Capricorn Clark, a former personal assistant and marketing director for Sean “Diddy” Combs, took the witness stand Tuesday as the music mogul’s sex-trafficking trial enters its third week of testimony.
Clark testified that Combs showed up at her house in December 2011 after discovering Cassie Ventura was dating Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi. Clark says Combs entered her home and asked her why she didn’t tell him about Mescudi. Combs, still armed with the gun, then told her to “get dressed, we’re going to go kill Mescudi,” Clark testified.
Combs kicked Ventura at “100 percent full force” after he found out about her relationship with Mescudi, Clark testified. Clark said she called Ventura’s mother afterward and told her, “Please help her. I can’t call the police, but you can.”
Mescudi testified last week that he received a call from Clark in December 2011, warning him that Combs had broken into his Hollywood Hills home after discovering his relationship with Ventura.
Combs is facing sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges. Combs 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.
Key points
- Recap: Diddy's ex-assistant Capricorn Clark testifies
- Capricorn Clark says she was worried Cassie's relationship with Kid Cudi would 'get us all killed'
- Ex-assistant says she was threatened by Diddy
- Who is Capricorn Clark?
Recap: Diddy's ex-assistant Capricorn Clark testifies
20:51 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified today, kicking off week three of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking trial.
Clark worked as Combs’s assistant and, later, Cassie Ventura’s creative director. Clark was tearful for much of her testimony today.
Much of her testimony focused on Combs, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Ventura. Mescudi and Ventura dated in 2011, while Combs and Ventura dated on and off from 2007 to 2018.
Clark testified that Combs showed up at her house in December 2011 after discovering Ventura and Mescudi’s relationship.
Clark says Combs entered her home and asked her why she didn’t tell him about Mescudi. Combs then told her to “get dressed, we’re going to go kill Mescudi,” while still holding the gun, Clark testified.
Combs went to Mescudi’s house after discovering their relationship, she testified. Mescudi testified last week that Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home after discovering his relationship with Ventura.
Clark recalled “praying” that Mescudi wasn’t home when Combs arrived at his house. Clark said Combs then told her to convince Ventura and Mescudi not to call the police about the alleged break-in.
Clark testified that Combs said he would “kill all you” if she didn’t succeed.
Clark also said that Combs kicked Ventura at “100 percent full force” after he found out about her relationship with Mescudi.
Clark said she called Ventura’s mother afterward and told her, “Please help her. I can’t call the police, but you can.”
Clark was fired in August 2012. Clark recalled telling an HR employee that Combs was mad at her because she “didn’t tell him his girlfriend was cheating on him.”
She returned as Ventura’s creative director in 2016.
Capricorn Clark set to take stand as witness testimony enters third week
11:33 , James LiddellCapricorn Clark, a former marketing executive and personal assistant to Sean Combs and close confidant to his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura is set to take the witness stand Tuesday.
Clark, whose name has been mentioned two dozen times in the first two weeks of testimony, is expected to become the third former employee to testify against Combs.
Last week, rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi testified that he received a call from Clark in December 2011, warning him that Combs had broken into his Hollywood Hills home after discovering his relationship with Ventura, the prosecution’s star witness.
Previous trial testimony has cited Clark as a witness to acts of violence, a $20,000 extortion, and kidnapping. Combs denies any allegations of wrongdoing.
Recap: Key moments from week two of testimony in Diddy trial
11:50 , James LiddellWeek two of testimony in the sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs wrapped up Thursday, with jurors hearing from a dozen witnesses.
Rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” – who in 2011 dated Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s on-and-off girlfriend for over a decade – testified Thursday that the music mogul broke into his home and firebombed his sports car.
Frederic Zemmour, manager at the L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, also testified Thursday that Combs’s customer profile had several notes to staff, including one that warned he “always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.”
Combs and Ventura’s former makeup artist, Mylah Morales, also told the jury she once witnessed Ventura leave a room with injuries after arguing with Combs.
Earlier in the week, jurors heard from Cassie’s mother Regina Ventura, Danity Kane Singer Dawn Richard and Ventura’s former best friend Kerry Morgan, among others.
He took the stand against Diddy, but what did Kid Cudi say?
11:53 , James LiddellRapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, testified at Sean “Diddy” Combs’s New York sex trafficking trial that the music mogul broke into his home and firebombed his sports car.
Mescudi — who in 2011 dated Cassie Ventura, Combs’s on-and-off girlfriend for over a decade — took the stand on Thursday to make the shocking claims.
His testimony came a week after Ventura testified that Combs abused her after learning about her relationship with Mescudi.
Katie Hawkinson outlines what Mescudi and other witnesses have said about the rapper’s dealings with Combs:
Kid Cudi takes the stand to testify against Diddy. Here’s what’s been said so far
LA police and fire personel expected to testify
11:58 , James LiddellFederal prosecutors have said they plan to call on personnel from the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department.
The identities of those set to testify have not been revealed.
Diddy trial still expected to wrap by July 4
12:06 , James LiddellSean Combs’s federal criminal trial got off to a slow start with the prosecution’s star witness, Cassie Ventura, taking the witness stand for four days.
With the pace picking up, Judge Arun Subramanian and attorneys remain hopeful that the case can be turned over to jurors no later than July 4.
"As long as defense stays to a week,” lead prosecutor Maurene Comey told the judge just before adjournment last week, “I think that’s (July 4) fair.”
The judge also told the jury that the trial is “right on schedule.”
From court: Here's what to expect today
12:39 , Kelly RissmanToday, we’re expecting to see Capricorn Clark, Combs’s former personal assistant, and two police officers take the stand.
On Thursday, when the trial was last in session, we left off hearing from Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Josh Croft, who testified about the agency examining three laptops. It included one with a profile belonging to a “Frank Black,” and Beverly Hills hotel manager Frederick Zemmour, who testified about the candles and baby oil remnants found in Combs’s hotel rooms.
Defense wants more time with Diddy from jail
13:11 , James LiddellBefore the court adjourned last week, Sean Combs’s defense attorneys asked Judge Arun Subramanian to allow the hip-hop mogul to have additional access to videoconferencing from jail.
ABC News reported that the defense sought additional phone time but said Combs is “out of minutes.”
Prosecutors said they would call the Bureau of Prisons and ask on Subramanian’s behalf, after the judge expressed that he had had no luck with the agency.
Who is Capricorn Clark?
13:42 , James LiddellWhile working in Manhattan in the early 2000s, Capricorn Clark was headhunted to work for Sean Combs.
More than two decades later, Clark, who was Combs’s personal assistant and global brand director for years, is back in New York City to testify against her former boss.
Combs’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and two of Combs’s former assistants, David James and George Kaplan, all mentioned Clark’s name at the stand in recent weeks.
Before last week's testimony wrapped on Thursday for a Memorial Day weekend, Rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi testified that he received a call from Clark in December 2011, warning him that Combs had broken into his Hollywood Hills home after discovering his relationship with Ventura.
Clark, a longtime friend of Ventura, sounded “very scared” and was “on the verge of tears,” Mescudi told the jury.
She was also copied into a Blackberry message from 2011 in which Ventura, under a pseudonym, told her mother about Combs’s alleged threats to release explicit sex tapes and to have “someone hurt me and Scott Mescudi.”
Clark may be asked Tuesday about receiving this message.
Dannity Kane singer Dawn Richard testified last week that Clark was among guests at a dinner in West Hollywood in 2010 when Combs allegedly punched Ventura, his then-girlfriend.
Diddy hugs defense attorney as he arrives in court
13:55 , James LiddellSean Combs has arrived in court as week three of testimony in his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial is about to get underway.
The hip-hop mogul is sporting a dark sweater and a white collared shirt.
As he approached the defense table, Combs hugged his attorney, Teny Geragos, NBC reported.
While the Washington Post said that Combs was deep in conversation with another of his attorneys, Nicole Westmoreland.
LA fire investigator to testify about fire set to Kid Cudi's car
14:19 , Katie HawkinsonLast week, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi testified that someone threw a Molotov cocktail at his Porsche in early 2012.
Now, a Los Angeles fire investigator is set to testify today about the fire.
The fire happened just weeks after Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly broke into Mescudi’s home after discovering his relationship with Cassie Ventura.
Mescudi testified that he knew Combs “had something to do with” the fire. But when he confronted Combs, Mescudi said he denied it.
Ventura also alleged in a previous 2023 lawsuit that Combs set the fire. Combs denied any involvement at the time.
Capricorn Clark takes the stand
14:22Capricorn Clark, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former personal assistant and marketing director, has taken the stand.
Capricorn Clark says she was threatened by Diddy
14:41 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark said Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened her on her first day working for him.
The threat came after he brought up her previous employment at Death Row Records, founded by Combs’s rival Suge Knight, Clark said.
“He told me that he didn’t know that I had anything to do with Suge Knight and if anything happened, he would have to kill me,” Clark testified.
Capricorn Clark mentions alleged kidnapping with few other details
14:51 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark says she “was kidnapped” while working for Sean “Diddy” Combs in December 2011.
Clark offered few other details, and prosecutors didn’t follow up. However, they’re expected to get to the issue later in questioning, the New York Post reports.
Capricorn Clark says Diddy accused her of stealing
14:59 , Katie HawkinsonSean “Diddy” Combs’s former assistant and marketing director Capricorn Clark says the music mogul once accused her of stealing jewelry.
Clark said she had been assigned to carry diamond jewelry at they traveled from New York to Miami. But the bag went missing before they got to the airport, she said.
Afterward, one of Combs’s security guards questioned her and searched her apartment. The next day, Clark said a guard picked her up and took her to a vacant office space, where she was locked in a room with a man who administered a lie detector test.
Clark said the man told her that if she failed, “they’re going to throw you into the East River.”
Combs’s ex-assistant David James testified last week that he was asked to take a lie detector test while working for the music mogul, too.
Capricorn Clark describes setting up Diddy's hotel rooms
15:18 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that she would set up Sean “Diddy” Combs’s hotel rooms.
His rooms required baby oil, a camera and a small bag of drugs that typically included ecstasy, Clark testified.
Clark also testified that she would set up an IV drip that Combs said contained something similar to serotonin supplements to help him and Cassie Ventura recover from drug use.
Clark says she was given lie detector tests for five straight days
15:22 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-assistant and marketing director, says she had to take lie detector tests for five straight days after the music mogul accused her of stealing jewelry.
“I was petrified,” Clark testified.
The man administering the test told he she had to calm down or the results would be inconclusive.
Clark said the man told her, “I’m not getting a good reading...you’re going to be in the East River if I can’t get a reading on this.”
Capricorn Clark says she saw Diddy use drugs
15:26 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that she saw Sean “Diddy” Combs taking ecstasy and molly weekly.
Clark said a man who went by “One Stop” often provided the drugs while they were in Los Angeles. The drugs were typically delivered to Clark or Combs himself, she testified.
Combs said 'I like guns' while discussing issue with rapper 50 Cent, Clark testifies
15:35 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs once said, “I like guns” while discussing an issue he was having with rapper 50 Cent.
Clark said she, Combs and his then-manager were in an elevator discussing the issue with 50 Cent. Clark said Combs remarked, “I don’t do that, I like guns.” Clark said Combs’s demeanor was very serious.
Capricorn Clark says Sean Combs lunged at her
15:39 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs lunged at her.
Clark recounted saying “I hate it here” in front of Combs’s personal chef while at his Miami Beach home. The chef then told Combs, she said.
"He immediately looked at me and said, 'You hate it here?' and he charged me," Clark testified. "He ran towards me with his hands open and charged at my shoulders."
Clark said Combs pushed her about 30 yards and demanded she leave his home.
"That was crossing my boundary," Clark testified through tears.
Capricorn Clark says she was worried Cassie's relationship with Kid Cudi would 'get us all killed'
15:42 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that she told Cassie Ventura her 2011 relationship with Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi was dangerous.
Clark said she told Ventura to get a burner phone to use when talking to Mescudi. Clark told the jury she was worried the relationship would “get us all killed.”
Mescudi testified last week, claiming Sean “Diddy” Combs broke into his house after discovering his relationship with Ventura.
Capricorn Clark says Combs showed up at her house with a gun, said he wanted to kill Kid Cudi
15:47 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs showed up at her house in December 2011.
Cassie Ventura and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi started dating that same month.
Clark says Combs entered her home and asked her why she didn’t tell him about Mescudi.
Combs then told her to “get dressed, we’re going to go kill him,” while still holding the gun, Clark testified.
When she said no, Clark said Combs responded, “I don’t give a f*** what you want to do, go get dressed.”
“I had never seen him with a weapon, I had never seen him making me do something like this,” she added.
Capricorn Clark says she warned Cassie that Kid Cudi was in danger
15:56Capricorn Clark told Cassie Ventura that Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi was in danger while the rapper came to confront Sean “Diddy” Combs, she testified today.
Mescudi was on his way to his home, where Combs had gone shortly after discovering his relationship with Ventura in December 2011. Mescudi testified last week that Combs broke into his home and locked his dog in a bathroom.
Clark recalled telling Ventura, “Cassie, stop him, he’s going to come get himself killed.”
When Mescudi arrived, Clark said he drove up next to Combs’s car and then pulled away. Combs then chased him, she said.
“It felt like forever, but couldn’t have been longer than a minute,” Clark said of the car chase.
Capricorn Clark says Combs threatened to kill her after Kid Cudi incident
16:02 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark said she, Sean “Diddy” Combs and his security guard went to a nightclub after going to Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s home in December 2011.
Clark said Combs told her to call Cassie Ventura and tell her, “He has me, and he’s not going to let me go until I come get her.”
Ventura responded she should come get her, Clark said. Combs said Clark and Ventura needed to convince Mescudi not to talk to the police about the incident, she testified.
Last week, Mescudi said Combs broke into his home after learning about his relationship with Ventura.
Clark testified that Combs said he would “kill all you” if she didn’t succeed.
Capricorn Clark says Combs kicked Ventura amid Kid Cudi relationship
16:07 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark said she and Cassie Ventura went to Sean “Diddy” Combs’s Los Angeles rental home in December 2011.
Before they left, Clark said she told Ventura that Combs would “hurt us all” if she told the police about the alleged break-in at Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s home.
When they arrived at Combs’s home, he “immediately began kicking Cassie,” Clark testified.
He kicked her at "100% full force," Clark said.
Clark said she called Ventura’s mother afterward and told her, “Please help her. I can’t call the police but you can.”
Clark recalls Diddy threatening to kill her and Cassie
16:15Capricorn Clark testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs said he “should kill you b******,” referring to her and Cassie Ventura.
The remark came after he discovered Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s relationship with Ventura.
Clark said Combs threatened her about 50 times between December 2011 and mid-2012.
Capricorn Clark fired months after Cassie and Kid Cudi incident
16:18 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark says she was fired in August 2012.
Clark recalled telling an HR employee that Sean “Diddy” Combs was mad at her because she “didn’t tell him his girlfriend was cheating on him.”
Combs threatened her career even after firing her, Clark said.
Clark testified that Combs said she “would never work again, that he would show me that all these people weren’t my friends, that he would make me kill myself.”
Clark said she went back to work for Combs as Cassie Ventura’s creative director in 2016.
If you or someone you know is in distress, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988 or by visiting 988lifeline.org.
Defense cross-examines Capricorn Clark
16:50The defense is now cross-examining Capricorn Clark.
Clark told the jury she first met Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2002. She said their relationship was “1,000 percent platonic.”
Capricorn Clark labels Cassie and Diddy's relationship as 'toxic'
16:59 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark told defense attorney Marc Agnifilo that Cassie Ventura and Sean “Diddy” Combs were “toxic as a couple.”
Ventura and Combs dated on and off from 2007 to 2018.
Capricorn Clark told Sean Combs she had a crush on him, texts show
17:10 , Katie HawkinsonThe defense asked Capricorn Clark about a 2021 text she sent Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Clark testified that she texted Combs: “Did you ever know that I had the biggest crush on you before I started to work for you?”
“We hung out all the time, I played it super cool,” she added. “I don’t think you knew. I just knew for sure that you liked to have me around.”
Clark says she doesn’t remember sending the texts but does remember reaching out around that time.
Court on break
17:20 , Katie HawkinsonThe jury has been dismissed for a lunch break until 1 p.m.
From the courtroom: Capricorn Clark testifies
18:18 , Kelly RissmanCapricorn Clark is very emotional on the stand, often choking up on the stand.
She’s the first witness that we’ve seen who has been visibly affected when testifying that Cassie was being abused by Diddy.
She took off her glasses and dabbed her eyes with tissues when talking about calling Cassie’s mom: “He’s beating the shit out of your daughter. I’m in over my head. I can’t call the police but you can.”
The jury also heard shocking testimony about her being held in a gutted office building (which would later become Bad Boy’s office) for five days’ worth of lie detector tests. She started crying when she recalled being told she could be thrown in the East River if she didn’t pass the test.
Her voice broke when she said, “I felt like it was the only way to prove I had nothing to do with it,” referring to the missing jewelry.
Combs has appeared stoic, not reacting to Clark’s emotional testimony. He’s wearing a navy sweater today.
Prosecution may finish early
18:37 , Katie HawkinsonProsecutors told Judge Arun Subramanian they may finish presenting their case in five weeks, rather than six as originally planned.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking trial is currently in its third week.
Capricorn Clark describes relationship with Cassie Ventura
18:51 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark said Cassie Ventura went from being a “sweet model to a feisty girlfriend” while dating Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“She got a little bit more bravado as being his girlfriend, the longer it lasted,” Clark testified.
Clark started working as Ventura’s creative director in 2016. She said Ventura’s drug use kept her “from the opportunities that were before us.”
Courtroom sketches: Capricorn Clark testifies
19:13 , Katie Hawkinson
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Capricorn Clark testifies about working with Cassie
19:23Capricorn Clark worked as Cassie Ventura’s creative director in 2016.
Clark said Sean “Diddy” Combs gave Ventura more attention and resources than other artists signed with his company, Bad Boy Records, especially from 2007 to 2010.
“The lion’s share of Bad Boy was on Cassie in that first block of time,” Clark testified.
Capricorn Clark said she was 'praying' Kid Cudi wasn't home when Diddy allegedly broke into his home
19:54 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark said she was “praying” Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi wasn’t home when Sean “Diddy” Combs went to his house after discovering his relationship with Cassie Ventura.
Clark said she wasn’t sure how Combs and his guard got through the gate surrounding Mescudi’s home.
Capricorn Clark emailed Combs asking for forgiveness in 2014 email
20:06 , Katie HawkinsonCapricorn Clark emailed Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2014 asking for his forgiveness, according to a message shown to the jury.
The message came two years after Combs fired Clark. Earlier today, Clark recalled that she was fired in August 2012 and said she told an HR employee that Combs was mad at her because she “didn’t tell him his girlfriend was cheating on him.”
Clark also testified that Combs said she “would never work again, that he would show me that all these people weren’t my friends, that he would make me kill myself.”
Clark said she went back to work for Combs as Cassie Ventura’s creative director in 2016.
If you or someone you know is in distress, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988 or by visiting 988lifeline.org.
Diddy controlled Cassie's looks, Capricorn Clark testifies
20:28Capricorn Clark, who worked as Cassie Ventura’s creative director in 2016, said Sean “Diddy” Combs had to approve all of the singer’s looks, songs and events.
Combs would withdraw his support if they were fighting, she added.
Clark got the job after Combs fired her in August 2012, she testified. Clark said she wasn’t able to find another job in the industry because she had been “blacklisted.” The judge sustained a defense objection to that remark, however.
“At this level of business, he holds all the power as it related to me,” Clark testified.
Court ends for the day
20:34 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian has dismissed the jury for the day.
Court will resume tomorrow morning.
Who will testify on Wednesday?
20:53Prosecutors plan to call four witnesses tomorrow, including a Los Angeles police officer and a Los Angeles Fire Department investigator.
Deonte Nash, a close friend of Cassie Ventura’s, will also testify. Prosecutors also plan to call a woman identified as “Mia” to the stand.
