Diddy's Former Personal Chef Says She's Afraid Retaliation After Split Verdict: 'Fear for My Safety'
She claims she was a victim of Combs' physical abuse and that she witnessed him physically abuse Casandra "Cassie" Ventura
Combs was found not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy and convicted on lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitutionSean "Diddy" Combs' former personal chef, who alleges she was both a witness to and a victim of his physical abuse while in his employ, says she fears for her safety after a Manhattan jury acquitted the rapper of the most serious charges in his federal sex crimes case.
On Wednesday, July 2, Jourdan Atkinson was among the government's witnesses who sent letters to the judge presiding over Combs' case asking that he be denied bail while awaiting sentencing, which his attorneys requested after his conviction on lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Judge Arun Subramanian declined to release Combs on bail, saying applicable law made his detention mandatory. The judge also cited Combs' history of domestic violence in denying his release.
Atkinson posted a series of videos to her Instagram account afterward, as well as a copy of a subpoena she had received in 2024 from the Southern District of New York, compelling her to testify before a grand jury in April 2024 in connection with Combs' case. Combs had pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Atkinson alleged in the videos that she was physically abused by Combs when she was employed by him, and that she had witnessed him abuse Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, his former longtime girlfriend who was the government's star witness and one of the women prosecutors alleged Combs sex trafficked. Atkinson expressed her displeasure with the jury's verdict.
In her letter addressed to Judge Subramanian and posted to her Instagram account, Atkinson wrote that she and others who were subpoenaed by federal prosecutors fear Combs will retaliate against them.
"I'd like to express how terrifying this whole ordeal has been for me personally," she wrote to the judge. "This past year and a half has been traumatizing. This verdict is devastating."
She added: "I fear for my safety upon his release."
Atkinson was among the government's witnesses but did not testify at the trial. She said in her recent Instagram post that federal agents visited her home in March 2024, and she refused to speak with them because she was afraid. She was later subpoenaed, she said, and shortly thereafter, she said one of Combs' attorneys called and texted her. She posted a screenshot of a text message she said she received from the attorney, saying he was aware she had been contacted by law enforcement and asked whether she needed an attorney.
She said that she was supposed to testify at Combs' trial on May 20 and was in New York, but claimed she was "pulled" because she "flipped out on the government."
Representatives for Combs and a spokesperson for the Southern District of New York did not immediately return a request for comment.
"I want to be clear, as a victim, as a former employee of Sean Combs, I do not feel safe," Atkinson said in one of the videos on her Instagram. "I am extremely traumatized. I do not know where to go from here."
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