Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, has told the hip-hop mogul's sex-trafficking trial that he controlled her life and coerced her into "humiliating" sex acts.
The prosecution's star witness testified about the alleged
physical and emotional abuse she endured at the hands of the rapper during
so-called "freak-offs", or sexual encounters the couple had with male
escorts.
Family and friends have come to court in large numbers to
support Mr Combs, whose legal team has not yet questioned Ms Ventura.
Mr Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges including
racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in
prostitution.
Prosecutors began by questioning Ms Ventura - one of their
two central witnesses in the case - about her 11-year, on-and-off relationship
with Mr Combs.
Now 38 and pregnant with her third child, she met Mr Combs
when she was a 19-year-old aspiring singer and he was 37.
His record label would later sign Ms Ventura as an artist,
and shortly afterwards their romantic relationship began.
At the time, she testified, she felt like they were in a
monogamous relationship, though she knows now that he had other girlfriends.
She said she "fell in love" with the
"larger-than-life entrepreneur and musician". But it was not long
before she noticed another side to him, she said.
Mr Combs wanted to "control" her life, Ms Ventura
said. She said he paid for her home, her cars, her phone and other technology
that he would sometimes take away to "punish" her.
"Control was everything, from the way that I looked...
to what I was working on," Ms Ventura said.
Eventually, she claimed, the control turned violent. Mr
Combs would "bash on my head, knock me over, drag me and kick me"
frequently, Ms Ventura testified, sometimes through tears.
She alleged that she was left with swollen lips, black eyes
and knots on her forehead.
Prosecutors spent hours on Tuesday asking Ms Ventura about
so-called "freak-offs".
Ms Ventura told the court how Mr Combs introduced her to the
sexual events during the first year of their relationship. They would hire a
male escort or stripper to have sex with Ms Ventura while Mr Combs watched.
Ms Ventura told the court that she first tried the
encounters to make Mr Combs "happy". But she said they humiliated
her, and sometimes lasted three to four days.
"I felt pretty horrible about myself," she told
the court, wiping away tears. "It made me feel worthless."
Ms Ventura told the court she never wanted to have sex with
anyone but Mr Combs, and claimed she would take myriad drugs - marijuana,
ecstasy and ketamine - to help her perform to Mr Combs' satisfaction, but also
to "disassociate".
The drugs were "a way to not feel it for what it really
was", she said, "having sex with a stranger I didn't really want to
be having sex with".
As prosecutors pressed Ms Ventura about the
"freak-offs", she told the court of how Mr Combs would direct her to
find male escorts, strippers or dancers to have sex with while he watched.
She alleged that Mr Combs would pay the men anywhere from
$1,500 to $6,000 in cash, depending on their performance.
They found the men through stripper companies and sites like
Craigslist. Some of their photos were displayed to the jurors, including Daniel
Phillip, who finished his testimony earlier on Tuesday.
Ms Ventura and Mr Combs had the enounters in cities around
the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and Ibiza, Spain, Ms
Ventura testified.
Sometimes, men would be flown in during vacations, she
alleged, and Mr Combs would direct her to ask staff to pay for and arrange
their travel, calling them new employees.
Among other charges, prosecutors are trying to prove that Mr
Combs engaged in sex trafficking - human trafficking for the purpose of sexual
exploitation - and transportation to engage in prostitution.
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