Latest news with #Freak-Offs
Boston Globe
26-06-2025
- Boston Globe
Prosecutor says Sean ‘Diddy' Combs thought he was above the law as he led a racketeering conspiracy
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Combs 'again and again forced, threatened and manipulated' former girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura and an ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' into 'having sex with escorts for his own entertainment,' Slavik said, speaking from a lectern positioned between jurors and the tables where prosecutors and defense lawyers sat. Advertisement 'The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,' she said. 'He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.' Slavik said Combs 'counted on silence and shame' to enable and prolong his abuse. He used a 'small army' of employees — an inner circle that included personal assistants and bodyguards — to harm women and cover it up, she said. Advertisement The theory of racketeering law is that 'when someone commits crime as part of a group, they're more powerful and dangerous,' Slavik said. 'The defendant was a powerful man, but he became more powerful and dangerous because of his inner circle, his businesses — the enterprise.' Combs and his inner circle 'committed hundreds of racketeering acts,' she said. As Slavik spoke, jurors saw photos of key figures in Combs' orbit, as well as excerpts from related testimony in the trial transcript and slides to categorize evidence. One slide listed crimes prosecutors allege as part of the racketeering conspiracy, including drug distribution, kidnapping, arson and witness tampering. Another slide listed drugs such as cocaine, meth, ketamine, Oxycodone and MDMA, that Combs' aides said they procured for him, or that federal agents said they found last year in raids of Combs' homes. Combs sat with his head down, his chair pushed back a few feet from the defense table, as Slavik spoke. He was wearing a light-colored sweater over a white button-down shirt and khakis. Since his arrest at a Manhattan hotel last September, prosecutors have said Combs coerced and abused women for years as he used his 'power and prestige' as a music star to enlist a network of associates and employees to help him while he silenced victims through blackmail and violence. They've said the Bad Boy Records founder induced female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers in events dubbed 'Freak-Offs.' Defense lawyers have argued that Combs was involved in domestic violence but committed no federal crimes. They built their case for acquittal through lengthy cross-examinations of most of the government's 34 witnesses. Some witnesses testified only in response to subpoenas and made it clear to the jury that they didn't want to be there. Advertisement Combs' lawyers contend there was no racketeering conspiracy because none of his employees agreed to be part of any conspiracy. But in her closing, Slavik said employees repeatedly agreed to commit crimes for Combs, such as delivering him drugs; accompanying him to kidnap his personal assistant, Capricorn Clark; and locking his girlfriend in a hotel room after he stomped on her face. Before Slavik began her closing, Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury they would hear a closing argument from a defense lawyer on Friday and a rebuttal by a prosecutor before he instructs them on the law and allows them to begin deliberating as early as late afternoon.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jamie Foxx finally sets the record straight on whether Sean ‘Diddy' Combs tried to kill him
Jamie Foxx set the record straight on the running conspiracy theory that Sean 'Diddy' Combs was behind his 2023 medical emergency. '… I snuck in my phone because I didn't know what the outside world was saying and I couldn't get my mind around the fact that I had a stroke. I'm in f–kng perfect shape,' Foxx recalled of his time in the hospital during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable published Thursday. '[I see things like,] 'Puffy tried to kill me.' No, Puffy didn't try to kill me,' the actor stated. However, the Oscar winner seemed to be more upset about another rumor claiming he was cloned. 'When they said I was a clone, that made me flip. I'm sitting in the hospital bed, like, 'These bitch-ass motherf–kers are trying to clone me,'' he joked. The 'Django Unchained' star, 57, previously touched on the conspiracy theory about Combs following the disgraced music mogul's September 2024 arrest. Foxx poked fun at the Bad Boy Records founder — who is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering — as well as his own life-threatening health scare in his Netflix stand-up special, 'What Had Happened Was,' which premiered that December. 'The internet said Puffy was trying to kill me, that's what the internet was saying,' Foxx told the audience. 'I know what you thinking, 'Diddy?' 'Hell no, I left them parties early,' he continued, referencing Combs' infamous bashes. Foxx quipped that he was always 'out by 9' since 'something [didn't] look right' at the rapper's soirées, which allegedly led to wild sex performances dubbed 'Freak-Offs.' In his comedy special, Foxx revealed his medical emergency was due to a brain bleed that led to a stroke. The actor had originally attributed his hospitalization to a 'bad headache.' The comedian said doctors told his sister Deidra Dixon, 'If I don't go in his head right now, we're going to lose him.'' After his surgery, Dixon was told, 'We didn't find where it was coming from, but he is having a stroke. He may be able to make a full recovery but it's going to be the worst year of his life.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy's Former Assistant Says Cassie's Reasons For Not Leaving Involved JAY-Z
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former assistant alleges that JAY-Z's relationship with Beyoncé influenced Cassie's decision to stay in an allegedly abusive relationship with the music mogul. During her testimony on Tuesday (May 27), Capricorn Clark, who previously worked closely with Combs, shared a revealing moment she said she had with the singer—legally known as Ventura Fine. Clark testified that she had once encouraged Ventura to leave Combs and date other men. However, she claimed Ventura confided in her by referencing JAY-Z's high-profile relationship with Beyoncé. According to Clark, Ventura said that 'JAY-Z was taken' and asked 'who would she date,' implying a scarcity of equally wealthy and influential partners outside of Combs. The timeline of when this conversation took place was not specified in court. Clark's testimony came amid Combs' ongoing federal trial, where he faces multiple serious charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The trial has been punctuated by dramatic and emotional accounts from former employees and partners. Ventura herself took the stand weeks earlier, testifying shortly before giving birth to her third child on May 28. During cross-examination, it was revealed that Clark met with Combs and his legal team in April 2024 when she attempted to be rehired as his chief of staff. The topic of Ventura surfaced in those discussions, during which Clark disclosed her earlier comments urging Ventura to exit the relationship. Combs and Ventura ended their 11-year relationship in 2018. While Combs has pleaded not guilty and continues to deny all allegations, the courtroom proceedings have pulled back the curtain on years of behind-the-scenes dynamics between the music mogul and those within his inner circle. More from Diddy's Former Stylist Reveals Mogul's Nicknames For Cassie During Trial Testimony Male Escort From Diddy's "Freak-Offs" Offers Apology To Cassie Suge Knight Gives Unexpected Take On Diddy's Possible Fate In Sex Trafficking Trial
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cassie Ventura reveals staggering settlement amount from Sean ‘Diddy' Combs during sex-trafficking trial
Cassie Ventura revealed she settled with ex Sean 'Diddy' Combs for $20 million after filing a bombshell lawsuit against him in 2023. 'Who paid you $20 million?' prosecutor Emily Johnson asked Ventura in court Wednesday, per The Post, as the singer took the stand as a witness for her second day of testimony in Combs' sex-trafficking trial. 'Sean and his companies,' Ventura responded. As we previously reported, Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, accusing him of raping her, physically abusing her and forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and masturbated. At the time, Combs 'vehemently' denied the 'outrageous' allegations. But he settled with Ventura the following day in a then-undisclosed agreement. As she took the stand as a witness against Combs this week, Ventura gave further details into the allegations she initially laid forth in the suit. The 'Me & U' singer — who dated Combs from 2005 to 2018 — testified about shocking alleged details regarding her participation in the disgraced mogul's 'Freak-Offs.' 'The 'Freak-Offs' became a job,' Ventura, 38, told the jury on Tuesday of the wild sex- and drug-fueled parties. 'There was no time to do anything else but do them, then try to recover.' Ventura claimed Combs, 55, introduced her to the 'Freak-Offs' when she was around 22 years old and would 'direct' her and sexual partners on how to perform. 'I was in love and I just wanted to make him happy,' she told jurors, explaining why she participated in the debaucherous events. Ventura also detailed the years of alleged abuse by the rapper in her Tuesday testimony. 'He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down,' she claimed. The 'Long Way 2 Go' songstress claimed Diddy would become violent with her over minor disagreements and would instruct her to 'fix [her] face or watch [her] mouth.' 'I also felt at certain times when I knew it wasn't even about me … make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,' she said. In May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance footage of the Bad Boy Records founder brutally assaulting Ventura as she tried to escape into an elevator. In response to the video being made public, Combs issued an apology, calling the scene one of 'darkest times' in his life. On Monday, an LAPD officer who was at the scene of the 2016 hotel attack testified in court that Combs offered him a stack of money in exchange for his silence about the assault. Combs is currently on trial facing charges of racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Aside from his federal case, the 'Last Night' rapper is still looking at a long list of lawsuits from both men and women who have accused him of a range of sexual misconduct. He has denied all the allegations.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cassie Ventura: Sean ‘Diddy' Combs made me call him this disgusting, incestuous nickname during ‘Freak-Offs'
Cassie Ventura claimed that ex-boyfriend Sean 'Diddy' Combs forced her to call him a sickening, incestuous nickname during his wild 'Freak-Offs.' The 'Me & U' singer made the claim after showing jurors an email between her and a person referred to as 'Pop Pop' during her testimony at the rapper's sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court Tuesday. 'He wanted me to have a nickname for him,' Ventura, 38, explained in court. 'He asked me what I called my grandfather, and I said I called him Pop Pop.' The pop star explained that she thought the Bad Boy Records founder's ask was 'weird at the time.' 'But now I think it's just disrespectful,' she said. Elsewhere in her harrowing testimony, Ventura detailed the horrific abuse Combs, 55, allegedly inflicted upon her. 'He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down,' she testified while taking to the witness stand. Ventura claimed that Combs would strike her if she made the 'wrong' facial expression. 'I also felt at certain times … I knew it wasn't even about me … [I would] make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,' she said. Ventura broke down in tears as she recalled how 'violent' the 'I'll Be Missing You' rapper would get during their relationship. 'His look would just change over, he would just become a different person,' she said. 'The best way to describe it is his eyes just go black. The version that I was in love with is no longer there.' The hitmaker explained that Diddy introduced her to 'Freak-Offs' when she was just 22. She alleged that Combs would 'direct' her and a sexual partner on what to do in an act of what she believed was 'voyeurism.' 'I was in love and I just wanted to make him happy,' Ventura said, adding, 'It basically entails the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean.' The longest 'Freak-Off' lasted four days, Ventura said, and she often needed a recovery period due to her drug use and dehydration. Ventura testified that Combs 'controlled' all aspects of her life, from pressuring her to get implants to influencing what hairstyles she wore. He also allegedly encouraged her to get her clitoris and nipples pierced. The songstress, who took to the witness stand while pregnant with baby No. 3, has been dubbed by prosecutors as 'Victim 1' and is a key witness in the case. In 2023, Ventura filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of raping and physically abusing her throughout their decade-long relationship. Combs denied her claims and settled the case with Ventura less than 24 hours later. But he was forced to make a public apology months later when a video of Combs brutally assaulting Ventura at a hotel in 2016 surfaced online. Since then, dozens of people have come forward accusing Diddy of sexual abuse and other crimes. Last year, Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by feds. In September 2024 he was arrested in New York City on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has since been locked behind bars at Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center after being denied bail and he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
