The opening statements in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ racketeering and sex trafficking trial in New York City officially began on Monday, May 12.
The criminal trial marks a stunning downfall for the acclaimed music mogul and successful entrepreneur, who founded the record label Bad Boy in 1993 and enjoyed an illustrious musical career that made him a hip-hop icon.
Diddy is now facing a series of civil lawsuits alleging serious wrongdoings and has been behind bars since his September arrest.
Though he has pleaded not guilty to five counts, including one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, he may serve a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted.
As Diddy’s trial will not be televised, following the rules of federal court, here are the most shocking and disturbing allegations so far.
Explicit Testimony on Diddy’s ‘Freak Offs’ with Cassie Ventura
According to Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson (via CNN), the prosecutor’s case will mostly focus on Cassie Ventura and a woman identified as “Jane’s” accusations.
Johnson explained that these two women were forced by Diddy himself into his infamous “Freak Off” parties that would last days and took place across the country.
A 41-year-old male escort named Daniel Phillip was called to the witness stand and gave an extremely explicit testimony that lasted about an hour about his sexual encounters with Diddy and Cassie from around 2012 to 2014.
While being questioned by lead prosecutor Maurene Comey, Phillip revealed he was paid between $700 and $6,000 to have sex with Cassie while her then-boyfriend watched and masturbated.
He also said he witnessed Diddy physically abusing Cassie on more than one occasion and in one instance, he was given the MDMA drug or ecstasy.
Phillip had several sexual encounters, which would last from one to 10 hours, with Ventura and Diddy at hotels across Manhattan and at each of their private homes in the city. On these occasions, they rarely used condoms.
Each time, there were candles, bottles of baby oil, and Astroglide lubricant on the table. On one occasion, Diddy even asked Phillip to urinate in Cassie’s mouth, which she claimed made her feel like “she was choking.”
He added Diddy would film him having sex with Cassie once or twice on a cellphone and camcorder.
However, things turned for the worse when Diddy took a photo of his driver’s license, saying it was “just for insurance, just in case,” which made him feel like he was threatening him.
Witness Saw Diddy Physically Abusing Cassie Ventura
In addition to the sexual encounters, Phillip also saw Diddy physically abusing Cassie, throwing a glass bottle in her direction, hitting her, and dragging her by her hair into another room.
“She was screaming, and he pulled her into the bedroom,” he narrated. “I could hear what sounded like him slapping her. She was screaming, ‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry!'”
Allegedly, Diddy told him she had “to come” when he told her and “not later.”
When asked why he didn’t intervene, the witness explained he was afraid of his life.
“If I tried to do something I might lose my life,” he testified in front of a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates in a Manhattan federal court. “My thoughts were, [Combs] was someone with unlimited power. … My life was at risk.”
But despite the alleged domestic violence, Diddy would try to continue the sexual activities directly.
However, his fear of Diddy resulted in difficulty “staying hard” that the latter would give him Cialis, which treats erectile dysfunction. On occasions he failed to sexually perform, Phillip would sometimes not get paid.
Another incident of physical abuse happened at the Jumeirah Essex House Hotel, where he heard screaming and slapping noises from behind the bedroom doors.
When Phillip asked Cassie why she was staying in an abusive relationship, the singer-dancer assured him she was okay.
Diddy Allegedly Tried to Bribe a Security Guard After Assaulting Cassie Ventura
The assault on Cassie didn’t just end with what Phillip witnessed.
Another witness and a former security guard named Israel Florez at the InterContinental in Century City, Los Angeles, where a security camera captured Diddy violently physically abusing the “Me & You” hitmaker, in 2016 claimed the music mogul tried to bribe him after the abuse.
In the security camera video previously published by CNN, Diddy was seen chasing Cassie down at a hotel lobby, grabbing her by the throat, and shoving her to the ground. He even kicked her as she lied helpless on the ground. Despite being unable to movie, he mercilessly threw an object at her.
Florez, who’s now an officer at a Los Angeles Police Department, told the jury that he saw Diddy wearing only a towel and sitting on a chair after responding to a call about a woman in distress on the hotel’s sixth floor.
Allegedly, Diddy was “slouched down, like with a blank stare … like a devilish stare, just looking at” him.
Florez alleged that the renowned rapper offered him a huge amount of money and told him, “Don’t tell anybody.”
As he saw it as a bribe, he refused to accept the money.
He then said Cassie left the hotel with a “purple eye” and he went to Diddy’s room with another guard after that to remind him of hotel policy.
Diddy then allegedly snatched the other guard’s phone, accusing him of recording their conversation. Florez then pinned the Grammy-award winner against the wall and demanded he return the other guard’s phone.
Cassie is expected to testify in court on Monday. Diddy’s defense team, on the other hand, acknowledged the video, saying it showed “horrible, dehumanizing violence,” but didn’t see it as a proof of sex trafficking.
The accusations against Diddy emerged after Cassie filed a lawsuit against him in 2023, accusing him of rape and sex trafficking over the course of an abusive, 10-year relationship. The lawsuit was settled shortly thereafter.
The testimonies just paint a grim picture of coercion and exploitation Cassie experienced in the hands of Diddy in their relationship. As the prosecutors put it, Diddy used his power and control over her to “do his bidding in those dark hotel rooms.”