Sean “Diddy” Combs dangled Cassie Ventura’s longtime friend off a 17th-floor balcony before tossing her into some patio furniture, the mogul’s trial heard.
Bryana Bongolan, a 33-year-old creative marketing director, testified Wednesday afternoon about the September 2016 incident with Diddy that she claims left her with injuries and trauma.
Bongolan told the jury how she and her ex-girlfriend were sleeping on a couch at Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment when they heard Diddy banging on the door in the early hours, waking them both up.
Ventura was in her bedroom, and Bongolan recalled rushing her ex to the bathroom, putting a finger over her mouth, signaling for her to stay quiet. She then went onto Ventura’s balcony to “act casual” and smoke.
She testified she was just over 5ft tall and weighed around 115 pounds, and that Diddy lifted her from under her armpits over the balcony railing as he screamed at her.
“You know what the f*** you did!” she recalled him yelling multiple times. Bongolan didn’t know what he was referring to then and still doesn’t, she told the court.
The balcony incident was one of many eye-opening moments during today’s testimony.
- At an April 2016 photoshoot on a beach in Malibu, Diddy allegedly got close to Bongolan and threatened: “I’m the devil and I could kill you.”
- Another time, she recalled Diddy entering Ventura’s apartment and throwing a knife in his then-girlfriend’s direction; Ventura then threw it back at him.
- Frank Piazza, a forensic audio and video editor, explained the glitches and distortions seen in the 2016 footage from the InterContinental Hotel capturing Diddy beating Ventura, noting it hadn’t been manually altered.
The music mogul then “slammed” her onto the balcony furniture, Bongolan said. As she fell onto the furniture, she recalled hearing Ventura’s voice. “Did you just hang her over the balcony?” Ventura allegedly asked incredulously. Diddy swiftly left the apartment.
Jurors saw photos of a large pink and purple bruise on the back of her thigh and her back covered in bandages just below her neck brace.
She still suffers from paranoia and nightmares as a result of the incident, she said. Asked why she didn’t seek medical care at the time, Bongolan told jurors that she was “scared” and, because of all the drugs pumping through her system at that time, “I didn’t feel the pain right away.”
Bongolan spoke quietly as she laid out the shocking allegations against the music mogul. Federal prosecutors have charged Diddy with five counts of racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution, and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland cast doubt on the alleged incident by questioning the witness about inconsistencies in the statements she made during her meetings with prosecutors and her legal filings. The details in question ranged from what she was smoking on the balcony to whether she ever accused him of sexually assaulting her in a legal document.
The defense lawyer asked Bongolan whether she had accused Diddy of sexually assaulting her in her first civil demand letter, in which she alleged he groped her breasts before dangling her over the ledge. “I don’t remember,” Bongolan said.
Westmoreland also asked whether it was true that she told prosecutors at a meeting on June 2 — two days before she took the stand — that she couldn’t recall details of the balcony allegation. She again said she didn’t remember.
After Ventura filed her civil suit against the music mogul in November 2023, which mentioned Bongolan’s balcony incident, Bongolan reached out to Ventura to tell her that she had some of the facts wrong, including how Ventura’s suit claimed the incident occurred at a hotel suite, she testified. Months later, Bongolan filed a civil suit of her own against Diddy for $10 million. “I wanted to seek justice for what happened to me,” she testified.
Her cross-examination continues on Thursday.
