apples "hard" as Huynh was "trying to shield herself."
Despite seeing the violence, Kaplan said he left and assumed the behavior was normal for the entertainment industry. The same night, Kaplan said he heard a commotion near the front gate of the home between Huynh and other male voices who were screaming.
Huynh reportedly dated Combs on-and-off during the late 2010s.
The court saw a text message that Kaplan sent to Combs in 2018 that featured a photo of Kim Porter on horseback on a beach. The text read: 'No possible words rn. I am so so sorry and sending all of my condolences. Please hang in there. Love you.'
Porter was Combs' on-and-off partner from the 1990s into the 2000s. She died in 2018 of pneumonia, and she's the mother of four of Combs' seven children.
When asked how Porter compared to other girlfriends, such as Ventura Fine, Kaplan said, 'she was a special figure to him,' and 'she was vaunted above' the title of mere girlfriend.
Kaplan praised Combs' children to the jurors and repeatedly spoke highly of the professional opportunities the rapper gave him in his former role. Still, he said, he only showed up to the courtroom because he was subpoenaed by federal officials.
'I desperately did not want to come here,' he said, and he and Combs nodded to each other as he walked by on this way out.
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff; Reuters
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy trial replay: Kid Cudi alleges Combs broke in, locked away dog