‘I wasn't even in my own body': Sean ‘Diddy' Combs's ex faces defence grilling in sex trial
After three days on the stand the woman speaking under the pseudonym Jane will face intense scrutiny from defence lawyers who have insisted that what prosecutors deem sex trafficking was in fact consensual.
Jane told jurors how the final year of her relationship with the artist known as 'Diddy' exploded into violence in June 2024.
At the time Combs was already under investigation by federal authorities; his homes had been raided, and the now-infamous security footage of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in a hotel was public.
Throughout her testimony Jane, who began seeing Combs in early 2021, detailed how she had longed for a more traditional romantic relationship with him.
But she said 90 per cent of their time together resulted in sometimes days-long sex parties that saw Combs direct her to have sex with male escorts while he watched, even as she told him the encounters made her feel 'sleazy' and 'disgusted.'
The June 2024 date at home was meant to be a chill night in, she said, but she and Combs got into a fight over his relationship with another woman.
The argument escalated when Jane said she pushed Combs's head onto a marble countertop and began hurling candles.
'I was angry with him,' Jane said. 'It was a built-up mix of everything... I just kept saying that I hated him.'
Combs was livid: Jane told jurors he kicked down doors and ultimately put her in a chokehold.
She managed to run out of the house barefoot but upon returning hours later he was still there. He kicked and punched her until she had a black eye and 'golf-ball' sized welts, she said.
Combs instructed her to ice the injuries and 'put an outfit on.'
Jane told jurors that she put on the requisite heels and lingerie for a so-called 'hotel night' with Combs and a man he had invited.
Through tears Jane said Combs gave her ecstasy and demanded she have sex with the man, and when she protested he said 'you're not going to ruin my f**king night.'
When she said again she didn't want to participate, he stood closely to her face as he asked in a 'forceful' tone: 'Then is this coercion?'
Jane ultimately complied, and gave the escort oral sex: 'I just felt like I wasn't even in my own body,' she said.
Jane told jurors Combs paid for her rent at the time and still does. He also continues to fund her legal costs.
'Sexual trauma'
When Ventura — who last month testified of physical and psychological abuse in similarily excruciating detail — filed her 2023 civil lawsuit that opened the door for a federal investigation, Jane said she 'almost fainted.'
'There was a whole other woman feeling the same thing,' Jane said.
'I feel like I'm reading my own sexual trauma. It makes me sick how three solid pages, word for word, is exactly my experiences and my anguish,' she messaged Combs, in text records read in court.
After weeks of back-and-forth, Jane said Combs called her a 'con artist,' and threatened to show sexually explicit videos to the father of her child.
She had previously testified at length that she felt 'obligated' to participate in hotel nights for 'fear of losing the roof over my head' that Combs was bankrolling.
Jane said that following their physical fight in the summer of 2024, they saw each other twice more before his arrest last September.
The 55-year-old faces life in prison if convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Jane's story was not in the original indictment against Combs, but she was added after receiving a subpoena requiring she testify in November 2024 before a grand jury.
She began speaking to prosecutors in January of this year.
Jane testified that she told Combs's defence team about the brawl last summer before she told prosecutors.
She said she felt 'obligated' to meet the defence team 'due to my relationship.'
Jane has not filed any civil suit against Combs, and said in court Monday she has no plans to.
'I just pray for his continued healing,' she told jurors, 'and I pray for peace for him.'
The Manhattan federal trial is expected to last several more weeks. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
AI bands signal new era for music business
The shadow of Spotify's AI DJ voice, Xavier 'X' Jernigan, is pictured at the launch of the latest Spotify tool in Mexico City. (AFP pic) NEW YORK : A rising tide of artificial intelligence (AI) bands is ushering in a new era where work will be scarcer for musicians. Whether it's Velvet Sundown's 1970s-style rock or country music projects 'Aventhis' and 'The Devil Inside,' bands whose members are pure AI creations, are seeing more than a million plays on streaming giant Spotify. No major streaming service clearly labels tracks that come entirely from AI, except France's Deezer. Meanwhile, the producers of these songs tend to be unreachable. 'I feel like we're at a place where nobody is really talking about it, but we are feeling it,' said music producer, composer and performer Leo Sidran. 'There is going to be a lot of music released that we can't really tell who made it or how it was made,' Sidran said. The Oscar-winning artist sees the rise of AI music as perhaps a sign of how 'generic and formulaic' genres have become. 'AI highlights the chasm between music people listen to 'passively' while doing other things and 'active' listening in which fans care about what artists convey,' said producer and composer Yung Spielburg on the Imagine AI Live podcast. Spielburg believes musicians will win out over AI with 'active' listeners but will be under pressure when it comes to tunes people play in the background while cooking dinner or performing mundane tasks. If listeners can't discern which tunes are AI-made, publishers and labels will likely opt for synthetic bands that don't earn royalties, Spielburg predicted. 'AI is already in the music business and it's not going away because it is cheap and convenient,' said Mathieu Gendreau, associate professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, who is also a music industry executive. 'That will make it even more difficult for musicians to make a living,' Gendreau said. Music streaming platforms already fill playlists with mood music attributed to artists about whom no information can be found, according to University of Rochester School of Music professor Dennis DeSantis. 'Meanwhile, AI-generated soundtracks have become tempting, cost-saving options in movies, television shows, ads, shops, elevators and other venues,' DeSantis added. AI takes all? Composer Sidran says he and his music industry peers have seen a sharp slowdown in work coming their way since late last year. 'I suspect that AI is a big part of the reason,' said Sidran, host of 'The Third Story' podcast. 'I get the feeling that a lot of the clients that would come to me for original music, or even music from a library of our work, are using AI to solve those problems,' Sidran said. Technology has repeatedly helped shape the music industry, from electric guitars and synthesisers to multi-track recording and voice modulators. Unlike such technologies that gave artists new tools and techniques, AI could lead to the 'eradication of the chance of sustainability for the vast majority of artists,' warned George Howard, a professor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. 'AI is a far different challenge than any other historical technological innovation,' Howard said. 'And one that will likely be zero-sum,' he added. Howard hopes courts will side with artists in the numerous legal battles with generative AI giants whose models imitate their styles or works. Gendreau sees AI music as being here to stay and teaches students to be entrepreneurs as well as artists in order to survive in the business. Sidran advises musicians to highlight what makes them unique, avoiding the expected in their works because 'AI will have done it'. And, at least for now, musicians should capitalise on live shows where AI bands have yet to take the stage.
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Gunman shot dead in Midtown Manhattan, reports say police officer among victims
NEW YORK, July 29 — A gunman was dead Monday following a shooting in central Manhattan, New York police said, amid reports a police officer was killed and several civilians struck, provoking a lockdown in the area. Mayor Eric Adams said on X the officer had been 'struck down' and expressed his 'deepest sympathies' to the family of the officer, although a department spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny an officer had been killed. Police wrote on X that the scene, around Park Avenue and East 51st Street, had been 'contained and the lone shooter is dead,' without providing details about the identity of the suspect. 'At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralised,' police commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote on X amid reports of several people being shot. She gave no other details about the incident. Fox News, citing the New York Police Department, reported that at least six people including a police officer were shot, with the officer in a critical condition in an area hospital. Police officers deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush-hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. A number of ambulances had gathered in the vicinity and several helicopters hovered above the scene. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters, including Colgate Palmolive and KPMG, the auditor. Earlier the mayor had told New Yorkers that 'there is an active shooter investigation taking place in Midtown right now. Please take proper safety precautions if you are in vicinity and do not go outside if you are near Park Avenue and East 51st Street.' — AFP
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
"Shanghai Day" Lights Up Lincoln Center in New York - Art as a Bridge: A Transpacific Cultural Resonance
Lady White Snake Premieres in the U.S., Presented by Shanghai Grand Theatre China's New Generation of Dancers Electrified the Stage at Lincoln Center SHANGHAI, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 28 July 2025 - Co-presented by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Center for the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, Summer for the City's Shanghai Day ignited a cultural wave in New York City. From afternoon until late at night, a vibrant array of performances and interactive experiences—fusing classics with innovation, fashion with tradition, and youth with passion—took place across the Lincoln Center campus, drawing an estimated audience of thousands. This spectacular artistic exchange opened a vivid window for New Yorkers to experience the diverse vitality of Shanghai-style Ming, President of Center for the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, stated: "We are honored to bring Haipai (Shanghai-style) culture to this global stage at the invitation of Lincoln Center. Through this unique artistic celebration, we hope to showcase the charm of Shanghai and the creativity of Chinese artists to a worldwide audience."Mariko Silver, President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, said: "We invite New Yorkers and visitors to explore different cultures and deepen their connection to creativity from across the globe here at Lincoln Center. Today's events are such a beautiful example of cross-cultural exchange and artistic discovery for audiences of all ages. We are so glad to be working with the Center for the China Shanghai International Arts Festival."Shanghai Day marked a world-class presentation of Haipai culture. Innovative interpretations of traditional Chinese arts offered immersive and interactive experiences that reshaped global the David H. Koch Theater, the Shanghai Grand Theatre premiered its original dance Lady White Snake to U.S. audiences for the first time. Drawing from the Chinese solar terms for musical inspiration, the performance blended traditional Chinese instruments with Western orchestration and electronic sounds. Visually symbolic elements such as clocks and geometric forms illustrated spatial shifts and emotional depth. The performance integrated ballet, classical Chinese dance, and modern dance into a fluid cross-genre dialogue. Artistic director Tan Yuanyuan led an elite team to deliver a stunning fusion of ballet grace, flowing water sleeves, and poetic stage aesthetics inspired by Jiangnan, presenting an ancient legend in an entirely renewed the lobby of the David Rubenstein Atrium, the Shanghai Animation Film Studio's classic The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven captivated audiences with vivid colors and Chinese mythological charm. In the family zone, the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra presented Stories of Chinese Zodiac using suona, pipa, and other folk instruments, accompanied by water ink animation from Zhang Lelu that delighted children and invited them to engage with traditional night fell, the garden transformed into a "Shanghai Cultural Pavilion." Intangible heritage booths offered hands-on experiences: papercutting, knot buttons, calligraphy, traditional qipao, handmade cotton crafts, vegetarian treats from Longhua Temple, and dazzling cloisonné candy boxes from Lao Feng Xiang. A "Guochao Punk" Peking Opera makeup booth was particularly popular, with New Yorkers lining up for custom opera face designs. Nearby, Zi-Ka-Wei Library showcased Shanghai-themed creative products that condensed cultural meaning into modern Damrosch Park, the Arknights Concert—produced in collaboration with globally renowned composers like Gareth Coker—offered an electrifying mix of electronic, folk, and symphonic sounds. Audiences were transported into immersive game worlds through high-impact musical the Dance Floor transformed into a summer dance stage. China's new generation of dancers energized the crowd with breaking, popping, and locking. Their specially choreographed global hit Spread Your Wings sparked spontaneous dancing among the audience. Jazz trumpeter Li Xiaochuan bridged East and West with original compositions reflecting the evolving "Chinese sound." As the evening deepened, a "Silent Disco" allowed hundreds of attendees to dance freely in isolated headphone worlds—blending erhu, pipa, and electronic the event, the Lincoln Center was imbued with "Shanghai"—from the Lujiazui skyline to Yuyuan Garden silhouettes. "Today felt like being transported to the other side of the world," said Fromm, a New Yorker who had never been to Shanghai. "Every sense—from sight and sound to taste—was immersed in a city that is both historic and modern, Eastern and global."As the lights dimmed at Lincoln Center, the cultural resonance of "Shanghai Day" lingered. From elegant pointe work and traditional music to intangible heritage and immersive beats, this celebration became an invisible bridge connecting hearts across the Pacific. Through the power of art and culture, a moving new chapter was written in the story of U.S.-China cultural exchange and mutual #ShanghaiEye The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
