R&B singer Cassie, the former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, has told the music mogul’s sex-trafficking trial she feared violence if she didn’t take part in his ‘freak off’ sex parties.
The singer, whose legal name is Cassie Ventura, also told how the rapper and producer would "bash on my head, knock me over" in a “frequently” violent relationship, as she took the witness stand on the second day of the trial.
A video of an assault by Diddy on the singer, throwing her around like a “rag doll” in a hotel corridor, was shown to the jury on the first day of the trial.
The jury was also told he forced women into drug-fuelled “freak off” sex parties which lasted for days and violently attacked those who tried not to take part.
Cassie, who is heavily pregnant, is the central witness in prosecutors' attempts to show Combs used his status as a powerful executive to orchestrate a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into the abusive sex parties and becoming violent if they refused.
When the prosecutor questioned her about "freak offs," she said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do them.
"Freak offs" were the highly orchestrated sex parties which she said stemmed from Combs' interest in voyeurism. They would entail hiring an escort and "setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean," Cassie said.
She said she was "confused, nervous, but also loved him very much."
Asked how she felt when Combs first proposed engaging in a "freak off," Cassie said: "I just remember my stomach falling to my butt. Just the nervousness and confusion in that moment."
She said she didn't feel like she could say no to Combs because she "didn't know what `no' could be, or what `no' could turn into," which she said she learned could include violence and blackmail threats.
"Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything. I just didn't have much say in it at the time," Cassie testified.
Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel, Cassie said prior to the altercation: "We were having an encounter called a `Freak Off' and I was leaving there."
Cassie testified that her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.
"If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things," Cassie told jurors.
She testified that Combs would mash her head, drag her, kick her and stomp her in the head when she was down.
Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: "Too frequently."
Lawyers for three-time Grammy winner Combs argue that although he could be violent, Combs never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering, telling jurors the sexual acts were consensual. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Cassie sued him in 2023 alleging years of abuse. The suit was settled within hours, but was followed by dozens of similar legal claims and sparked a criminal investigation.
Defence lawyer Teny Geragos told the jury during opening statements on Monday that Combs's accusers were after his money, adding that jurors might think he's a "jerk" and might not condone his "kinky sex", but that "he's not charged with being a jerk".
Combs has been jailed in Brooklyn since his arrest in September. If convicted, he could receive at least 15 years and up to life in prison.
Before Cassie took the witness stand, a judge ruled that her husband, Alex Fine, can be in the courtroom for most - but not all - of her testimony.
Judge Arun Subramanian, acting on a defence request, said Fine must leave the courtroom when questioning turns to Cassie's allegation that Combs raped her in 2018.
That's because Combs' lawyers say they may call Fine as a witness later in the trial in an attempt to discredit Cassie's allegation.
Prosecutors argued that Fine is part of the emotional support system for Cassie, who's pregnant with their third child and should be in the courtroom when she testifies.
In open court, a lawyer for Combs asked that Cassie's husband not be allowed in the courtroom while she testifies because he might be called as a witness.
In opening statements on Monday, assistant US attorney Emily Johnson said Combs sexually exploited and beat other women, including a woman identified only as Jane, who Combs is accused of attacking after she confronted him about the "freak-offs".
The trial continues.
