Casandra “Cassie” Ventura took the stand on Tuesday to testify against her ex-partner and former record label boss Sean “Diddy” Combs’ in New York federal court. The singer, 38, was among the first witnesses called in Combs’ sex trafficking trial after Monday’s testimonies.
Prosecutors first asked Ventura to describe her relationship with Combs.
“There were violent arguments that would usually result in some sort of physical abuse,” she said in her testimony. “Dragging, different things of that nature.”
Prosecutors said that at one of Combs’ alleged freak-off sex parties, he forced a male sex worker to urinate in Ventura’s mouth — an ordeal during which prosecutors said she “felt like she was choking,” according to People.
Ventura was also asked to describe a “freak-off,” The New York Times reported.
“It basically entails the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean,” she said, according to The New York Times. It involved Combs “being able to watch me with the other person and actually direct us on what we were doing,” she said. “Eventually it became a job for me, pretty much.”
Combs’ high-profile trial kicked off with jury selection on May 5, followed by opening statements that began on Monday. Federal prosecutors started by describing Combs as the leader of a criminal enterprise who abused his power to exploit people like Ventura.
Prosecutors also claimed that Combs blackmailed Ventura with videos of her participating in his alleged freak-offs with male escorts.
Aside from Ventura, other witnesses who have testified against Combs so far include former security guard Israel Florez, who worked at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where 2016 surveillance footage captured Combs physically assaulting Ventura. Daniel Phillip, who testified that Ventura once paid him for sex in the presence of Combs, was the prosecution’s second witness.
In his testimony, Phillip said that he was just “expecting to do a strip tease and leave” with $200 plus a tip for a 2012 or 2013 gig, according to NBC News. “We ended up having sex, rubbed baby oil on each other for a couple minutes. He (Combs) was sitting in a corner masturbating,” the sex worker testified. He claimed that his sexual encounters with Combs and Ventura happened on more than one occasion.
Ventura’s allegations preceded Combs’ September 2024 arrest and indictment. In November 2023, she filed a civil lawsuit against him alleging domestic violence, sexual abuse and trafficking. It was settled one day later, though a flurry of other suits were filed by other plaintiffs in the months after.
After Combs was arrested, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution. They added two additional charges last month.
Combs faces up to life in prison if convicted. His trial is expected to last roughly eight weeks.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.