Diddy trial updates: Sean Combs' alleged violence recalled as more witnesses testify
Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged streak of violent behavior is coming to light as additional witnesses testify in the hip-hop mogul's criminal trial.
Attorneys for the Grammy-winning rapper, prosecutors and jurors returned to Manhattan court on May 27 in the fourth week of proceedings in the federal sex-crimes case. This comes after a slew of witnesses, including Cassie Ventura Fine's mother Regina Ventura, Danity Kane alum Dawn Richard and rapper Kid Cudi, appeared in court last week to share harrowing accounts of Combs' alleged abuse.
Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, dated Ventura Fine briefly in 2011. While taking the stand on May 22, he claimed Combs broke into his home and locked his dog in a bathroom — and that his vehicle blew up in another incident — after Combs found out he was seeing his estranged girlfriend.
The incidents are just some of the violent acts prosecutors say Combs undertook during a 20-year scheme to coerce women, including Ventura Fine, to take part in drug-fueled sex parties known as "freak offs" and prevent them from leaving his orbit.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges.
Mescudi testified on May 22 that Combs broke into his home after learning of his relationship with Ventura Fine.
The "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper said the incident started after he received a call in December 2011 from Ventura Fine, who sounded "scared" and told him Combs had discovered their relationship. The musician said he received a call from Combs' former assistant Capricorn Clark later in the day, saying the rapper was inside Mescudi's Los Angeles house.
Mescudi said no one was ultimately inside, but his dog was locked up in the bathroom, whereas he normally lets his dog roam around the house freely. Some gifts he received from the luxury brand Chanel had also been opened. The rapper added that he called the police and made a report.
During his May 22 testimony, Mescudi said he got a call from his dogsitter in January 2012 saying that his car was on fire. Mescudi told the court that by the time he returned home, law enforcement officers were on the scene, and he saw a Molotov cocktail and the major damage to his vehicle.
Jurors were then shown photos of the destroyed Porsche. There was a large hole in the roof of the car and smoke damage on the doors and interior. The incident came weeks after Mescudi said he went to Connecticut with Ventura Fine to visit her family for Christmas. During that time, Combs texted him several times, wanting to speak and "get to the bottom of it."
Following Mescudi's testimony on May 22, Mylah Morales, a celebrity makeup artist who worked for both Combs and Ventura Fine, recalled a violent January 2010 incident.
Morales remembered falling asleep on a couch in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she was staying with Ventura Fine the weekend of the Grammy Awards. She woke up when Ventura Fine entered the hotel room, and Combs later burst in and demanded to know where Ventura Fine was.
He went into the bedroom and shut the door, and Morales told jurors she heard "yelling and screaming." She didn't see any injuries on Combs, but she said Ventura Fine "had a swollen eye and a busted lip and knots on her head."
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy trial updates: Sean Combs' alleged violence recalled
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