Diddy trial live updates: Cassie breaks down crying while describing alleged 'freak offs'
Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriendCasandra Ventura Finegave emotional, tear-filled testimony in his federal sex-crimes trial, alleging he repeatedly beat her and pressured her into demeaning sexual performances during their relationship. A pop singer known as Cassie, Ventura Fine is the prosecution's star witness in the rapper's case. Her accusations that he physically abused her, manipulated her financially and more come a day after jurors saw a video ofCombs hitting and kicking herin a hotel in 2016. Ventura Fine, visiblypregnant with her third child, was positioned with federal prosecutor Emily Johnson looking straight ahead at her, and occasionally her body faced the jury. She spoke slowly and softly throughout her testimony, lifting a tissue to her eyes and often touching her abdomen. Throughout a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from three and possibly four of the Combs' female accusers, as well as ex-employees who prosecutors say helpedarrange and cover up his actions. Prosecutors have claimed Combs lured women into romantic relationships, forced them to take part in days of drug-fueled sex parties and then blackmailed them with videos he recorded of the encounters. Combs, 55, facessex trafficking,racketeeringand transportation to engage in prostitution charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile,Combs' defense lawyerTeny Geragos countered that prosecutors were trying to twist his romantic relationships into a racketeering and sex-trafficking case. Diddy on trial newsletter:Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes and trafficking charges. Ventura Fine told the court that Combs left his house amid one "freak off" in Los Angeles after being tipped offby a bodyguardthat former Death Row Records CEOSuge Knightwas at a diner nearby. Knight is one of Combs' longtime music industry rivals, with tensions dating back to the 1990s. Cassie said she told Combs, "Please don't do anything stupid" as she screamed and cried in fear. The testimony came as Ventura Fine was talking about weapons allegedly in Combs' homes. She said she was handed a gun at the time to hold in her purse, though she did not say Combs gave her the weapon. When asked why she agreed to participate in the alleged "freak offs," Ventura Fine replied "great question," under her breath, then paused before saying, "I wanted to make him happy." Describing the first escort Combs brought into a "freak off," she said he was a stripper in Las Vegas paid to "entertain, to dance and to have intercourse with me." Combs allegedly gave her ecstasy and alcohol before and during her first "freak off," she said. Every such party was directed by Combs, Ventura Fine told the court, whether it was the lighting or where he wanted people positioned. After her first "freak off" she said she felt "dirty and confusion, mixed with 'OK, he's really happy with me so I guess I did something right.'" Soon the sexual performances became almost weekly, she told the court. The last and final "freak off" she allegedly participated in was between 2017 and 2018, she said, noting that drugs like ecstasy, MDMA or cocaine helped her stay awake. Later in her testimony, Ventura Fine was asked to expand on her alleged drug use at the time. She told the court Combs or his staff would drop off ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, ketamine and other substances ahead of gatherings. "For me, it was dissociative and numbing. I couldn't imagine doing any of that without any sort of buffer," Cassie said. Ventura Fine would not make eye contact with Combs throughout her testimony. He looked her up and down as she walked in the courtroom. When asked about their nicknames for one another, Ventura Fine revealed Combs called her "BG" for baby girl and "CC," which stood for Cassie Combs. Her nickname for him was "pop pop," which he decided on after asking what she called her grandfather. "I thought it was weird," she said of her feelings at the time, adding now she feels "it was disrespectful." Prosecutors also showed a text message exchange between Ventura Fine and Combs in which she told him she wanted to talk, and he asked whether it was about the "freak offs." She replied yes. "Now you don't wanna do any more?" he wrote. "I already know u so predictable." She then began to backpedal, to which he responded, "U not gonna shut me down." When asked why she backpedaled, she said, "I wouldn't want to make him angry, I really didn't want him to be upset or not trust me," Cassie said, continuing to cry and accusing him of being "a scary person." While discussing her participation in "freak offs," Ventura Fine broke down crying in court. "I just felt that's all I was good for to him. I was humiliated and didn't have anyone to talk to about it," she told prosecutors, as she began to choke up. "His eyes go black. The version I loved of him was no longer there," she said of his anger, continuing to cry. Asked why she continued to participate in "freak offs" even when they made her uncomfortable, she said, "the one-on-one time." "When you really care about somebody and love them, you don't want to disappoint them," she said through tears. When she "gently" tried to broach the subject of no longer doing "freak offs," Ventura Fine said Combs was "dismissive" and that it made her feel "unheard." "Doing this made me feel horrible. It made me feel worthless," she said of the sometimes days-long sexual performances Cassie's former friend Kerry Morgan was named in court on May 13, after the model was mentioned in her 2023 civil lawsuit involving Combs. In one alleged incident cited in the lawsuit, Combs entered Cassie's house unannounced and got in an "altercation" with Morgan. During the alleged incident, Combs threw a hanger at Morgan, later paying a settlement after the fact. Cassie also paid additional funds to Morgan after the incident, but their relationship has been "strained" since. Before the jury entered the courtroom for the day's proceedings, Combs' defense team attempted to preventCassie's husband Alex Finefrom being present for witness testimony. One of the embattled mogul's lawyers Teny Geragos said they may call him as a witness. Johnson argued that Alex Fine should be able to attend to support his wife.During the back and forth, federal prosecutors said they would not get into the timeline of events in 2018, so he would be able to stay in the courtroom for support. The Fines married in a Malibu backyard wedding ceremony in 2019, a year after she split from Combs. They share two daughters Frankie and Sunny and announced they were expecting a third child in February. Alex Fine is a personal trainer turned actor. During her testimony, Cassie said it took herhours to recoverfrom the drugs, dehydration and sleep deprivation that spurred from Combs' alleged "freak offs." She claims the drug-fueled sex sessions lasted 36 to 72 hours and the longest was four days. Some may have lasted even longer with breaks, she said, and took up a significant portion of her week. The singer said she was 22 when Combs introduced her to "freak offs." He described it as voyeurism, where he would hire an escort "so that I could perform for Sean," the singer told the court. In the beginning of the "freak offs," Combs set them up in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other cities, but eventually Cassie would do it, using platforms like Craigslist and Backpage. "I was confused, nervous, but also loved him very much," Ventura Fine said, adding she "wanted to make him happy." The abuse and controlling behavior started around this time, she said, "But there was still love there."Ventura Fine allegedCombs would go on to control much of her life, including her career, wardrobe and more. He would allegedly require her to list all the music she was working on, but she felt her career was "stifled" when she was with the record executive. He would call her incessantly if she didn't pick up or call him back, or Combs would send assistants or security to find her, she added.Combs would have big mood swingsand his mood could change at the drop of a conversation, characterizing it as "not knowing who he was going to be." The psychological abuse "was just every day," she alleged. She noted that they weren't always exclusive in their relationship; when he was with other women, "I was insanely jealous." She said, "I was definitely young and jealous." At the time she was "naive" and a "total people pleaser," but over time she alleged there wereblackmail materials,including videos and photos of her with an escort and occasionally with Combs. Ventura Fine was afraid he would "release them, put them out on the internet. He had many resources to do that." Ventura Fine is answering questions from prosecutors, telling the juryCombs would often beat her, leaving her with black eyes and bruises all over her body. She was positioned with federal prosecutor Emily Johnson looking straight ahead at her, and occasionally her body faced the jury. She spoke slowly and softly throughout her emotional testimony, lifting a tissue to the inner corner of her right eye, but hasn't seemed to cry. "He would bash my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down," Ventura Fine, her voice breaking slightly, said as the prosecution's star witness on the second day of testimony. Asked how frequently Combs was physical with her, Ventura Fine said: "Too frequently." Ventura Finetook the standand told the court about the beginning of her relationship with Combs. Recounting the beginning of their relationship, Ventura Fine said they first kissed in a bathroom on her 21st birthday. The physical relationship progressed from there, she said, revealing "he basically taught me how" to have oral sex and had made her "feel crazy for not reciprocating." The two had sexual intercourse on a boat Combs rented during a stay in Miami and Ventura Fine revealed after the trip she "really fell in love with him." "We had fun," she recounted. It felt like her "first adult relationship," and she was "just enamored by him" in the first year, she added. As the day's first witness,former male stripper Daniel Phillipreturned to the stand for cross-examination by the Combs defense team. Diddy's legal team tried to show that Cassie was in controlduring the sexual encounters. Combs' lawyer Xavier Donaldson asked Phillip whether she appeared drunk or high during their first night together at the Gramercy Park Hotel. He replied that she did not. During Cassie's alleged sexual encounter with Combs and another male escort, Phillip said that she didn't appeardrunk or high. Donaldson also called Phillip's story into question because this week, during cross-examination and during direct examination, he said that Combs gave him and Cassiedirections during sex. But they said Phillip told federal prosecutors in March this year that he didn't remember Combs giving them directions during sex. The Combs defense team also tried to paint Phillip as vindictive and jealous of Cassie's relationship with the music mogul. Donaldson said that during an October 2024 interview with prosecutors, Phillip said he would feel jealous when Combs had sex with Cassie. He responded: "I do not recall saying that to them." Phillip also said Combs wouldn't pay him if he couldn't maintain an erection during sex with Cassie, but Phillip said Combs would pay him anywhere from $700 to $6,000 when he could maintain an erection. At one point, Donaldson asked Phillip, "His presence caused you to have this erectile dysfunction?" and he replied, "Correct." Donaldson pulled up text messages from Phillip to Cassie in which Phillip said that he loved both Cassie and Combs. "You told them both that you loved them?" Donaldson asked, "And that wasafter the assault?" Phillip said yes, but that he only told Cassie that he loved them both because he wanted to make Cassie believe that he had no problem with Combs so he could continue checking in on her. Both the defense and the prosecution raised privacy concerns aboutshowing "freak off" videos,which the government said are all sexually explicit, in court. Combs' attorneys asked, "What would the press do with this information if they had it?" But Robert Balin, a press representative at the court, argued that testimony "is not a substitute for these visuals" and that the videos are important to show whether the acts were consensual or coerced. They added that journalists are "not interested in reporting anything salacious." He suggested the number of reporters who are able to see the videos could be limited. The judge said they would work throughout the day to come up with a solution. Daniel Phillipis continuing his testimony on May 13 as court proceedings kick off. Phillip previously told the court that he and Ventura Fine hadmultiple sexual encountersduring their first meeting and that Combs recorded the pair having sex once or twice in the scope of that time. He also claimed the rapper asked for his driver's license, so he could take a picture of it "for insurance," which Phillip said he perceived as a threat. During another alleged incident, Phillip said Combsbecame violent with Ventura Fineafter she failed to enter Combs' bedroom immediately. The man recalled that Combs threw a bottle of liquor in Cassie's direction and proceeded to drag her back to the room by her hair while she was screaming. 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 istypically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations,prosecutors allegethat 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;Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Diddy trial live updates: Cassie cries as she testifies on freak offs
Diddy trial live updates: Cassie breaks down crying while describing alleged 'freak offs' Editor's note: This story contains gra...
