On Thursday, Might 15, Day 4 of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal intercourse trafficking trial started with Cassie Ventura, his former girlfriend, being cross-examined by his protection workforce. Anna Estevao started Ventura’s cross-examination with questions on her relationship to Combs, whose intention was to determine that Ventura was not pressured to take part in “freak-offs” with Combs
All through the day, Ventura appeared calm and comfortable being questioned by the prosecution, even barely laughing as older textual content messages had been learn. Nonetheless, at occasions, providing sharp responses to Estevao’s questions. As soon as, whereas Estevao learn from a sequence of textual content messages, Ventura requested, “Do you may have any questions for me?”
“You and Sean Combs had been in love for 11 years. You really liked him and believed that he liked you as effectively.” Estevao requested. “Your love of Combs defined ‘why it harm so badly when he lied.” She continued, “When he cheated on you.” Ventura replied, “Sure,” to all three questions.
In earlier testimonies, Ventura said that she participated in “freak-offs” to please Combs. After quite a few questions trying to characterize Ventura as a accomplice within the “freak-offs” and never a sufferer. Estevao then launched textual content messages shared between Combs and Ventura after they first obtained collectively. One textual content learn, “I’m actually a fortunate man,” Combs wrote. “I’m a really fortunate lady. … Love you a lot,” Ventura wrote again. In one other sequence of textual content messages from 2009 describing a potential “freak-off” involving a male escort named Jules, Ventura wrote, “I’m all the time able to freak off lolol.”
Whereas studying specific textual content messages from 2012, the protection aimed to spotlight Ventura’s sexual preferences and the way Combs helped to satisfy them. Additionally, the protection characterised Combs’ sexual preferences as a part of a “swingers” way of life, no intercourse trafficking, and coercion, as the federal government alleged.
On the noon break, there was a tense back-and-forth between the prosecution and the protection about how lengthy the cross-examination of Ventura was going to take. The protection had beforehand expressed frustration that the prosecution had deliberately introduced two witnesses to the stand earlier than Ventura, limiting their cross-examination time along with her.
Choose Arun Subramanian mentioned, “The direct took a day and a half, so the protection can have a day and a half. So you may have at this time, you may have the morning tomorrow.” He then reminded them that there had been conversations for weeks about how Ventura, who’s effectively into the third trimester of her being pregnant, “wanted to be off the stand by the tip of the week.”
The protection mentioned it intends to complete by the tip of the week, but it surely can not make any guarantees. The protection pushed again, seemingly irritated, the decide who mentioned of the timing sensitivities, “In what universe did you not perceive that this was necessary?”
After Ventura returned to the stand, the protection repeatedly tried to show that Combs and Ventura each loved “freak-offs.” Ventura defined, “I’d say that loving FOs was simply phrases at that time.” In a single older message, Combs wrote, “I would like an FO proper now,” to which Ventura replied, “lol, me too.” After which she added, “Nicely, I need to have enjoyable with you.”
The protection lawyer identified that Ventura didn’t say “no” at any level within the alternate. “Appropriate,” Ventura replied.
Often, the protection would change the road of questioning up, away from the textual content messages. Estevao requested Ventura if she understood the impression of a lawsuit she filed towards Combs, which he settled a day later for $20 million. “When your lawsuit was publicized in November 2023, you understood that his profession was ruined at that time, proper?” Estevao requested. “I might perceive that, yeah,” Ventura replied.
She additionally spoke about Kim Porter, the mom of three of Combs’ youngsters, who handed away in 2018. “I had some jealousy of Ms. Porter,” Ventura mentioned.
Throughout her testimony, Ventura mentioned that Combs was hooked on opiates and witnessed him undergo opiate withdrawal. And whereas in a relationship with Child Cudi, Ventura confirmed that she used a “burner telephone” throughout a “break” from Combs. She mentioned she didn’t inform Combs about Child Cudi as a result of it could be approach too harmful.”
As Ventura’s time on the stand got here to an finish, the protection sought to sow seeds of doubt that she didn’t give consent to “freak-offs.” Additionally, they argued that “medication and poisonous jealousy had been on the coronary heart of Combs’ violence.”
Earlier than the court docket adjourned, the prosecution mentioned that Daybreak Richard, a former member of the all-female group Danity Kane managed by Combs, filed a lawsuit towards Combs alleging that he threatened her, groped her and went right into a “frenzied, unpredictable rage.” She additionally said within the go well with that she witnessed Combs bodily abuse Ventura.
Day 5 of the trial begins on Friday at 9:30 AM.