Latest news with #MsVentura
MTV Lebanon
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- MTV Lebanon
Witness testifies that Diddy dangled her over apartment balcony
Graphic designer Bryana Bongolan testified that Sean "Diddy" Combs once dangled her off a 17th floor apartment balcony, and that she saw him throw a knife at her friend Casandra Ventura. On Wednesday, prosecutors displayed photos taken by Ms Bongolan and her then-girlfriend of Ms Bongolan's bruises, which she claimed she sustained during the alleged 2016 incident. Combs' attorneys worked to cast doubt on Ms Bongolan's credibility before the jury under intense cross-examination, during which she responded that she could not recall past statements she gave the government. Combs faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty. The federal case, now in its fourth week of testimony, followed dozens of civil lawsuits filed against him by men and women accusing him of abuse, including both Ms Ventura, who is Combs' ex-girlfriend, and Ms Bongolan. Ms Bongolan said she met Ms Ventura in 2014 when she worked for the brand Young and Reckless. Later, as the head women's designer at Diamond Supply Co, she was assigned to work with Ms Ventura on creating a collection and the two became close. Ms Bongolan testified they often took drugs like cocaine, ketamine and marijuana together. She later alleged that she procured drugs for Ms Ventura, and that the R&B singer paid her for them. She also acknowledged that she and Ms Ventura had a "problem" with drug use, but that she was currently sober. Ms Bongolan testified that during the friendship, she saw signs of Combs' alleged violence. She said once saw Ms Ventura on FaceTime with a black eye, and that the rapper would often pound on Ms Ventura's apartment door at night. Ms Bongolan testified that in September 2016, she heard banging on Ms Ventura's front door when she and her girlfriend were sleeping on the couch. She hid her girlfriend in a bathroom and went to the balcony, then Mr Combs entered the apartment, and allegedly picked her up and lifted her onto the ledge, she told the court. She said he repeatedly yelled, "You know what the (expletive) you did", and then threw her into the balcony furniture. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of a puncture and bruise on Ms Bongolan's leg, along with accompanying metadata displaying the date they were taken. She also testified she suffered night terrors and paranoia as a result of the evening. In another incident she described, Combs burst into Ms Ventura's apartment and allegedly threw a knife at the R&B singer. Ms Bongolan said Ms Ventura picked the knife up and threw it back. Neither of them was injured, she said. Once during a photoshoot in Malibu with Ms Ventura, Ms Bongolan alleged that Combs got in her face and told her: "I'm the devil and I could kill you." "I was terrified," she told the court. A relentless cross-examination During cross examination, Mr Combs' defence attorney sought to undercut Ms Bongolan, who struggled to answer questions about her statements in previous meetings with prosecutors. Nicole Westmoreland repeatedly asked Ms Bongolan about what she told government prosecutors when she first met them in January 2024. Several times, she asked her about the alleged balcony incident, but the witness struggled to recall details she described at the initial meeting. During her testimony two weeks ago, Ms Ventura, the prosecution's key witness, told the court: "I saw him bring her back over the railing of the balcony and then throw her onto the patio furniture." Ms Westmoreland also asked Ms Bongolan about her initial account of the incident in Malibu. The defence attorney said Ms Bongolan originally told government prosecutors that Combs made that threat at a party, and Ms Bongolan testified she could not recall that conversation. As the afternoon wore on, Ms Bongolan increasingly repeated that she could not recall details of previous conversations with prosecutors. At one point, Ms Westmoreland asked Ms Bongolan to recall her conversations with prosecutors two days prior. Asked about specifics, Ms Bongolan answered that she could not remember. The court also heard on Wednesday from forensic video editor Frank Piazza, who took the jury through recordings of the "Cassie video", which shows Mr Combs beating Ms Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016. He explained that the recordings were untampered with and were an accurate depiction. Ms Bongolan is expected to return to the stand Thursday. She will likely be followed by "Jane", whose testimony under a pseudonym could take several days.
Herald Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Herald Sun
‘The devil': Diddy's chilling comment
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. A New York court has heard that Sean 'Diddy' Combs called himself 'the devil' and 'could kill' one of his ex-girlfriends. Jurors in the Manhattan trial were also told the singer dangled a woman over a balcony potentially threatening her life. Combs is on trial in New York on federal charges that include sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs has denied all the charges. On Wednesday, US time, Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan took the stand. She is a friend of Combs' one time girlfriend Cassie Ventura. MORE: Jailed Diddy's wild $98m move exposed She spoke of one incident in 2016 when she alleged Combs dangled her over a balcony at Ms Ventura's Los Angeles apartment in a tall residential building. 'I was pulled over a 17th story balcony,' she told the court. Sean Combs continues to give evidence at his trial in New York MORE: 'Freak off': Diddy cops $50m insult in major blow She said Combs banged on the door of the apartment where both she and Ms Ventura were asleep. Ms Bongolan asked Combs to leave, she said, and then she proceeded to the balcony and lit a cannabis joint. 'He basically came up from behind me, lifted me up and hung me off the rail,' she claimed. She said Combs held her by the armpits with her feet dangling above the rail. Ms Bongolan said the ordeal last around 15 seconds during which Combs screamed: screamed 'You know what the f*** you did'. It was claimed she was then thrown into some garden furniture and suffered bruising, leg and neck pain. She said she had no idea then and no idea now what she was supposed to have done to have warranted being dangled over a balcony 17 stories up. Ms Ventura then allegedly came out of her room and said: 'Did you just hang her off the balcony?' Ms Bongolan said she didn't go the police because he was fearful of Combs. She added she till had nightmares after the balcony incident and sometimes used to 'scream a lot in my sleep'. Janice Combs (L), mother of Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Justin Combs (R), son of Sean "Diddy" Combs," depart federal court in Manhattan during a break in Sean "Diddy" Combs's sex trafficking trial on June 4, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP) 'I'm the devil' On another occasion, Ms Bongolan said Combs threatened he could kill her. Again, she was with Ms Ventura when the alleged incident occurred. This time it was in Malibu, near Los Angeles, when a photo shoot was taking place. 'He came up really close to my face and said something along the lines of 'I'm the devil and I could kill you,' she claimed. 'I was terrified,' she added. Ms Bongolan told the court she was on cocaine at the time. Indeed, she told the court, much of her time with Ms Ventura involved being high. 'Yeah, we had a problem,' Ms Bongolan said of her and Ms Ventura's drug use. She also told the court she had a lawsuit out against Combs and she was seeking $US10 million from him. Combs' defence team has tried to suggest that many of the witness testifying against Combs have done so in order to get damages from the star. Originally published as 'The devil': Diddy's chilling comment
NDTV
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
"Diddy Choked Me, Hit Me With Hanger": Cassie Ventura's Friend Details Abuse
Sean Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all charges Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly choked Cassie Ventura's best friend, beat her with a hanger, and once tried to force his way into his former girlfriend's apartment using a hammer, all to control and track her, a court heard in shocking testimony on Monday. Kerry Morgan, Ms Ventura's former best friend, detailed years of alleged abuse she either witnessed or experienced herself at the hands of the music mogul. Ms Morgan, 39, a model and personal assistant from Buffalo, New York, testified that Sean Combs attacked her from behind in Ventura's Hollywood Hills apartment in 2018, as per The NY Post. "He choked me," she told the court, adding that he left "finger marks on my neck" before hitting her behind the ear with a wooden hanger. "When I got up, he boomeranged a hanger at my head," she said. He was reportedly trying to find out "who Cassie was cheating on him with," Ms Morgan added, insisting, "I had no idea." Ms Morgan said she went to an urgent care facility where she was diagnosed with a concussion. She recalled being dizzy and throwing up multiple times after the beating. That incident, she said, ended her 17-year-long friendship with Cassie Ventura. Ms Morgan claimed that Ms Ventura accused her of "exaggerating" the incident when they met shortly after. Though Ms Morgan initially planned to sue Sean Combs, she said she dropped the civil claim after he paid her $30,000 (over Rs 25 lakh). Ms Ventura allegedly asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement during that meeting. "That was the last time we ever spoke," Ms Morgan told the jury. "I draw the line at physical abuse." Ms Morgan also recounted a 2016 incident, following Sean Combs' now-infamous beating of Cassie Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City. She testified that she was at Ms Ventura's Los Angeles home the next day when he showed up with a hammer. "He was hitting the door with a hammer to try to open it," she said, describing the scene as "terrifying." "I was freaking out. I don't think [Ms Ventura] cared if [Sean Combs] came in and killed her," Ms Morgan testified. She said Ms Ventura looked "numb" during the ordeal. Though police arrived about three hours later, no complaint was filed. Ms Morgan also spoke about two earlier times she saw Sean Combs abuse Ms Ventura. The first happened in Los Angeles, where she saw him push her and maybe even hit her inside the main bedroom of his house. "We hid outside on a neighbour's front steps for 30 minutes," she said. The second incident was in Jamaica in early 2013. Ms Morgan said Sean Combs got angry because Ms Ventura was taking too long in the bathroom. He allegedly dragged her about 10 feet across the floor. When Ms Morgan came back after picking up her purse, she saw Ms Ventura hit her head on a brick after he pushed her. "She didn't move," Ms Morgan said. Ms Morgan also added that Sean Combs was extremely jealous, even when Ms Ventura was just talking to actor Michael B Jordan. "They weren't together anymore, and he was still jealous," she said. "I think she was trying to leave him." Sean Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could face life in prison. The trial is set to continue on Tuesday.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Diddy assaults ex-girlfriend Cassie in new footage shown in court
Credit: US Department of Justice Sean 'Diddy' Combs's violent attack on his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel has been made public after the entire unedited video was shown in court on Tuesday. Ms Ventura, an R&B singer known as Cassie, testified that she participated in Combs' drug-fuelled parties known as 'Freak Offs' for a decade, fearing he could become violent if she didn't. Jurors were shown surveillance footage from the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel where a towel-clad Combs threw Ms Ventura to the ground and began to kick her. She said the video was taken after a 'Freak Off' where Combs gave her a black eye. 'I made it to the elevators, I got my sneakers on, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown to the ground,' Ms Ventura, 38, told the court on Tuesday. Asked by a prosecutor why she stayed on the ground, Ms Ventura said: 'I felt like it was the safest place to be.' Combs shook his head from side to side as jurors were shown the footage in full for the first time. The court fell silent as the video played without sound. The footage showed Ms Ventura walking down the hallway at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City with a bag before Combs runs after her. Combs catches up to Ms Ventura near the lift, slapping her across the head and pulling her to the ground using her hood. He then kicked her several times as she lay motionless on the ground, before picking up her bag and dragging her back into the hallway. Israel Florez, an assistant to the hotel's security director, then entered the fray, attempting to diffuse the situation. He testified in court on Tuesday, and claimed Combs offered him a $100 bribe. Ms Ventura is the star prosecution witness at Combs' trial in the Manhattan federal court. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he would face a minimum of 15 years in prison, and could face life behind bars. The trial could last two months, and Combs is being held in a Brooklyn jail when not in court. He also faces dozens of civil lawsuits by women and men who accuse him of sexual abuse. He has denied wrongdoing, and said his relationships were consensual. Ms Ventura testified that she once viewed her relationship with Combs, which began in her early 20s, as her first real adult relationship. But she said Combs became more controlling as the 'Freak Offs,' which she said lasted as long as four days, took over their relationship and derailed her music career. Combs has apologised for the video, and his lawyers have said prosecutors have tried to improperly punish him for his 'swingers' lifestyle. The trial continues. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
