Dawn Richard, a former member of Danity Kane who sued Sean “Diddy” Combs last year for sexual violence and abuse, appeared in court on Friday to testify against the embattled mogul in his sex trafficking and racketeering trial.

The 41-year-old singer took the stand after Casandra “Cassie” Ventura alleged that she endured horrific violence during her 11-year relationship with Combs. Richard previously claimed to have witnessed Combs physically assaulting multiple women, including Ventura.

Richard repeated the claim on the witness stand, saying she saw Ventura “being attacked” by Combs in his Los Angeles home in 2009. “He came downstairs screaming, belligerent, asking where his food was, and continued to hit her in the head and kick her on the ground in front of us,” Richard testified, according to The Washington Post.

“He came over to the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head, and she fell to the ground,” Richard added.

According to CNN, Richard said that after that altercation, Combs dragged Ventura upstairs by her hair with his arm around her neck. She claimed to hear “glass breaking and yelling,” but didn’t intervene or call the police because she was “scared to do anything in fear of what that might mean for me, too,” she said.

The following day, Richard said, Combs invited her and fellow Diddy – Dirty Money bandmate Kalenna Harper — who she claimed also saw Combs’ alleged attack on Ventura — to his studio, where he told the two women the violence they witnessed was “passion.”

Richard testified that Combs threatened them to keep silent by saying, “Where he comes from, people who say something can end up missing.”

The judge in Combs’ case then dismissed the jury as prosecutors and the defense debated whether Richard’s testimony supports the government’s sex trafficking charge against Combs.

Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, reportedly asked that Richard’s claims be struck from the record as “unduly prejudicial.” However, prosecutors said they are attempting to prove how Combs’ alleged abuse created an environment of fear and violence that allowed him to commit more serious crimes.

Richard rose to fame in the early aughts after joining Combs’ MTV reality show “Making the Band.” First a member of Danity Kane, she later joined Combs’ musical trio Diddy – Dirty Money alongside Harper, who was mentioned 33 times in Richard’s lawsuit as a witness to Combs’ alleged abuse.

Harper declined to corroborate Richard’s claims on Instagram last year. According to People, she wrote: “While I fully respect Dawn’s right to recount her experiences, I want to emphasize that her account reflects her personal perspective and should not be interpreted as a universal truth applicable to everyone involved.”

Richard filed her suit against Combs on Sept. 10, 2024, just days before he was arrested and indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

In her 58-page complaint, the singer accused Combs of sexually and verbally abusing her for nearly a decade, in addition to retaliating against her via “unpaid salaries and royalties” from Danity Kane’s first two albums and “unpaid wages for touring on over 100 dates.”

The suit, filed in New York court, alleged that Combs “flagrantly exploited Ms. Richard’s musical talent as a singer and writer while withholding her rightful earnings, stealing her copyrighted works, and subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions which included groping, assault, and false imprisonment, among other violations.”

One of Combs’ attorneys, Erica Wolff, responded to the lawsuit in a statement to People that said, “Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed.”

“In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour,” it continued. “If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with ‘Making the Band’ and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the ‘Making the Band’ reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on ‘The Love Album’ last year.”

Wolff added: “It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”

In a statement shared with HuffPost after Combs’ September arrest, Lisa Bloom, Richard’s attorney, said, “We applaud the grand jury’s new indictment of Sean Combs, which is strikingly similar to the federal complaint we filed last week on behalf of our brave client, Dawn Richard. Given the brutal beating of Sean Combs’ girlfriend caught on video and the eight people who have now accused him of abuse in court filings, including Dawn, this arrest seems long overdue.”

Bloom continued: “It’s a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning. May justice be delivered to Mr. Combs. We implore other accusers to come forward in solidarity and join us in this fight.”

Combs faces a lifetime sentence if found guilty at the end of his trial. One of the next witnesses expected to testify against him is Aubrey O’Day, another one of his former artists.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.