Former Employee Reveals Why He — and Not Hotel Staff — Always Cleaned Up Rooms After Diddy
Sean "Diddy" Combs' former assistant testified that he would clean up the music mogul's hotel rooms in an apparent attempt to protect the rapper's public image.
George Kaplan, who worked as an executive assistant to Combs, testified on Wednesday, May 21 that he would be tasked with setting up hotel rooms for the Bad Boy Records founder across the country, specifically mentioning the InterContinental in L.A. and the Trump Hotel in New York.
Prosecutors asked Kaplan if he cleaned the rooms for Combs.
'Yes, bottles of baby oil, Gatorade," Kaplan testified. "Once, brown crystallized powder on the counter of the bathroom sink.'
Related: Diddy Trial Day 8 Live: Witness Testimony Continues, with Kid Cudi Appearance Possible This Week
When asked why he would clean the rooms instead of having hotel staff do it, Kaplan said he did because he inferred that he needed to protect his boss' public image.
'It was implied: protect his public image," Kaplan testified. "I was keen on doing that.'Kaplan testified that he was promoted to executive assistant to the chairman of Combs Enterprises in 2014 and held the role until 2015.
Kaplan, who ended the day on the stand, alleged that he also kept a kit stocked with Advil and ketamine for Combs.
Combs is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty.
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Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, was granted immunity to testify after invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. She told the court that during an altercation with Combs in 2016, he held her over a 17th-story balcony at Ventura's apartment before slamming her into the balcony's furniture. Bongolan said that Combs came up from behind, picked her up and held her by her armpits over the balcony railing while repeatedly yelling, 'Do you know what the f*** you did?" She told him she had no idea what he was talking about. She said her feet dangled above the balcony railing for 10 to 15 seconds before he threw her onto the balcony furniture. Bongolan said the assault left her with bruises and neck pain and caused her to have 'night terrors.' Photos of Bongolan's injuries were shown in court. Bongolan said she did not report the incident to police because she was scared of Combs. During cross-examination, the defense attempted to discredit Bongolan's memory of the incident while getting her to acknowledge that she did not remember some of the details surrounding the alleged attack. Big picture: Bongolan included the allegation in a $10 million civil lawsuit she filed against Combs in November. Ventura mentioned the balcony incident in her 2023 lawsuit against Combs without naming Bongolan as the victim. Bongolan said Wednesday that Ventura asked if she could identify her in the suit, but she refused. She also testified about the violence she witnessed in Ventura's relationship with Combs. Bongolan said that she saw Ventura with a black eye multiple times and witnessed Combs throw a knife at Ventura at Ventura's apartment in Los Angeles. Ventura picked up the knife and hurled it back at Combs, Bongolan said. Both of their throws missed each other. She said she did not report the incident to police because she feared Combs. She also told the court that Combs once threatened her while she and Ventura were at the beach. 'He came up really close to my face and said something along the lines of, 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,'' Bongolan said. According to Bongolan, Combs had likely taken cocaine before issuing the threat. Big picture: During her direct testimony, Bongolan acknowledged she and Ventura often took drugs, including marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine — an admission that was seized upon by the defense. Under cross-examination, Bongolan said they spent most of their time together getting high. 'Yeah, we had a problem,' she testified. Frank Piazza, a forensic video expert, was the first witness called by prosecutors to testify on Wednesday. Piazza told the court that surveillance video of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura inside the InterContinental in Los Angeles on March 5, 2016, which has been shown to jurors multiple times during the trial, was not manually altered. He said there were "no anomalies" in the footage, which showed Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in an elevator bank inside the hotel. Ventura said the attack took place when she tried to leave a 'freak off.' Prosecutors also showed the jury a longer compilation of footage from the hotel around the time of the attack. Big picture: The video is a key piece of evidence in the government's case as it seeks to prove that Ventura was forced by Combs to have sex with male escorts as part of 'freak offs' held at various hotels. And prosecutors used the forensic video expert to authenticate it while refuting claims by the defense that the footage, which was first aired by CNN in 2024, had been doctored. While Piazza was on the witness stand, the prosecution filed into evidence 10 "sex videos" involving Ventura that were recovered from a laptop she turned over to the government. Piazza testified that he enhanced the footage on most of them and the audio on one of them. The videos, dated between 2012 and 2014, came from a user profile labeled "Frank Black," which is one of the aliases Combs used while traveling. They were filed under seal, meaning only the jury will be able to see them. Big picture: Ventura and other witnesses testified that Combs threatened to release videos of Ventura participating in "freak offs" to get her to do what he wanted. Another one of Combs's accusers who has agreed to testify under a pseudonym, 'Jane,' is expected to testify on Thursday. Jane, who is identified as 'Victim-2' in the indictment, alleges that she was forced to participate in 'freak offs' orchestrated by Combs. Prosecutor Maurene Comey had said that direct examination of Jane will take at least two days, followed by cross-examination that is expected to be of similar length. 'Mia,' a former assistant and the first accuser to testify against Combs under a pseudonym, concluded three days of testimony on Monday. Big picture: Earlier this week, prosecutors asked Judge Arun Subramanian to order a news organization that revealed the identity of Mia in a social media post to remove it. Subramanian said he would consider it if the government submitted a formal request. A YouTube streamer who captured and posted an image of her face has already been barred from the courthouse.
