Cassie Testifies Diddy Would Kick Her During 'Freak Offs' and Texted Her Something Abusive After Injuring Her
Opening arguments in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial began Mon., May 12, at a federal court in Manhattan
Combs pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution
Prosecutors allege that Combs is the mastermind behind a criminal enterprise that forced women to perform sex acts
The degrading acts that Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly forced Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura to perform for his pleasure took a toll on her health, she told jurors on Wed., May 14.
'Occasionally I'd get sores on my tongue from doing drugs," the R&B singer testified on day three of Combs' high-profile federal sex crimes trial in Manhattan federal court. "Also (from) having my mouth on different things from oil and lubricants.'
When Ventura texted Combs to let him know she had painful sores on her tongue and "another UTI," he responded by saying, "I'm sorry," she testified.
Related: Cassie Recounts Brutal Assault by Diddy at L.A. Hotel — and Reveals Why She Didn't Fight Back
The former model and "Me & You" singer, who is married to personal trainer Alex Fine and is eight months pregnant with their child, is testifying about the physical and emotional abuse she allegedly endured at the hands of her powerful ex-boyfriend of 11 years.
Ventura alleges that Combs forced her to take part in orchestrated sex acts called "Freak Offs" that he filmed, threatening to use the tapes as blackmail to derail her music career. She testified that she took drugs to help her get through these encounters.
When Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson asked Ventura why she didn't refuse to take part in the Freak Offs, Ventura said she complied because she loved him and because she allegedly feared his wrath.Combs became violent with Ventura when he was angry at her but also during their Freak Offs with male escorts, she told jurors.
Related: Cassie Alleges She Would Become Ill During 'Freak Offs' — and Diddy Would Keep 'Encouraging' Her to Have Sex
Combs, she alleged, would sometimes 'put his hands on me. He would grab me up, push me down. Hit me in the side of the head. Kick me. You name it.'
Ventura recalled one incident n 2013, when Combs attacked her in front of two friends, prompting them to 'jump on his back."
When she cut her eyebrow on the bed during the struggle, Combs asked members of his security team to take her to a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon to check it out.
When she sent him a photo of the injury, he allegedly responded, 'You. Don't know. When to. Stop. You have pushed IT Too far. And continue to push. Sad.'
Related: Cassie Set to Continue Emotional Testimony at Diddy Trial: Day 3 Live Updates
Arrested in September 2024, Combs pleaded not guilty to five counts of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
On the first day of the trial on Monday, May 12, in Manhattan federal court, jurors saw surveillance video of the hip-hop mogul beating and kicking Ventura in the elevator bank of a hotel lobby in 2016.
Johnson told jurors in her opening statement that Combs is the mastermind behind a vast criminal enterprise he used to allegedly lure women with promises of romance and help with their careers, drug them and force them to have sex.
In her opening statement, Combs' defense attorney Teny Geragos said that any sex between her client and Ventura was consensual, as was the fact that she stayed with him for more than a decade.
Combs could face up to life in prison if he is convicted on all counts. Since his 2024 arrest, he has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Complex in Brooklyn.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
B2K's 'Bump Bump Bump' performance at BET Awards has Diddy, R. Kelly connections
B2K's 'Bump Bump Bump' performance at BET Awards has Diddy, R. Kelly connections Show Caption Hide Caption SZA, Kendrick Lamar win big at 2025 BET Awards Kendrick Lamar won Album of the Year for his critically acclaimed GNX LP and Mariah Carey performed her hit song 'It's Like That' at the BET Awards. Cover Media Sunday night's BET Awards hit heavy on the nostalgia, bringing back hip-hop and R&B stars from the early aughts to revive a sound not quite like any other. To honor the "TRL"-style music video countdown show "106 & Park," a slate of big-name performers took the stage for a 20-minute beat-pounding medley. Amid mini-sets from Ashanti and Keyshia Cole, boy band B2K treated the audience to a rendition of their 2002 club anthem "Bump Bump Bump." Complete with synchronized dance moves and all white 'fits, the four-man music group leaned heavily into their classic boy band appeal. Jamie Foxx cries in BET Awards speech about health, credits daughters with recovery Eagle-eyed fans were quick to tease out a more sordid history of the track. "Bump Bump Bump" was originally released with a feature from Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is currently on trial for federal sex crimes. Combs' influence on hip-hop, especially in the early 2000s, was so far-reaching that it's hard to hit shuffle without running into one of his projects. The group is composed of J-Boog, Raz-B, Omarion and Lil' Fizz, who, rather than play an audio recording of Combs' part, rapped it in his place. The story goes deeper, though. The track was also originally written by R. Kelly, who, like Combs, faced sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and is now serving time in prison after being convicted on all counts. Several high-profile rappers also remixed the song, including 50 Cent and Jay-Z. Blue Ivy Carter reclaims her title, wins BET YoungStars Award once again amid Beyoncé tour 50 Cent is a longtime rival of Combs and has been making an internet mockery of his ongoing legal challenges. Jay-Z was looped in with Combs in a recent lawsuit that accused both rappers for rape, though the case has since been dropped, with Jay-Z denying all wrongdoing and filing a countersuit against his former accuser. As Combs, once a kingmaker in the genre, faces a reputation forever sullied, B2K's performance is a preview of how difficult it may be to avoid his art.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Diddy told Cassie's friend 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,' she testifies
Among the disturbing allegations emerging from Sean "Diddy" Combs' ongoing criminal trial is a statement the hip-hop mogul supposedly said to one of Cassie Ventura Fine's friends years ago. Bryana "Bana" Bongolan testified June 4 that she was doing an impromptu beach photoshoot with Ventura Fine and a photographer friend one day when Combs went up to her and issued a threat. "He came really close to my face and said, 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,'" she told the court. She admitted she was likely high on cocaine at the time. Regardless, she "was terrified" and unsure why Combs said that to her. Bongolan's remarks came on the 20th day of Combs' trial, which kicked off with jury selection on May 5. During her time on the stand, which will continue into a second day of cross-examination, Bongolan also detailed a 2016 incident in which Combs allegedly held her up on Ventura Fine's 17th-floor balcony and balanced her on the railing, making her think that she might fall. The event was first described in Ventura Fine's 2023 lawsuit, and Bongolan filed her own suit seeking $10 million in damages from Combs a year later. Bongolan told the court she'd first met Ventura Fine in the mid-2010s while working at a streetwear company called Diamond Supply Company, where the latter had been tapped to design a clothing line. She didn't meet Combs until about a year into their friendship, Bongolan said, but she knew she "wasn't fond of what I was seeing" in his relationship with Ventura Fine. She didn't really want to meet him, she testified. Bongolan also said that during a FaceTime before "The Perfect Match" premiere, she witnessed the black eye Ventura Fine allegedly suffered from Combs assaulting her in the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in May 2016. "I was pretty quiet. I remember saying, 'I'm sorry.' She was also pretty quiet," Bongolan testified. Federal prosecutors claim Combs led a "criminal enterprise" that operated on sex trafficking, kidnapping, drug offenses and forced labor, among other crimes. Combs leveraged his wealth and celebrity status to "fulfill his sexual desires" in a "recurrent and widely known" pattern of abuse, investigators allege. He faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Gina Barton, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cassie's friend testifies Diddy said 'I'm the devil', 'could kill you'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cassie Ventura's mother says Sean ‘Diddy' Combs blackmailed her for $20,000
The federal trial against Sean 'Diddy' Combs continued on Tuesday, with Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, testifying that she was 'scared about my daughter's safety' and revealing that she had paid Combs $20,000 'to recoup money he had spent' on her daughter 'because he was unhappy she was in a relationship with Kid Cudi'. Casandra Ventura, Combs's former girlfriend and the key witness in the case, testified last week. Combs, 55, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September 2024 and has pleaded not guilty. On Tuesday morning, Combs's former personal assistant David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 and 2009, continued his testimony after first taking the stand on Monday afternoon. His testimony was followed by that of Regina Ventura and exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, whose nickname is 'The Punisher'. Related: A timeline of allegations and charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs Regina Ventura testified that in December 2011, her daughter emailed her and Combs's assistant while flying home for Christmas. She told them that Combs was threatening to release explicit videos of Ventura after learning she was dating rapper Kid Cudi. Ventura also said in the email that Combs had told her that he would 'be having someone hurt' her and Cudi. Regina Ventura said that Combs demanded $20,000 to reclaim what he said he had spent on Cassie. She and her husband took out a home-equity loan to get the money for Combs because she was 'scared about my daughter's safety'. Regina Ventura allegedly received instructions from Combs's bookkeeper about how to wire the money and sent it to him. However, the money was returned several days later. When Cassie Ventura returned home for Christmas, her mother said, she then learned of Combs's alleged violence. The elder Ventura took photographs of the bruises on her daughter's body to document them. Earlier in the day, during James's testimony, he detailed his duties, which had included setting up hotel rooms for Combs, laying out Combs's clothes and toiletries, and procuring 'personal items' such as baby oil, lubricant, condoms and snacks. He also described Combs's medicine bag, which allegedly contained dozens of pill bottles that contained ecstasy and Percocet. In one part of his testimony, James spoke of a New Year's Eve party where he took an ecstasy pill. After the event, James said, Combs had a video of him dancing at the party and allegedly told him: 'I want to keep this footage in case I ever need it.' James also recounted an incident from 2008 when he, along with a member of Combs's security detail, saw rival record executive Suge Knight at a diner in Los Angeles. He said Combs ordered them to return with him to the diner, noting that en route he saw three guns on Combs's person but that when they arrived, Knight was gone. James told the jury he was 'shook up' by the incident. 'This was the first time as his assistant that I realized my life was in danger,' James said, adding that after the incident, he gave his six-month notice. On cross-examination, Combs's defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies in James's account of the Knight incident, referencing prior statements James had made to the government. They questioned James about a physical altercation with Combs's chef, which he admitted to, saying that he 'squeezed her wrists' and told her to 'stay in her lane'. James testified that after the incident, Combs told him: 'You can't be putting your hands on a woman.' After Regina Ventura concluded her testimony, the prosecution called on exotic dancer Hayes. Hayes said that he had been hired by Ventura and Combs between eight and a dozen times to take part in Combs's 'freak-offs', with the last session being in 2016. He testified that Combs had never appeared intoxicated and gave directions during the sexual encounters. Asked whether Ventura seemed to enjoy herself during the 'freak-offs', Hayes said that his understanding had been that 'we were creating a scene, a sexy scene, that was enjoyable to her partner'. He noted that sometimes he observed her 'wince' and 'sigh' at the frequency of Combs's instructions. Under cross-examination, Hayes said he had not perceived any discomfort from Ventura 'with what was going on' and never saw any violence. After Hayes, Gerard Gannon, the Homeland Security Investigations special agent who led the March 2024 search of Combs's Miami Beach home, took the stand. Gannon testified that AR-15 rifle parts had been found in closets in the main bedroom. Jurors were also shown photos of other items found in the room, including high heels, sex toys, baby oil, lubricants and lingerie. Gannon's testimony will resume on Wednesday morning. Earlier this week, the jury heard from singer Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan, a former close friend of Ventura's during her relationship with Combs. Both women testified that they had witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura. Morgan also recounted a separate incident from 2018 when she said she was personally attacked by Combs, telling the court that Combs struck her on the head with a wooden hanger and choked her while Ventura was in the bathroom. Morgan claimed that after the attack, Combs sent her money and she signed a non-disclosure agreement. She also testified that during Ventura's relationship with Combs, Ventura would tell her that she couldn't leave him because he 'controlled everything' in her life. The trial is expected to last seven more weeks. If convicted, Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women's Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via
