The high-profile federal sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, involving allegations from his ex-girlfriend Cassie, continued Wednesday with emotionally charged testimony. Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, stated in court that Combs had kept her in an abusive cycle by threatening to leak sex videos, according to NBC New York. She testified that she endured exploitation and felt "disgusted and humiliated by having sex with strangers."
"I feared for my career. I feared for my family. It’s just embarrassing. It’s horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone," Ventura told the court. Combs, 55, is facing several charges including sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, all of which he has denied. Meanwhile, Ventura’s emotional state was evident as, visibly pregnant with her third child, she often lifted a tissue to her eyes during her soft-spoken testimony, as reported by NBC New York.
The trial saw Ventura recount harrowing details of the abuse she allegedly suffered, including a brutal incident caught on hotel surveillance video. Prosecutors showed the jury this footage, which depicted Combs striking Ventura before attempting to drag her back to their hotel room. This incident reportedly resulted in Ventura suffering a black eye, swollen lip, and other bruises. She confessed to declining to identify Combs to the police, stating, "In that moment, I didn’t want to hurt him that way," according to NBC New York.
Moreover, Ventura disclosed to the court that Combs allegedly pressured her to take part in “freak-off” encounters with paid male escorts, an experience she described as leaving her "just really empty and I felt just gross." She detailed to jurors how Combs, or members of his staff, provided her with drugs such as ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, ketamine, and more to help her get through the encounters, a point corroborated by USA Today. Ventura explained to the court her dependency on such substances, saying, "For me, it was dissociative and numbing. I couldn't imagine doing any of that without any sort of buffer." Combs' defense, led by attorney Teny Geragos, has countered these accusations by depicting the relationship between Combs and Ventura as consensual and unconnected to the allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering.
The trial has garnered intense public interest, with its disturbing revelations shedding light on the darker side of the music industry's glitz and glamour. As the proceedings continue, more evidence is expected to surface, leaving jurors to navigate the complexities of a case that pits unsettling allegations against a celebrity once revered for shaping the soundtrack to a generation. Combs, if convicted, faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. The trial is expected to last approximately two months.
