• Cassie Ventura testified about physical and psychological abuse by Sean Combs during his federal sex trafficking trial. 
• Ventura detailed being forced into humiliating “freak offs” and controlled by Combs throughout their relationship. 
• Combs, facing charges including racketeering and sex trafficking, has pleaded not guilty. 

Star witness Casandra “Cassie” Ventura has taken the stand at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial. 

She detailed physical abuse (“He would… knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head”), as well as the nature of “freak offs”, which she said included the hiring of an escort and “performing” under the direction of Combs. 

Ventura, an R&B singer who used to date Combs and was signed to his record label, helped open a floodgate of accusations against the producer when she sued him in 2023, alleging that Combs abused her and forced her to participate in humiliating sex parties. She and Combs settled the lawsuit a day later, but dozens of others have since accused Combs of similar abuses, as have federal prosecutors. He faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted on all five criminal counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. 

Testimony in the trial started after opening statements on Monday (local time), with searing accounts from other witnesses who detailed alleged violence, paid sex acts and coercion by Combs, who has pleaded not guilty. The jury on Monday also viewed surveillance footage, which showed Combs dragging and beating Ventura in a hotel in 2016. 

Ventura told the court she didn’t feel she had much of a choice but to participate in Combs’ freak-offs. Ventura, who described herself as “naive” and a “total people-pleaser”, feared making him angry or uncomfortable with a rejection. Combs controlled much of her life, she said. 

Later, Ventura feared that she would be blackmailed with videos and images of her participation in the freak-offs, as well as threatened with violence. 

Ventura also testified about the “psychological abuse” she experienced with Combs. She said she always had to be working on something, and Combs would check in to make sure she was doing so. This included submitting a list of songs she was working on to him. “A lot of the things [songs] I did didn’t actually come out,” she said, describing the tasks as “busy work” and “just control over what I was doing every minute of the day”. 

When Ventura ignored Combs, he would call constantly and sometimes send a security agent or trusted assistant to her home. It was part of Combs’ security staff’s job, Ventura said, to keep an eye on her. 

She described being “enamoured” by Combs in the early part of their relationship. “I really fell in love with him,” she said, describing herself as a “little shadow” who followed him around. She thought it was “my first real adult relationship”. 

But as the relationship continued, Combs exercised more control over Ventura’s life, such as how she looked, whom she was speaking to and what she was working on that day, she testified. She said he was an “incessant caller” — and would have staff, assistants and security continuously pester her “until he found you”. 

The court prompted Ventura to recall her early interactions with Sean Combs — when he was her boss, but not yet her boyfriend. Asked about what she knew about Combs before she met him, Ventura said: “I just knew he was this larger than life entrepreneur, musician. [I] was a fan of the music.” 

Ventura was around 19 years old when she signed a 10-album deal with Bad Boy records, the record label Combs founded, in early 2006. 

About a quarter of the dozens of people who have filed sex abuse lawsuits against Combs also claim they were aspiring entertainers when they fell into his orbit. 

She traced the beginning of her romantic relationship with Combs to a trip the pair took in Miami a few months after her 21st birthday. It was the first time they had sex, Ventura said, and the first time she “intentionally” took ecstasy. 

After that trip, “we were just together”, Ventura said. “I’d become one of his girlfriends after that trip.” 

At the time, Ventura thought they might be in a monogamous relationship. I “can’t say ‘naive’ enough,” Ventura said, describing her mindset at the time. 

Ventura described being gifted a New York City apartment by Combs. He paid the rent and lived nearby. 

She also testified about moving to Los Angeles, saying she moved there because Combs wanted to be closer to his kids, some of whom were living in California at the time. Ventura said Combs also paid for some of her apartments in Los Angeles, had his own keys and would enter “whenever he wanted”. 

Earlier on Tuesday, defence attorney Xavier Donaldson cross-examined Daniel Phillip, which largely rehashed his prior testimony. On Monday afternoon, Phillip said he was paid to have sex with Ventura in front of Combs on multiple occasions. 

The prosecution conducted a redirect, where Phillip reiterated that Combs would give him and Ventura direction during some of these encounters, such as telling Ventura to give Phillip oral sex and instructing them to slather on baby oil. 

All of Combs’ adult children returned to his trial on Tuesday dressed in white — a contrast to the black ensembles many wore the day before — as they continue to present a united front in supporting their father. 

Combs’ mother, Janice, arrived in a colourful blazer. The family matriarch has been one of her son’s most vocal defenders, calling his mounting legal troubles a “public lynching” in an October statement. 

The trial is not being broadcast. 

SEXUAL HARM 

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email [email protected]
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.