A former pop star has told a court Sean “Diddy” Combs was “frequently” violent with his ex-partner Cassie Ventura, and that he threatened her life if she spoke out about it.
Dawn Richard told the jury in Manhattan federal court that Combs made the threat after she allegedly witnessed him trying to hit Cassie with an egg skillet.
She said the Bad Boy Records founder told her and another woman who saw the alleged attack that “we could go missing” if they revealed details of what they saw.
Richard, who was a former member of girl group Danity Kane and electric soul trio Dirty Money, said Combs would “punch [Cassie], choke her, slap her in the mouth, kick her, and punch her in the stomach”.
She said of the beatings: “When [Cassie] had these moments of trying to stick up for herself, [Combs] would hurt her for it.”
Richard also said one alleged incident took place in a West Hollywood restaurant with celebrities including Usher, Big Daddy Kane, Jimmy Iovine and Ne-yo also present.
Combs, 55, faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He denies the allegations against him.
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Beginning her evidence on Friday, Richard told the jury Combs would store his drugs in a Louis Vuitton pouch and said she often” saw him use “Ketamine, cocaine, molly [also known as Ecstasy]”.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 6 – As it happened
During cross-examination it was suggested her story had changed over time, but Richard said she was doing her best to recall “traumatic” events from more than a decade ago.
She admitted she had contacted Diddy after parting ways with his management and agreed that, despite being “scared” of him, she asked to come back to work for him.
Defence lawyer Nicole Westmoreland suggested Richard was testifying because she was angry that Combs had ended Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money.
Ms Westmoreland asked: “You felt that Mr Combs ruined your career not once but twice?”
“Yes,” Richard replied.
Following Richard’s stint in the stand, Cassie’s ex-best friend Kerry Morgan gave evidence.
Morgan and Cassie had been friends for more than 17 years after meeting as young models.
‘I was dizzy, I vomited’
Morgan, who said Combs was prone to “mood swings” and could be “very aggressive”, described two occasions she allegedly saw Combs beat Cassie.
She told the court about hearing Cassie’s “guttural, terrifying” screams before allegedly seeing Combs dragging her by her hair from the master bedroom.
Morgan also described when Combs “choked her” leaving “finger marks” on her throat, and threw a wooden hanger at her head, leaving her with concussion.
She said: “I was dizzy, I vomited a few times. I went to an urgent care facility. I hired a lawyer about the assault. I was planning on filing a lawsuit, but I did not.”
She told the court she received a $30,000 settlement from Combs over the alleged assault, organised by Cassie.
Morgan said she and Cassie ceased to be friends after the incident, explaining: “The reason I stopped speaking to her was because she was not supportive of me after that incident. I draw my line at physical abuse.”
Morgan said Cassie told her she could not leave Combs because she was reliant on him for “her job, her car, her apartment”.
Combs ‘jealous’ of Michael B Jordan
During Cassie’s cross-examination by the defence, the court was told that Cassie was jealous of Combs’s ex, Kim Porter, while Combs was jealous of actor Michael B Jordan, whom Cassie had a brief relationship with in 2015.
While Morgan said she couldn’t confirm whether Cassie was in a relationship with the Creed star, she confirmed: “What I remember was that she was speaking to Michael B Jordan and they hung out together and [Combs] was jealous of it.”
Morgan confirmed she had not wanted to appear in court, having “moved on” with her life, and had been subpoenaed to give testimony.
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Last on the stand was Combs’s former personal assistant, David James, who described working 20-hour days for Combs at Bad Boy Records, for six or seven days, for up to three weeks at a time.
James, who had also been subpoenaed, said Cassie told him she couldn’t leave Combs’s “crazy” world because “he controls my career, pays my allowance, and pays my rent”.
Combs, previously known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, founded Bad Boy Records, and is credited with helping turn artists including Mary J Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into household names in the 1990s and 2000s.
Combs has been jailed since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
