Latest news with #MakingtheBand
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy's Defenders
America is riveted by the Diddy trial for many reasons: celebrity, kink, drugs, violence, guns, baby oil. You can almost hear Ryan Murphy calling FX now to pitch American Crime Story: Diddy Do It? Influencers are staking out the courthouse, live-updating X with witnesses' testimony, and providing TikTok updates that one creator calls 'Diddy-lations.' And people are eating it up. Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes. The trial is estimated to take eight to 10 weeks; we've made it through just two. No one can predict the outcome. But why do so many men—and a surprising number of women—feel the need to defend this man? The jury has already watched the now-infamous surveillance footage of Combs dragging Cassie Ventura, the prosecution's star witness, by the collar of her sweatshirt through a hotel—and that's not even one of the things he's on trial for. I can't look away from the Diddy trial, because it feels like the trial not of one man, but of something much larger. The jury—made up of eight men and four women—will decide whether to convict Combs, but the broader culture, in its response to this trial, is deciding whether #MeToo was a movement or a moment. [Sophie Gilbert: The movement of #MeToo] At the center of the trial is the question of coercion. Did Ventura participate in hundreds of drug-fueled sexual encounters with strangers for Combs, who liked to watch, because she enjoyed them? Or did Combs use his power over her to force her? When they met, she was 19, an eager and ambitious singer. He was 17 years older, and arguably the most powerful man in the music industry. His label, Bad Boy, signed her to a highly unusual, long-term 10-album deal. He was her boss and, soon, her boyfriend. The evidence presented by both sides serves as a Rorschach test. How you see it says a lot about how the #MeToo movement did—or did not—alter your vision. The facts seem clear. Ventura was a legal adult, but barely, when her career was effectively handed over to Combs in 2006. Today, musical artists such as Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter invent their own persona. But in the mid-2000s, many artists were strictly controlled by their labels. Particularly when the artists were women. The people paying the bills didn't just dictate what these women sounded like—they dictated their hair color, their weight. You have to watch only one episode of Combs's MTV show Making the Band to get a taste of the climate he created. He made artists compete in singing battles to earn a bed to sleep in and ordered them to walk miles from Manhattan to Brooklyn to get him a specific slice of cheesecake. Behind the scenes, things were worse. One singer said Diddy controlled every aspect of her appearance 'down to my toenails.' Sure, maybe Ventura loved him. But sometimes hostages fall in love with their captors. Even the ones who beat them. Sure, women have an array of sexual tastes, just like men. But it's hard to imagine a woman enjoying having intercourse while, as Ventura said in her testimony, suffering from a painful urinary tract infection. It's hard to imagine feeling aroused after your partner threw a glass bottle at you, as a male sex worker said he witnessed Combs do to Ventura. And when people are having a consensual good time, they don't usually try to sneak out of the room, barefoot—as Ventura was seen doing in the hotel surveillance footage—only for their partner to catch them, grab them by the back of the neck, throw them to the ground, and kick them. Repeatedly. Ventura said that the sex acts made her feel 'worthless.' But, as the video showed, attempting to extract herself came with a price. It's been almost eight years since the Harvey Weinstein story broke and the #MeToo movement forced a reassessment of abuse and power. In the future, I remember thinking, we will not just speak out against bad actors; we will refuse to participate in the systems that protected them. Going forward, everyone would understand that, in a world of power imbalances, the difference between what a woman chooses and what happens to her can be very big indeed. [Danielle Bernstein: #MeToo has changed the world—except in court] Instead, something else happened over the subsequent years. American women have seen our rights eroded and our access to lifesaving health care curbed. An accused sexual abuser is president of the United States, and his administration is hard at work on schemes to persuade more women to stay home and have kids. Many men have fought hard to undermine the progress of the #MeToo movement. Like Combs running after Ventura in that video, they have tried to drag women back into the past, where they could do as they liked. And lately, they have been having a lot of success. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Diddy's Defenders
America is riveted by the Diddy trial for many reasons: celebrity, kink, drugs, violence, guns, baby oil. You can almost hear Ryan Murphy calling FX now to pitch American Crime Story: Diddy Do It? Influencers are staking out the courthouse, live-updating X with witnesses' testimony, and providing TikTok updates that one creator calls 'Diddy-lations.' And people are eating it up. Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes. The trial is estimated to take eight to 10 weeks; we've made it through just two. No one can predict the outcome. But why do so many men—and a surprising number of women—feel the need to defend this man? The jury has already watched the now-infamous surveillance footage of Combs dragging Cassie Ventura, the prosecution's star witness, by the collar of her sweatshirt through a hotel—and that's not even one of the things he's on trial for. I can't look away from the Diddy trial, because it feels like the trial not of one man, but of something much larger. The jury—made up of eight men and four women—will decide whether to convict Combs, but the broader culture, in its response to this trial, is deciding whether #MeToo was a movement or a moment. Sophie Gilbert: The movement of #MeToo At the center of the trial is the question of coercion. Did Ventura participate in hundreds of drug-fueled sexual encounters with strangers for Combs, who liked to watch, because she enjoyed them? Or did Combs use his power over her to force her? When they met, she was 19, an eager and ambitious singer. He was 17 years older, and arguably the most powerful man in the music industry. His label, Bad Boy, signed her to a highly unusual, long-term 10-album deal. He was her boss and, soon, her boyfriend. The evidence presented by both sides serves as a Rorschach test. How you see it says a lot about how the #MeToo movement did—or did not—alter your vision. The facts seem clear. Ventura was a legal adult, but barely, when her career was effectively handed over to Combs in 2006. Today, musical artists such as Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter invent their own persona. But in the mid-2000s, many artists were strictly controlled by their labels. Particularly when the artists were women. The people paying the bills didn't just dictate what these women sounded like—they dictated their hair color, their weight. You have to watch only one episode of Combs's MTV show Making the Band to get a taste of the climate he created. He made artists compete in singing battles to earn a bed to sleep in and ordered them to walk miles from Manhattan to Brooklyn to get him a specific slice of cheesecake. Behind the scenes, things were worse. One singer said Diddy controlled every aspect of her appearance ' down to my toenails.' Sure, maybe Ventura loved him. But sometimes hostages fall in love with their captors. Even the ones who beat them. Sure, women have an array of sexual tastes, just like men. But it's hard to imagine a woman enjoying having intercourse while, as Ventura said in her testimony, suffering from a painful urinary tract infection. It's hard to imagine feeling aroused after your partner threw a glass bottle at you, as a male sex worker said he witnessed Combs do to Ventura. And when people are having a consensual good time, they don't usually try to sneak out of the room, barefoot—as Ventura was seen doing in the hotel surveillance footage —only for their partner to catch them, grab them by the back of the neck, throw them to the ground, and kick them. Repeatedly. Ventura said that the sex acts made her feel ' worthless.' But, as the video showed, attempting to extract herself came with a price. It's been almost eight years since the Harvey Weinstein story broke and the #MeToo movement forced a reassessment of abuse and power. In the future, I remember thinking, we will not just speak out against bad actors; we will refuse to participate in the systems that protected them. Going forward, everyone would understand that, in a world of power imbalances, the difference between what a woman chooses and what happens to her can be very big indeed. Danielle Bernstein: #MeToo has changed the world—except in court Instead, something else happened over the subsequent years. American women have seen our rights eroded and our access to lifesaving health care curbed. An accused sexual abuser is president of the United States, and his administration is hard at work on schemes to persuade more women to stay home and have kids. Many men have fought hard to undermine the progress of the #MeToo movement. Like Combs running after Ventura in that video, they have tried to drag women back into the past, where they could do as they liked.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diddy's Former Assistant Testifies The Rapper Kidnapped Her At Gunpoint In 2011 In A Plot To Kill Kid Cudi
As the third week of testimony continues in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal trial, in which he faces up to life in prison for charges including sex trafficking and racketeering, one of his former assistants has shared a shocking new claim. On the stand, Capricorn Clark, who worked for Diddy from 2004 to 2011, testified that the "Making the Band" creator showed up at her home with a gun, allegedly part of a plot to kill rapper Kid Cudi. On Tuesday, May 27, Clark, who began working for Diddy as his personal assistant, testified that the rapper allegedly threatened to kill her, Kid Cudi, and his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, whom he dated on-and-off from 2008 to 2018. According to USA Today, Clark alleged that after Diddy learned Cassie was dating Cudi during one of Diddy and Cassie's relationship breaks, the rapper showed up at her home "visibly upset" with a gun. Following that, Clark told the court that Diddy made her get dressed and said, "We're gonna go kill this n—a," allegedly speaking about Cudi. Clark testified that Diddy's behavior had her on edge, adding that she'd "never seen anything like this" before saying the "way he was acting, I just felt like anything could happen." Clark later testified that she rode with Diddy and one of his security guards to Cudi's home, where she called Cassie to inform her about what was happening. Later, Clark told the court that Diddy said he wouldn't let her go unless Cassie came to get her from him. She also said that the rapper allegedly told her to convince Cassie and Cudi not to call the police because if they did, he would "kill all y'all motherf-ckers." Last week, Cudi shared similar details about Diddy allegedly breaking into his home while he was dating Cassie. After receiving the call from an assistant "on the verge of tears" that the father of seven was allegedly inside his home, Cudi claimed that he said to Diddy: "Motherf-cker, you in my house?" to which the rapper reportedly replied, "I just want to talk to you." Cudi testified that when he arrived at his residence, Diddy and his assistant weren't there. However, he told the court that he noticed someone had opened Christmas presents meant for his loved ones and locked his dog in the bathroom, claiming the dog was "very on edge all the time" after the incident. On the stand, Cudi also testified about his Porsche 911 convertible, which had been destroyed by fire. Cudi told the court that he received a call from his dog sitter, who informed him that his $100,000 luxury vehicle was on fire. "What the f-ck?" he remembered thinking. "I immediately went to my house," Cudi testified before revealing he learned a Molotov cocktail, or an "incendiary device," started the fire. 'The top of my Porsche was cut open and that's where they inserted the Molotov cocktail,' he said. Following that, Cudi testified that he met with Diddy at Soho House in Los Angeles, where he found the "Diddy" performer waiting for him with his hands behind his back "like a Marvel supervillain." When Cudi was asked in court why he arranged a meeting with Diddy after learning his car was set on fire, Cudi testified, "Because I knew he had something to do with it." Cassie shared a similar story when she testified on the stand the week of May 12, adding that she had to stop seeing Cudi to keep them out of harm's way. 'Too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other,' the "Me & U" singer stated. Days after Cudi's testimony, Diddy's lawyers have asked the court to strike the "Day N Nite" rapper's statements from the record, stating a "witness generally cannot testify that in his opinion, a declarant was lying when making a statement." Diddy's defense team added that Cudi's testimony was "mere speculation," according to PEOPLE, and that it poses "significant dangers of unfair prejudice" against him.
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
List of Celebrities Who Have Testified in Diddy Trial and What They Said
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Several celebrities have testified in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial so far as the high-profile proceedings enter their third week. Why It Matters The third week of Combs' trial began on Tuesday. Combs is facing federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. What To Know The trial has already included various mentions of celebrities and high-profile individuals, with some taking the stand as the prosecution presents its case. Kid Cudi Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, testified in the Combs trial on Thursday. Mescudi started dating Cassie Ventura in 2011. Ventura dated Combs from 2007 to 2018. Mescudi said that he did not realize that Ventura and Combs were still together when they started dating. Mescudi alleged that Combs broke into his house in 2011 after he discovered Ventura's relationship with Mescudi. She said she had given Mescudi's address to Combs, and she was scared about what he would do, Mescudi testified. Defense attorney Brian Steel, center, cross examines Kid Cudi, far right, as Sean "Diddy" Combs, far left, looks on during Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court on May 22, 2025. Defense attorney Brian Steel, center, cross examines Kid Cudi, far right, as Sean "Diddy" Combs, far left, looks on during Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court on May 22, 2025. Elizabeth Williams via AP In 2012, Mescudi's car caught fire in the driveway of his home. Mescudi said he asked to meet with Combs after the incident because he "knew he had something to do with it." The defense objected to the statement, and it was stricken from the record. Mescudi said he asked Combs, "What are we going to do about my car?" "I don't know what you're talking about," was Combs' response, Mescudi testified. Mescudi claimed that Ventura "played" both Combs and him. "The drama was just getting out of hand," Mescudi said as he explained why he broke up with Ventura. Dawn Richard Dawn Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, testified on May 19. The group was formed on the reality show Making the Band. Combs was an executive producer of the show. Richard said she saw Combs punch Ventura in the stomach at a restaurant in 2010 while other celebrities were present, including Ne-Yo, Usher and Jimmy Iovine. "She immediately bent over, [Combs] told her to leave," Richard said. "No one intervened." Richard said she also saw Combs attack Ventura as she was making eggs at Combs' Los Angeles home. "He came downstairs screaming, belligerent," Richard said. She said Combs grabbed the skillet and tried to hit Ventura with it. Combs then grabbed Ventura's hair and dragged her upstairs, Richard testified. Will Other Celebrities Testify? The witness list for Combs' trial has not been made public, so it is unclear if additional celebrities will be called to testify. Aubrey O'Day, another member of Danity Kane, said she does not plan to testify on an episode of the Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Presents: Aubrey O'Day Covering the Diddy Trial podcast. "I'm not here to testify for the Diddy trial that I know of," O'Day said. She said she previously met with the Department of Homeland Security. She had shared on Instagram that she was in New York, sparking speculation among fans that she might take the stand. "I posted on my Instagram that I was here in New York because I want to make it clear to everyone that I am not here testifying," she said Trial Updates Combs' former assistant, Capricorn Clark, took the stand on Tuesday. She began working for Combs' record label, Bad Boy Records, in 2004 and remained with Combs until 2020. Clark alleged that Combs was "furious" when he discovered Mescudi and Ventura's relationship. She said Combs told her to get dressed so they could "go kill" Mescudi. She said Combs had a gun. They were unable to find Mescudi at the time, Clark testified. Clark also testified that she was subjected to a lie detector test after Combs accused her of stealing jewelry. She said the man administering the test told her she would be thrown into the East River if she failed. What People Are Saying Scott Mescudi, recalling a phone conversation he had with Sean Combs in his testimony: "Post-break-in, I didn't want to talk to him. I told him, 'You broke into my house and messed with my dog, I don't want to talk to you.'" Dawn Richard, speaking about Cassie Ventura and Combs' relationship during testimony: "She would be quiet, and when she had these moments of trying to stick up for herself, he would hurt her for it." What Happens Next More witnesses are expected to testify as the third week of Combs' trial continues. He is facing life in prison if convicted. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@
NDTV
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
"I Love You All": Sean 'Diddy' Combs Says During Sex Crimes Trial
Washington: Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, verbally addressed those inside the New York City courtroom where he was being tried on May 20. "I love you all," said Mr Combs aloud as court adjourned for the day, before adding under his breath, according to E! News, "Yeah. Love." He went on to speak to a woman in the gallery, telling her in what appeared to be a reference to his 31-year-old son Justin Combs, "Please let Justin know I'm thinking of him," according to E! News. However, this was not Combs' first public declaration of love in his trial. While Combs has yet to take the stand, several notable figures from his past have already testified in the proceeding--including ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. In her testimony, Ventura said she participated in hundreds of sex parties known as "freak offs" with hired escorts at the instruction of Combs, as per the outlet. Ms Ventura ultimately left Combs in 2018 after more than a decade of dating. "It was always in the back of my mind that I would somehow be hurt by him," Ventura testified. "Sean is a really polarizing person. He was very charming, it was hard to decide in that moment when he was telling you what he wanted. I just didn't know what would happen," according to E! News. Earlier, singer Aubrey O'Day reacted to Sean 'Diddy' Combs's federal trial. She said, "This trial is bittersweet for me, as I've been speaking the truth about Diddy for 20 years now." She later shared that her podcast on the saga, Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O'Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, will allow her to heal nearly two decades after Mr Combs removed her from Danity Kane on MTV's Making the Band in 2008. "This podcast is the first step in reclaiming my voice and career that I was robbed of when I was abruptly fired from my band in order to appear discredited," she said. O'Day continued, "My heart goes out to all the victims, especially those who could have been spared, had anyone taken these claims seriously prior," as per People. "My sincere hope is that justice will prevail and for there to be further systemic changes within the music industry to prevent all forms of abuse from those in a position of power," the star concluded.
