A former assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs was stunned into silence after being accused by the mogul’s lawyers of fabricating her allegations of rape.
The assistant, who is being referred to by the pseudonym “Mia,” appeared so taken aback with the question that she went silent, stuttering occasionally while processing the line of questioning. “Everything I’ve said in this courtroom is true,” she said.
During her testimony on Friday she said that her time working for the music mogul left her with “complex PTSD,” as she was forced to defend social media posts that lawyers argued undermined her claims of horrific abuse. Mia was aggressively cross-examined by Combs’ defense lawyers on Friday, one day after bombshell allegation that she was once raped by the mogul at his Los Angeles home.
The high-profile trial in New York has been ongoing for three weeks and attracted significant attention, including from President Donald Trump, who did not dismiss a potential pardon for Combs, should he be convicted, when asked by reporters in the Oval Office.
The aggressive question from Combs’ lawyer was one of several key moments during proceedings on Friday.
Combs, 55, is facing five federal courts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Other shocking moments during Mia’s testimony included:
- Mia claimed that Combs threatened to kill her in 2015 after she did not answer multiple calls from him while on a trip to South Africa with the mogul’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura
- Mia also testified that due to the years of alleged psychological trauma and abuse she is constantly anxious and unable to hold a job
- She said the mogul sexually assaulted her following his 40th birthday celebration, kissing her and put his hands up her dress
- Combs had also threatened to tell Ventura about the alleged sexual assaults on Mia but implying that she was to blame, she testified
During her testimony, Mia told the court that she now “overreacts” to every minor situation because she is afraid of potential repercussions, and agreed that the years of torment by Combs had left her “ruined” and “broken.”
For most of Friday’s proceedings, Mia kept her head down and face out of sight as much as she possibly could, fidgeting with her hands while answering questions on the stand, and often speaking in such a low tone that attorneys had to ask her to repeat herself.
“I was young and manipulated and eager to survive,” she told the court.
“Nobody was there to say these things that were happening were wrong…There was nobody around us that ever even flinched at his behavior... I was always in trouble and I was always just trying to find a way not to be in trouble.”
The ex-assistant testified that she has only recently begun working through the physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological trauma she endured in the lengthy period that she worked for Combs.
When confronted with questions about Combs’ alleged sexual assault, Mia became noticeably more timid, stuttering or taking several beats before answering attorneys’ questions. She shrank in her seat on the stand and took deep breaths while recounting the memories.
Her apparent discomfort was elevated during cross-examination when defense attorney Brian Steel aggressively questioned her about some of her social media posts in which Combs was pictured, with captions saying “I love you” and calling the mogul a “legend” and a “mentor.”
She told the court that her social media posts only showed the “highs” of her experience with Combs and his associates.
Asked why she played down her treatment by Combs and the allegations against him, she said that she was afraid to upset the mogul and that they were “best friends.”
“How are you best friends with a man you say raped you?” Steel asked.
“Ask my therapist,” Mia replied.
Steel did not let up, relentlessly questioning her over social media posts after social media posts. At one point, Steel questioned her sexual assault claim, suggesting she was fabricating her story.
“Isn’t it true that Mr. Combs never had unwanted nonconsensual forcible contact with you?” he asked.
“Everything I’ve said in this courtroom is true,” “Mia” replied, after what appeared to be a stunned silence.
On Thursday she described the “nightmare” of cleaning up hotel rooms used for Combs’s alleged “freak-offs.” The rooms were “destroyed,” Mia testified, adding that one time there was blood, which she told jurors Combs said was from Cassie Ventura’s period.
Combs is facing sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges. He was arrested in September 2024 as federal authorities alleged he threatened, abused, and coerced victims “to fulfill his sexual desires” between 2004 and 2024. Combs has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
“Mia” is due to return to the stand for further cross-examination on Monday.
