Latest news with #freakoff
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Pic of bikini-clad Rihanna & Serena Williams resurfaces in Diddy trial after it was sent to star by ‘freak-off victim'
A GOBSMACKING picture of Rihanna and Serena Williams in bikinis sent to Sean "Diddy" Combs has resurfaced after it came up as evidence in the rapper's trial. The superstar snap was sent to Diddy by his then-girlfriend Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura amid discussions about "freak-off" sex parties. 7 7 7 The two A-listers can be seen lying on a bed with a third woman - Rihanna taking the pic in an overhead mirror and Serena reclining by her side. Both are wearing bikinis and sunglasses in the snap, believed to have been taken sometime in 2012, and Serena has also donned a sunhat. The third figure is believed to be Capricorn Clark, Diddy's former assistant, who told the court this week she was "fired" during a vacation with Rihanna, reports the Mail. Cassie sent the pic to Diddy in a long text exchange which also included photos of the pair smooching on the stairs of a private jet, and Cassie gushing over her ballooning fame. The rapper's defense lawyers have argued these texts show Cassie was enthusiastic about her relationship with Diddy and all of their activities. This is the crux of the trial: whether Cassie was a consensual participant in the "freak-off" sex parties organised by Diddy, or coerced into them. The defense argues that Ventura was not only willing, but actively encouraged and sometimes even begged for the freak-offs. Earlier in the trial, Cassie testified that she was forced into the sometimes days-long sordid sex sessions in order to sustain her relationship and career, which she says was under Diddy's control. Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and denies any wrongdoing. One of the texts sent by Cassie to Diddy reads: "4,180 likes and azaliea banks hit me on twitter. Missing that!! Going to FO [freak-off] on Tuesday!! These are all things that I need Pop Pop [Diddy] to be with me at. Lol". Diddy beat crying Cassie as she cowered in fetal position, claims ex-assistant There is no mention of Rihanna or Serena Williams in the messages, and there is no suggestion either of them were involved in the sex parties. Days later, Ventura wrote: "I just want it to be uncontrollable," talking about their upcoming sexual encounter. In another 2012 exchange, Diddy demanded: "FO one last time tonight." Cassie responded with: "What?" Diddy fired back: "You can't read?" Ventura explained: "I don't want to freak off for the last time. I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives." Later the same day, she followed with: "I want to see you, but I'm emotional right now... I'd rather not do it at all." Elsewhere, Cassie wrote: "Yea. We did a lot... a lot of d****. A lot of partying." And: "I miss you... I miss out love sessions in the afternoon." 7 7 Cassie previously told the court in detail about the long sex sessions with male escorts she was allegedly forced into - and said she complied out of fear of violence. She said: 'You make the wrong face . . . then I was getting hit in the face.'' The R'n'B singer said she was a sexual novice when she fell in love with the rapper, having been won over by his wealth and charm. Within a year, she said she agreed to marathon 'freak-off' sex sessions with strangers to prove her love and keep him happy. But Ventura told the New York court that a darker side to Diddy emerged — which she termed 'his abusive side'. She said: '[He was] Very controlling over my life, the things I wanted to do . . . but there's still love there. 'Control was everything from the way I looked, what I was working on that day, who I was speaking to. She said that sex became her job, and that she took part fearing the star would release the footage. This claim that Cassie feared compromising footage of herself would be leaked came up in Wednesday's court session. 7 7 A stylist and friend of Cassie's testified that Diddy threatened to distribute videos of the freak-offs on the internet. Deonte Nash told the courtroom that she remembered a phone conversation when Combs also threatened to send them to Cassie's parents' workplaces to get them fired. He also said Cassie had confided to him that she "didn't want to" have sex with the men during the parties. Deonte testified that he saw bruises on Ventura's body 'quite often". The trial also descended into chaos Diddy's his defense team demanded a mistrial - claiming misconduct by the prosecution. Defense lawyers said the prosecution made an "outrageous" suggestion that Diddy could have played a part in the destruction of evidence relating to an arson investigation. Fellow rapper Kid Cudi, who had a relationship with Cassie, testified that Combs broke into his 2012 home and that his Porsche was set ablaze in January 2012.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Pictured: Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' freak-off lair
Images laying bare Sean 'Diddy' Combs' alleged 'freak-off' den have been shown at the music mogul's sex-trafficking trial. Manhattan federal court was shown photographs taken during a raid of Combs' Miami mansion last year, which was kept stocked with guns, drugs, lingerie and dozens of bottles of baby oil. Dismantled sections of an AT-15 rifle were found by investigators, one of which had a skull and two crossed swords emblazoned on the stock. One of the weapons had its serial numbers removed, the court heard on Wednesday, which would have made it harder to trace. Cassie Ventura, who was in a 10-year relationship with Combs until 2018, said her ex-boyfriend stored guns in several of his US properties, and that his security team would lay them outside the safes where they were stored in order to intimidate her. Crates containing dozens of bottles of Johnson's baby oil were also found in a wardrobe, along with Astroglide lubricant and two rubber ducks. Ventura told the jury last month that Combs ordered her to apply the oil every five minutes during 'freak-offs', the sex parties he allegedly forced her into. Earlier on Tuesday, a male escort who went by the nickname The Punisher, whose real name is Sharay Hayes, said he was paid to oil up Ventura while Combs watched. Investigators unearthed several boxes on high-heeled women's shoes in black, white and red. Photographs also show lingerie – including a lime set with a sheer net top, and a black set which came with a collar – and 'deluxe buckle love cuffs' in the house. A brown sachet with pills spilling out was marked 'golden teachers 250mg', which is a slang term for magic mushrooms. Authorities also photographed a small plastic pouch containing white, pink and blue pills, which subsequent testing apparently showed included cocaine, ketamine and crystal, set next to a Gucci purse. The jury heard on Tuesday from Darren James, a former assistant to Combs, who said his employer took drugs daily, including opiates during the day and ecstasy at night. On one occasion, the rapper took an ecstasy pill that was shaped like the face of Barack Obama, the former US president, Mr James said. A lurid green case in one of the photos emblazoned 'Diddy' contained what appeared to be a stash of cannabis. Investigators also turned up two boxes of an erectile dysfunction drug called Vital Honey. A photograph of the inside of a cupboard shows a hairdryer tucked next to four boxes of 'Just For Men' black hair dye. Combs has always been seen in public with black hair, including when he appeared in court last September after prosecutors brought criminal charges against him. Court sketches since the music mogul's trial began last week show the 55-year-old, who has been held in federal prison awaiting the start of court proceedings, is greying. Combs is charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex-trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial: Chris Brown mentioned on day five
A New York jury in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial has seen a text sent my his then girlfriend Cassie Ventura accusing of him of treating her like a 'ragdoll' by beating her. Shock audio was also played of Ms Ventura threatening to kill a man she thought might have video of her at one of Combs' infamous 'freak off' sex parties. And a famous singer's name came up in the Manhattan courtroom. Combs is charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking and racketeering. He could face life in jail for just the racketeering charge. Combs has plead not guilty to all charges. Ms Ventura has now entered her fifth day of testimony and third day of cross examination by Combs' lawyers. In court she wore a white shirt covered by a black jacket and held her heavily pregnant belly. A clip was shown from the infamous CCTV footage from March 2016 of a corridor of the InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles where Combs allegedly beat Ms Ventura after she left a freak off. A text from her to Combs was the submitted in evidence. 'When you get f***ed up the wrong way you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around. I'm not a ragdoll, I'm someone's child,' she said. Combs' defence then said to Ms Ventura that the singer regularly took her phone of her, to which she agreed. One of those times, his lawyer said was when he 'suspected you of dancing with Chris Brown. 'I don't remember what happened on that occasion,' she said. 'Apart from not dancing with Chris Brown'. Later audio was played in court of an acquaintance of Combs, who Ms Ventura suspected of having a video of her having sex at a freak off, taken off her phone. 'You need to tell me what you saw,' she said of the suspected footage he had. 'Who was f***ing me? You have it on your phone. 'It's my fucking life I will cut you up and put you in the fucking dirt and I will kill you and then I will kill you again. 'I have never killed anyone in my life but I will kill you. 'Show me the video, I'm going to f**k you up but it won't be me, if won't be your blood on my hands. 'Tell me what you saw'. Ms Ventura said both she and Combs were worried about freak off footage becoming public. She said in any such instances Combs would 'take care of it'. There's no suggestion anyone was harmed.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Diddy Trial Day 5: Cassie Returns For Cross-Examination
Cassie Ventura will take the stand for the fourth straight day as she faces further cross-examination from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers, who have tried to frame her as a willing participant in Combs' 'freak off' sex parties, which Ventura previously described as 'disgusting' and coerced in testimony earlier this week (Combs has pleaded not guilty to all five federal charges). Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty to five federal charges. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty ... More Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs) Ventura, whom Combs dated off-and-on between 2007 and 2018, will take the stand Friday in what could be her last day on the stand, though the judge and defense clashed on Thursday over whether her longer-than-expected testimony would run into next week. On Thursday, defense lawyers have asked Ventura to read aloud many text and email messages shared between her and Combs throughout her relationship, including one from 2009 in which she texted Combs: 'I'm always ready for a freak-off lolol,' and in another message two days later, stating she wants 'it to be uncontrollable,' NBC News reported. Ventura pushed back on some of the texts as 'just words at that point,' and she said she took part in the freak-offs, which involved Combs watching Ventura have sex with a male escort, because she 'wanted to make him happy,' adding, 'it was a lot more than that.' The defense also questioned Ventura about her love for Combs, as Ventura described him as 'sweet' and 'attentive' early in their relationship and a 'big personality, larger than life,' pointing to a text from 2009 in which Ventura told Combs she loves him 'so much it makes me cry,' the New York Times reported. Ventura admitted she 'had some jealousy' of Combs' late ex-girlfriend Kim Porter, with whom he had three children, a claim the defense lawyers made in their opening statement, NBC News reported. Toward the end of Thursday's questioning, the defense asked Ventura about the 2016 InterContinental hotel freak-off, where the video of Combs beating Ventura in a hallway came from, and tried to indicate Combs was going through opiate withdrawal at the time, The New York Times reported. On Wednesday, Ventura testified Combs threatened to blackmail her with videos he recorded of Ventura performing during freak-offs if she upset him: "I would have to answer to my mother," she said, according to the BBC, stating the videos "make me look like a slut.' Combs' legal issues began with a lawsuit filed by Ventura in November 2023, in which she alleged he raped her and subjected her to years of physical abuse; she testified Wednesday that she settled that suit for $20 million, the Associated Press reported. On the witness stand Tuesday, Ventura testified she and Combs would have 'violent arguments' throughout their decade-long relationship, in which he would 'too frequently' subject her to physical abuse: 'He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,' CNN reported. The court was once again shown footage of Combs attacking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, and Ventura testified she attended a movie premiere for 'The Perfect Match,' a rom-com she starred in, with sunglasses to hide bruises Combs had given her. Ventura detailed another altercation in which Combs 'knocked me around' in a car in 2007 or 2008, and Ventura said Combs had instructed her to stay in a hotel for a week so her wounds could heal, the New York Times reported. Ventura also detailed the physical and emotional toll of 'freak-offs,' stating she would suffer urinary tract infections after performing in back-to-back freak-offs to the point that CIPRO, a common UTI antibiotic, no longer worked for her, NBC News reported. Combs subjected her to freak offs 'weekly for a consistent amount of years,' the Washington Post reported. 'I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated,' Ventura said of the freak offs, adding she 'couldn't talk to anyone about it.' Combs also controlled Ventura's singing career, she testified, stating he called 'all of the shots' after he signed her to his Bad Boy Records when she was 19 years old, NBC News reported, and he controlled her image and physical appearance. On Thursday, multiple outlets reported Ventura's dynamic with Combs' defense lawyer Anna Estevao was largely cordial and occasionally friendly, noting at one point Estevao called her 'very beautiful and charming' to light laughter from the courtroom. Ventura is testifying while nearly nine months pregnant, and judge Arun Subramanian sparred with the defense Thursday afternoon over a slow cross-examination process. 'In what universe did you not understand this is what was going to happen ... you're not telling me this wasn't everyone's understanding that this witness was going to be done this week?' NBC News reported. Subramanian asked the defense lawyers in a tense exchange after they claimed they may need the rest of the week for cross-examination, before Ventura returns for final questioning by prosecutors. Earlier Thursday, prosecutors said Ventura is 'very pregnant,' adding: 'We are afraid she could have the baby over the weekend. We want her off the stand before the weekend.' Subramanian also laid blame on prosecutors for Ventura's tight questioning timeline, stating it 'seems strategic' they called two witnesses to testify on Monday before Ventura took the stand. Ventura is pregnant with her third child with her husband Alex Fine, who is present in the courtroom Thursday. Combs appeared in the courtroom Thursday wearing a light-colored sweater and white collared shirt, as his family once again attended to support him. Israel Florez, then a security guard at the Los Angeles hotel where Combs attacked ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 in an incident captured on surveillance cameras, testified first at the trial. He said Venture appeared 'scared' after the altercation, NBC News reported, and testified that Combs was sitting in a towel with a 'devilish stare.' Florez said Combs approached him with a stack of money, telling him: 'Don't tell nobody,' but Florez rejected the apparent bribe, AP reported. Also on day one, Daniel Phillip, a male escort, was the second to take the stand, testifying he was paid by Ventura to have sex with her at a hotel in 2012 while Combs watched in the corner and masturbated, the New York Times reported, and then repeated the service multiple times with the couple at various hotels. Geragos denied Combs' violent behavior constitutes acts of sex trafficking or other federal crimes. 'He is physical, he is a drug user, you may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No,' Geragos told the jury, NBC News reported. Geragos addressed the hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura, calling his actions 'indefensible,' 'dehumanizing' and 'virtually every bad word you can think of,' but said it is 'not evidence of sex trafficking,' CNN reported. Geragos argued Ventura was a 'willing participant in their sex life' while with Combs and claimed Ventura left Combs on her own terms when she realized she would 'never be his wife, never be his love of his life,' CNN reported. Geragos said Ventura was 'jealous' of the relationship between Combs and his late ex-girlfriend, Kim Porter, with whom Combs had three children. Geragos also portrayed Combs' other sexual partners as consenting adults and denied they were victims of trafficking. Attorney Emily A. Johnson delivered the opening statement for the prosecution, accusing Combs of running 'a criminal enterprise.' Johnson described one night in which Combs allegedly learned Ventura was seeing another man while they were together, so he enlisted an employee to break into the man's house, the New York Times reported, though the employee did not find the man. Instead, Combs allegedly beat Ventura 'brutally.' Johnson described Combs' 'freak-off' parties, which she says were also referred to as 'wild king nights' or 'hotel nights,' alleging Combs' company would pay for parties and hotel rooms in which Combs would allegedly force women to take drugs and have sex with male escorts in encounters Combs sometimes recorded, the AP reported. Johnson described multiple alleged incidents of Combs committing acts of violence, including an incident in 2009 in which he allegedly stomped on Ventura's face, and another in which Combs grabbed an unnamed woman in a chokehold and kicked her to the ground before drugging her and coercing her into participating in a freak-off, the Times reported. The 12 jurors are composed of eight men and four women, the New York Times reported, with six alternates composed of four men and two women. Defense attorneys representing Combs protested some of the struck jurors to the judge, alleging the prosecutors struck seven prospective Black jurors, amounting to a pattern, the AP reported. Subramanian rejected the defense's claim, stating the prosecution gave 'race neutral reasons' for why each juror was struck and that the defense did not give evidence of discrimination. The jurors range in age from their 30s to their 70s, span jobs including a scientist, massage therapist, deli clerk and investment analyst, and they hail from Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County, the Times reported. Some of the jurors said they have seen a video of Combs attacking ex-girlfriend Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel, which is expected to be shown at trial. The defense previously struck a juror who said the video made Combs look like an 'angry, hostile person,' the Times reported. Combs arrived at the courthouse sporting gray hair, which is no longer black as he does not have access to hair dye in jail. He is wearing a light gray sweater and a white collared shirt with khaki pants, the Washington Post reported, and he blew kisses to his family, who are seated in the second row behind him, while walking into the courthouse. Throughout the jury selection process, Combs has donned black-framed glasses and has been actively flipping through a blue notebook and whispering with his defense attorneys, the Post reported. Combs faces five federal charges: two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering conspiracy. The fourth and fifth charges, one additional count each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, were added by prosecutors in April in a superseding indictment concerning an alleged unnamed victim, referred to as 'Victim-2.' Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges and rejected a plea deal earlier this month. Federal agents raided Combs' homes in March 2024, and he was arrested by authorities in September 2024 after being indicted by a grand jury. While awaiting trial, Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a jail known for poor conditions that has also housed disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried and currently houses Luigi Mangione, accused of the killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Underway: Here's What To Know About His Federal Charges (Forbes) Sean Combs Sued For Human Trafficking By Man Who Says He Was Sexually Assaulted In 2015: Here Are All The Major Accusations Against Diddy (Forbes)
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Live Updates: Cassie to Start 18th Hour of Testimony in Sean Combs's Sex-Trafficking Trial
Casandra Ventura in 2017. This week, she testified in federal court about the marathon sex sessions with hired male prostitutes that Sean Combs called 'freak-offs.' The term first came to public awareness in November 2023, when the singer Cassie filed a lawsuit accusing Sean Combs, her onetime boyfriend and record label boss, of years of sexual and physical abuse: 'freak-off.' According to the suit by Cassie, who was born Casandra Ventura, this was what Mr. Combs called the highly choreographed sexual encounters that he directed 'to engage in a fantasy of his called 'voyeurism.'' They involved costumes, like masks and lingerie. 'Copious amounts of drugs,' including Ecstasy and ketamine. The hiring of male prostitutes. Mr. Combs watching and recording the events on a phone while he masturbated. Freak-offs have become a central part of the government's case, which charges Mr. Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have strongly denied that any of his sexual encounters with women were not consensual. In much-anticipated court testimony this week, Ms. Ventura — who is visibly pregnant with her third child — described the freak-offs in sometimes excruciating terms. During hours of testimony on Tuesday, she cried and occasionally dabbed her eyes with tissue. The first freak-off happened when she was 22, when Mr. Combs hired a male stripper from Las Vegas to come to a home that Mr. Combs was renting in Los Angeles, she testified. Ms. Ventura said she wore a masquerade-style mask and provocative clothing from a 'sex store,' and that she and the man took Ecstasy and drank alcohol before they had sex and Mr. Combs watched. The freak-offs 'made me feel worthless,' Ms. Ventura testified, 'like I didn't have anything else to offer' Mr. Combs. Freak-offs soon became nearly weekly occurrences, Ms. Ventura testified. They took places in homes and hotels across the United States and in international locales like Ibiza, a Spanish island; Mr. Combs had his employees make travel arrangements for the men to come to him and Ms. Ventura — a key point in the government's case for sex trafficking. They also became more elaborately staged, with candles and studio-style lighting, and Ms. Ventura said she would sometimes take an entire day to prepare herself for them — Mr. Combs controlled that too, she said, down to the color of her nails. She testified that she took part in the events partly because she wanted to make Mr. Combs happy. 'When you're in love with someone you don't want to disappoint them.' But she also said she feared his violence if she refused, and recounted episodes of him beating her. When Mr. Combs became angry, she said, 'His eyes go black. The version of him that I was in love with was no longer there.' The events drained her, she said, and it sometimes took days to recover: 'The freak-offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again.' The videos Mr. Combs made, she said, became 'blackmail materials' that pressured her to agree to participate, for fear videos could be released on the internet, she testified. Fueled by drugs, the freak-offs could last from 36 hours to four days, Ms. Ventura testified. They also became more 'humiliating,' she said: Mr. Combs would direct her and the men on sexual positions, and he would order them to continually apply baby oil to keep themselves 'glistening.' Blood was left on bedding because Ms. Ventura had to perform while menstruating, she said. There was also urine, as Mr. Combs sometimes told the men to urinate into her mouth while she lay on the floor — she could end it only by holding her hands in the air and hoping Mr. Combs would tell the man to stop. In her testimony, Ms. Ventura said that a freak-off was underway in March 2016 at the InterContinental Century City hotel in Los Angeles, where a hallway security camera captured her trying to take the elevator before Mr. Combs assaulted her and dragged her away. The freak-offs, she said, continued until she finally left Mr. Combs in 2018. But the government contends that another victim, who will be testifying under the pseudonym Jane, had freak-offs with Mr. Combs from 2021 until his arrest last year.
