NEW YORK - An ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs testified on Monday that he kicked, punched and dragged her last June, about a month after the hip-hop mogul apologized for a video that surfaced of Combs attacking another girlfriend eight years earlier.
The alleged attack on the woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy, occurred three months before Combs was indicted on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Jane said that after the attack in the backyard of her Los Angeles home on June 18, 2024, Combs contacted a male entertainer named Anton, gave her an ecstasy pill, and told her to perform oral sex on Anton while Combs watched - even though she had told him she did not want to.
Jane said Combs told her, "You're not going to ruin my fucking night," and then got close to her face and said, "Is this coercion?"
Jane's testimony could bolster prosecutors' contention that Combs, 55, for two decades coerced women to take part in the sexual performances, sometimes known as "Freak Offs," against their will. Lawyers for Combs, founder of Bad Boy Records, have acknowledged he was occasionally abusive in domestic relationships, but say the women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually.
On May 19, 2024, Combs apologized on social media after CNN broadcast a hotel surveillance video from 2016 in which Combs appeared to attack the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura, another ex-girlfriend. The video was shown in court.
In November 2023, Ventura sued Combs for allegedly forcing her to take part in Freak Offs over the course of a decade-long relationship that started around 2008. Combs denied wrongdoing, and he settled with her two days later for $20 million.
Jane said she told Combs several times that she did not want to have sex with other men anymore. Jurors saw an October 20, 2023, text message in which she told him, "I felt violated and manipulated by you."
But the encounters continued after that, as did Combs' financial support for Jane, according to her testimony.
Jane said the June 2024 altercation occurred after she confronted him about his relationship with another woman.
Jane said she shoved Combs' head into a kitchen counter and threw candles and glass at him. He eventually attacked her in the backyard while she was lying on the ground curled into a ball, she said.
Combs' defense lawyers are due to begin cross-examining Jane on Tuesday. Testimony is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process.
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