Another Diddy ex testifies to ‘obligation' in coerced, choreographed sexual encounters
A key witness, 'Jane,' has provided graphic testimony in the federal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, alleging coercive sexual encounters.
Combs allegedly orchestrated disturbing acts involving multiple women, with testimony also backing claims made by ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
The trial has featured intense courtroom moments, including accusations of witness manipulation by Combs and shocking allegations from witnesses about violent and exploitative behaviour.
A key witness took the stand in the federal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs Thursday, giving graphic detail of choreographed sexual encounters with the music mogul that were allegedly coercive, testimony that's core to the prosecution's case.
The woman, who is speaking in court under the pseudonym Jane, began delivering testimony that is expected to last for days and which so far mirrors descriptions provided by another marquee witness against Combs, his ex-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura.
Combs, 55, faces upwards of life in prison if convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking crimes. Both Jane and Ventura are key witnesses to the latter charges.
Jane took the stand after some courtroom drama: the judge threatened to remove Combs after he was 'looking at jurors and nodding vigorously' while a different witness testified.
Calling Combs's behaviour 'absolutely unacceptable,' Judge Arun Subramanian said, 'It cannot happen again.'
READ | 'Sometimes I scream in my sleep': Witness claims Diddy dangled her from 17th-story balcony
Communications between a defendant and a jury are strictly prohibited.
The court had been hearing testimony from Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Ventura's who had alleged that Combs dangled her from a 17th-story balcony before throwing her against furniture.
Combs's gestures to the jury took place as Bongolan was under tense questioning from his defence team, who sought to cast her as an unreliable witness who abused drugs.
'Hotel nights'
Jane's testimony was highly anticipated: she began by detailing how she had met Combs through a friend who was dating him at the time.
But he came on strongly to Jane, she said, and when her friend got engaged to someone else, she began seeing Combs romantically.
Their relationship began in earnest during a whirlwind five-day date at a Miami hotel, she said, describing Combs - as many others during the trial have - as 'larger than life.'
READ MORE | Hush money bombshell: Hotel worker testifies Diddy paid to bury Cassie assault video
'I was pretty head over heels for Sean,' she told jurors.
Several heady months followed, including a romantic trip to Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas in February 2021.
She said Combs first gave her illicit drugs on that trip.
When the vacation ended, he wired her $10 000 because she had been unable to work - at the time, she was creating content for brands on social media - and was a single mother.
Jane silently collected herself and held her face in a tissue as she described how her blissful early days with Combs took a sharp turn in May 2021 when he began talking about his fantasies of seeing her with other men.
She acquiesced because she wanted to make Combs happy, she said, and to her surprise, he arranged for another man she dubbed Don to meet them at a hotel that very night.
AFP
Jane thought the experience was a one-time thing, but she said instead, it became 'a door I was unable to shut.'
The 'hotel nights' became a regular feature of their relationship, Jane told jurors, even when she said she didn't want it.
'He was just dismissive,' she said, saying that approximately 90 percent of their relationship became a pattern of her having sex with other men under Combs's direction.
Full-time job
Jane's descriptions of the 'hotel nights' - her provocative attire that Combs requested, red mood lighting, heavy drug use and copious baby oil - closely tracked with the testimony that Ventura gave on the stand of what she called 'freak-offs.'
Jane said that the amount of time she spent getting ready for hotel nights with Combs, which he demanded at a moment's notice and sometimes flew her to, meant she did not work.
Money from Combs and child support from her previous relationship were essentially her only income, she said.
That testimony echoed Ventura's, who had said her freak-offs with Combs came to feel like a full-time job.
Combs put Jane up in a home in Los Angeles for $10 000 a month, she said, and when she spoke against hotel nights, he would bring up that point.
ALSO READ | 'You post the great times': Witness asked to defend Instagram posts in Sean Combs trial
'My feeling of obligation really started to stem from the fact that my partner was paying my rent,' she said.
Jane told jurors their relationship continued up until Combs's arrest in September 2024.
Prosecutors say he ran a criminal enterprise of high-ranking employees and bodyguards who enforced his power with illicit acts, including kidnapping, bribery and arson.
Along with Ventura and Jane, witnesses have included former employees of Bad Boy Enterprises, Combs's company.
Jane's testimony will continue on Friday. The trial is expected to last at least another month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
19 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Billions of login credentials have been leaked online, Cybernews researchers say
NEW YORK — Researchers at cybersecurity outlet Cybernews say that billions of login credentials have been leaked and compiled into datasets online, giving criminals 'unprecedented access' to accounts consumers use each day. According to a report published this week, Cybernews researchers have recently discovered 30 exposed datasets that each contain a vast amount of login information — amounting to a total of 16 billion compromised credentials. That includes user passwords for a range of popular platforms including Google, Facebook and Apple.
Fox News
21 minutes ago
- Fox News
Despite two assassination attempts, NY Times blames Trump for 'angry culture' that can lead to violence
The New York Times editorial board pointed the finger at President Donald Trump on Friday following another incident of deadly political violence. In a new editorial, the board said Trump is the chief individual to blame for America sliding into an era marked by political violence. "Although Mr. Trump has been a personal victim of this violence, he also deserves particular responsibility for our angry culture," the board declared. The headline read, "The Nation Encourages Political Violence by Allowing It to Seem Normal." The Times published the piece days after the deadly shootings that claimed the lives of Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and resulted in the wounding of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, last weekend. The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, was arrested on Sunday following a two-day manhunt in Minnesota after he allegedly posed as a police officer and killed the Hortmans. The previous day, he carried out a related attack against Hoffman and his wife. Boelter was found with a cache of weapons, including at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a 9mm handgun, along with a manifesto that listed 70 names and addresses, some of which belonged to other public officials. The Friday editorial argued that this latest politically motivated attack represents a "surge in political violence during the Trump years" that has imperiled not only American lives but also our country's collective memory." The board recounted several high-profile instances of political violence that have occurred in America in the last decade, listing the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., in 2017, the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's, D-Calif., husband, and the two assassination attempts on Trump, as part of the "grim catalog of political violence in recent years." It declared that "Fear has become a fact of life for politicians," elsewhere noting that "Democrats and Republicans alike have been the victims" of attacks driven by "demonizing comments" that people "on both the firth and the left engage in." The board then blamed Trump for this, justifying the point in stating, "He uses threatening language in ways that no other modern president has. He praises people who commit violence in his name, such as the Jan. 6 rioters, many of whom he has pardoned, despite their attacks on police officers and others. He sometimes seems incapable of extending basic decency to Democrats." "Instead of calling Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota to express condolences about the killings of two of his friends, Mr. Trump insulted Mr. Walz," the piece stated, adding, "It is no coincidence that hate crimes have surged, according to the F.B.I., during Mr. Trump's decade as a dominant political figure." Other Democratic Party leaders have made the same argument about Trump in the days since the Minnesota lawmaker shooting. Figures like former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pointed to the president when asked this week what has led to more violent incidents that seem to be politically motivated. The Trump administration has rejected these statements, with White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson telling Fox News Digital earlier this week, "Democrats are wrong to exploit this tragedy and blame President Trump… President Trump – the survivor of two assassination attempts – is uniting the country through patriotism, prosperity, and success. Radical Democrats must stop with their divisive, violent rhetoric."
CBS News
21 minutes ago
- CBS News
Officers who shot, injured chainsaw-wielding man during Brooklyn Center domestic disturbance call identified
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Friday identified the officers who shot and injured a Brooklyn Center man who is accused of wielding a chainsaw amid a domestic disturbance call last week. According to the BCA, officers went to the 3200 block of 63rd Avenue North around 10:30 p.m. on a report that someone was inside "armed with knives." A woman had asked for help removing a 23-year-old man from the home; the man also called 911 to report his mother was holding a knife. During the course of the investigation, the woman was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, the BCA says. Charging documents for her son say she had tried to stab him. After she was arrested, the man went back inside the home and armed himself with a chainsaw. Officers negotiated with the man for an "extended period," the BCA says. Brooklyn Park Police Sergeant Juel Lund and officer Derek Wodnick fired 40mm "less-lethal" launchers during the negotiation, and Crystal Police Officer Isaiah Gorman deployed PepperBall rounds. Lund has 20 years of law enforcement experience, while Wodnick has one-and-a-half years. According to the BCA, Gorman has three years of law enforcement experience. The man then came out of the home and started the chainsaw. Charging documents say despite orders from police to drop the chainsaw, he ran towards officers with it. Brooklyn Center police officers Austin Burt and Tarik Kekic shot at him, the BCA says. He was taken to the hospital where he remains in stable condition. Burt has one-and-a-half years of experience while Kekic has six years of experience, according to the BCA. The four Brooklyn Center officers are all on critical incident leave. The BCA says the shooting was captured on body camera video. The 23-year-old was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of making threats of violence. It is not clear if the woman also faces charges. The BCA is still investigating. For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
