A former assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs described how he would tidy up his boss’s hotel rooms, a task that included picking up empty bottles of baby oil used during “freak off” sex marathons, to avoid the mogul suffering embarrassment upon checkout.
George Kaplan, 34, told the jury he had already been working at the rapper’s holding company Combs Enterprises for 10 months when he was promoted in September 2014 to serve as an executive assistant to Diddy.
In this role, he carried the music mogul’s bags, ensured his homes were organized before he arrived, and set up and — later cleaned up — his hotel rooms, he told the court. Kaplan arranged hotel rooms for Diddy in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City by bringing a “hotel bag,” which included clothes, speakers, candles, liquor, baby oil and lube, he testified.
Although Kaplan never called the hotel stays “freak offs,” other witnesses, including male escorts and Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, have testified that these items were frequently used during the marathon sexual encounters.
After the hotel stays, spanning anywhere from 12 hours to days, Kaplan grabbed the rapper’s personal belongings from the room and returned the room to a "polished state,” he told jurors. This process included picking up empty bottles of Gatorade, liquor and baby oil.
On one occasion, he recalled picking up an unidentifiable brown crystallized powder on the bathroom sink counter. Kaplan testified it was "implied" the task was meant "to protect Mr. Combs" because hotels at the time would sell videos and images of celebrities to “embarrass” them, Kaplan told the court.
The former assistant took the stand on Wednesday during the second week of the trial. Diddy has been accused of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty.
Kaplan’s evidence was part of a day packed with eye-opening testimony.
- The hotel rooms were booked under the alias Frank Black, Diddy’s alias and an homage to Biggie Smalls, who used the nickname Frank White, Kaplan said.
- The former assistant testified that he worked 80 to 100 hours per week for $125,000 per year.
- Forensic psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes spoke generally about the impacts of trauma and different types of abuse.
- Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerard Gannon told the court his team found 18 pairs of high heels, two disassembled handguns, and drugs, including three triangular orange pills with a Tesla symbol during the Miami raid last March.
Sometimes during Diddy’s hotel stays, Kaplan recalled his boss texting him asking for clothes, food, or drugs. “I acquiesced," he said, referring to obtaining drugs for Diddy.
He recounted two occasions — once in Los Angeles and once in Miami — when the music mogul handed him a number to call and cash to give to the person on the other end of the line. Diddy never asked him to pick up specific drugs, but on both occasions, the men he called ended up handing him bags of MDMA pills, Kaplan told the court.
Last week, Ventura mentioned Kaplan in her testimony, alleging that he was one of a few of Diddy’s employees who quit after witnessing physical abuse in her relationship with the rapper.
Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, is expected to take the stand on Thursday.
