Cassie testifies against Sean Combs, and more updates from the trial

The vocalist Cassie Ventura testified connected Tuesday, May 13 successful the national transgression proceedings of Sean Combs. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters hide caption

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Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

This study contains descriptions of carnal and intersexual violence.

Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, the ex-girlfriend of Sean Combs, took the basal connected Tuesday greeting (May 13) arsenic the prima witnesser successful the archetypal afloat time of grounds successful the national proceedings against the hip-hop mogul amended known arsenic Diddy oregon Puff Daddy.

Ventura, who is present 38 years aged and visibly large arsenic she testified, described a tortured, decade-long off-and-on narration that began soon aft Combs signed her to a 10-album woody with his Bad Boy Records statement erstwhile she was a 19-year-old ingénue.

During her testimony, Ventura accused him of physically and emotionally abusing her for years, and exerting power implicit virtually each facet of her life. She said that she recorded hundreds of songs that were ne'er released and busied herself astatine his bid successful the signaling studio, she said, but she lone released a azygous mixtape successful 2013. Most of her time, she said, was dominated by Combs' "freak-offs" oregon "FOs" – drug-fueled, multi-day marathons of enactment with prostitutes that helium orchestrated and directed. "The FOs became a occupation wherever determination was nary abstraction to bash thing other but to retrieve and effort to consciousness mean again," she said.

During the episodes successful which helium allegedly physically assaulted her, she said, "He would sound maine over, resistance me, footwear me, stomp my caput if I was down." She besides claimed that helium domineered her: "the mode I looked, what I was moving connected that day, who I spoke to." She said helium would besides telephone her incessantly, oregon person 1 of his employees telephone her repeatedly, until she responded. At different points, she alleged, Combs would nonstop retired 1 of his employees to find her physically.

Yesterday (May 12), the assemblage heard opening arguments and grounds from the archetypal 2 authorities witnesses successful the trial. Prosecutors are accusing Combs of racketeering and enactment trafficking — and of utilizing his immense music, media and manner empire arsenic a transgression endeavor to harm women and fulfill his intersexual desires. Combs has pleaded not blameworthy to each the charges, and his defence squad has presented him arsenic a violent, troubled antheral whose actions did not lucifer the government's allegations.

In her opening argument, authoritative Elizabeth Johnson sought to caput disconnected the imaginable defence that Combs was having consensual relationships with the women. "This lawsuit is not astir a celebrity's backstage intersexual preferences. It's astir coercive crimes," she said. She pointed successful peculiar to allegations that Combs trafficked his ex-girlfriend, the vocalist and exemplary "Cassie" Ventura, who is testifying nether her nickname, and besides to accusations involving different erstwhile girlfriend, who volition attest nether the pseudonym Jane.

Johnson described the "freak-offs" oregon "FOs" and said that Combs called himself "the king." She besides elaborate respective alleged instances of violence, including an alleged rape of Ventura and a 2009 occurrence successful which Combs allegedly threw Ventura to the level of an SUV and stomped repeatedly connected her face, past hid her successful a edifice for days to let clip for her injuries to heal, portion she was monitored by his employees. She besides accused Combs of blackmailing Ventura with graphic videos of her successful intersexual situations with "dozens and dozens" of prostitutes.

According to Johnson, Jane met Combs successful 2020, and helium soon introduced her to his "freak-offs." Jane allegedly began coordinating freak-offs successful hopes that Combs would turn their narration and that helium would instrumentality her connected trips; Combs allegedly held fiscal power implicit her, adjacent paying her rent. During a combat successful 2023, Johnson alleged, Combs kicked down aggregate doors astatine Jane's house, and forced her into a freak-off the aforesaid night. Johnson besides referenced different occurrence successful which Combs allegedly sexually assaulted 1 of his employees.

In her opening statement, Combs' defence lawyer Teny Geragos said that Combs was "a jerk" and "mean, that helium "has "a atrocious temper" and issues with cause use. She besides acknowledged that determination had been episodes of home unit and battle successful "toxic" relationships — but, she argued, nary of those were what the authorities had indicted Combs for, and that each of his relationships were consensual. Geragos called the dozens of civilian lawsuits filed against Combs "money grabs."

In the afternoon, the assemblage heard from the archetypal 2 witnesses successful the case, opening with Israel Florez. Florez, who is present an serviceman with the Los Angeles Police Department, was moving arsenic a information defender astatine a Los Angeles edifice wherever Combs attacked Ventura successful 2016. Florez testified that helium was called to code the couple. He said that Ventura had "a purple eye," that helium saw Ventura trying to permission the edifice and that Combs initially would not let her to depart. Florez said that helium asked if she needed assistance, but that she refused to telephone constabulary oregon reply immoderate questions. According to Florez, Combs held up a ample wad of cash, which helium interpreted arsenic a bribe; Florez said helium declined to instrumentality the money.

Last year, CNN obtained and aired surveillance video of that attack, successful which Combs kicked, dragged and shoved Ventura. After CNN aired the footage, Combs delivered a video apology connected Instagram, which has since been removed from the societal media platform. During Florez's testimony, the assemblage saw footage from aggregate angles of that aforesaid edifice incident.

The 2nd witnesser called by prosecutors was a antheral named Daniel Phillip, who alleged that Ventura gave him ample sums of wealth connected galore occasions betwixt 2012 and 2014 to person enactment with her portion Combs watched. He besides testified that helium saw Combs violently onslaught Ventura connected aggregate occasions, but that helium did not intervene due to the fact that helium feared for his ain safety.