Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-girlfriend “Jane” returned to the witness stand Thursday for her final day of testimony.
Jane, who dated Combs from 2021 to 2024 and is testifying under a pseudonym, spent the day describing the end of her relationship with Combs. She became emotional as she testified about her “hotel nights” with Combs, which involved her having sex with other men while he watched.
After one of these “hotel nights” that lasted 24 hours, Jane texted an entertainer named Paul and told him Combs “didn’t make me feel like a human being,” according to texts read in court.
She also described a 2024 trip to Las Vegas with an unnamed rapper and his friends. Defense attorney Teny Geragos asked Jane if this rapper was indeed a close friend to Combs and an “icon” in the music industry. Jane agreed they were.
Jane testified that a woman on the trip had sex with an entertainer named Antoine while several people watched. Combs then became jealous and accused her of going to “another man’s freak-off,” she said.
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.
The rapper has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
Key Points
- Recap: 'Jane' finishes testifying
- Jane said there was 'growth' in her relationship with Diddy after Cassie lawsuit
- Chaotic scene in court as attorneys meet with judge
Jane dismissed and court ends for the day
21:32 , Katie HawkinsonJane has been dismissed, and the jury has been sent home for the day.
Court will resume Friday morning.
Good morning
12:55 , Joe SommerladHello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs as it resumes in New York on Tuesday.
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.
Cross-examination of Diddy's ex-girlfriend Jane expected to conclude
13:10 , Joe SommerladSean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-girlfriend “Jane” will return to the witness stand for the conclusion of cross-examination on Thursday, with three more witnesses said to be introduced thereafter, according to the prosecution.
Jane, who dated Combs from 2021 to 2024 and is testifying under a pseudonym, has testified that she often took part in “hotel nights” or “freak offs” with the music mogul, which involved her having sex with other men while he watched.
On Wednesday, she recalled being hurt by an Instagram post by Combs’s other girlfriend, Gina, in March 2022, which revealed the latter owned a necklace that matched a bracelet Combs previously bought for her.
She also said the longest “hotel night” occurred around New Year’s 2022, lasting three days and involving three other men.
A number of Jane’s texts to Combs were also read aloud.
In one, she declared: “My love for you is unconditional and for life.”
In another, Jane told him: “I love you so much as my friend, my lover, my boyfriend even though you don’t like that word.”
The jury saw further texts sent after Jane had learned that Combs lied to her and had taken another woman on a birthday vacation to Turks and Caicos in 2023, immediately after Diddy was with Jane for her birthday, at which he had paid out $15,000 for a celebratory dinner.
Judge to rule on prosecution's call for juror's dismissal
13:25 , Joe SommerladIn a surprise move, prosecutors moved on Wednesday to dismiss Juror 6, arguing that they had behaved with a “lack of candor with the court.”
Combs’s team called it a “thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.”
The defense is now expected to submit a response first thing this morning, before Judge Arun Subramanian rules on the matter and we can get back to Jane.
The lawyers are due in at 8.30am local time and then proceedings will get underway at 9am.
Rapper’s ex-girlfriend hits back at defense attorney over Chanel bag crack
13:45 , Joe SommerladAs we await the start of today’s proceedings, let’s recap an astonishing moment from Jane’s testimony.
On Tuesday, the music mogul’s ex-girlfriend pushed back over a defense attorney’s questions related to a text message about a Chanel bag during cross-examination.
Testifying under the pseudonym Jane Doe, the witness had just finished reading aloud graphic text messages from November 2021, which included setting up “hotel nights” and what she described as “fantasy talk,” before reading one in which she expressed her “frustration” that another one of his other girlfriends posted on social media about a Chanel bag.
This text was “where the frustration starts,” Jane told the court. She previously testified that she had nothing “postable” from their three years together because “most” of that time with Diddy was spent in hotel rooms.
Their relationship was “a chaotic whirlwind of a dark life that I wasn’t proud of,” she said, but his other girlfriends spent quality time with him, she explained to the court.
Teny Geragos, one of Diddy’s defense attorneys, suggested that Jane was upset about the bag, prompting a tense exchange.
“You didn’t get a Chanel bag?” Geragos asked.
“I only got trauma,” the witness answered.
Here’s Kelly Rissman’s report.
Jane Doe sasses back at defense lawyer after suggesting she was upset over Chanel bag
Judge Subramanian returns to the bench
14:02 , Joe SommerladLooks like we’re about to get underway.
Judge blocks defense from playing Diddy's 2023 audio message
14:32 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian blocked the defense from playing a recording from Sean “Diddy” Combs to Jane in December 2023.
The prosecution argued Combs was aware of the record of communication he was creating at that time, because Cassie Ventura had recently sued him.
Judge speaks with attorneys
14:52 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian is meeting with prosecutors, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s defense attorney and Jane’s attorney in the robing room.
It’s unclear what they’re discussing. Combs is huddled with his other attorneys at the defense table.
Attorneys return to court
15:11 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian ended his meeting with prosecutors, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s attorneys and Jane’s attorney.
Attorneys back in robing room
15:17The attorneys have returned to the robing room with Judge Arun Subramanian.
Diddy appears upset as private talks continue
15:33 , Katie HawkinsonSean “Diddy” Combs appears visibly upset as his attorneys, prosecutors and Jane’s attorney continue to meet privately with Judge Arun Subramanian, according to The Washington Post.
Chaotic scene in court as attorneys meet with judge
16:02 , Kelly Rissman, Katie HawkinsonCourt has been delayed nearly two hours as prosecutors, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s attorneys and Jane’s attorney met privately with Judge Arun Subramanian.
The lead attorneys for both sides went into the robing room with Jane’s attorney and seemed to have discussed an incident from January 2024.
As the attorneys went back and forth, Combs was very animated, gesticulating to lawyers like he was explaining something. His attorneys stood in a huddle around him for a while.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo wanted to put on the record that trials are “public for a reason” so that “if other people realize they know something, they can come forward.”
Early in the talks, Combs appeared stressed. Later, Combs flashed a smile, snapped his fingers and pointed at Agnifilo, who then acted like he caught a football.
Jane takes the stand
16:03 , Katie HawkinsonDefense attorney Teny Geragos is now cross-examining Jane after a lengthy delay.
Judge rules to keep identities of people involved in January 2024 incident private
16:12 , Katie HawkinsonBefore Jane took the stand, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that attorneys must withhold the identities of an unknown rapper and his friends who were involved in a January 2024 incident with Jane.
Subramanian said their identities aren’t relevant because the incident isn’t related to Combs’s sex trafficking charges.
Diddy apologized to Jane after Cassie lawsuit
16:28Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized to Jane after she read Cassie Ventura’s civil lawsuit, filed in November 2023.
Combs settled the lawsuit for $20 million, Ventura revealed in her testimony last month.
Jane said it was a difficult period for her and Combs.
“We were both equally pulled in our own emotional battlefields like every which way,” she testified.
When Jane said she felt overwhelmed, Combs apologized and said he didn’t want her to feel that way, she testified.
The jury also heard a voicemail from Combs for Jane.
Combs said he wanted to fix their relationship so Jane could “move on.”
“So you don't feel like I wasted your life," Combs said in the voicemail.
Jane describes Las Vegas trip in 2024
16:47Jane testified she went on a trip to Las Vegas in 2024 with an unnamed rapper for a birthday celebration. They flew on the rapper’s private jet, she said.
Combs was not aware of the trip because they were on a break, Jane said. The rapper was “close” with Combs, she added.
Antoine, a sex worker who had done “hotel nights” with Jane and Combs, was at the birthday dinner, Jane testified. Later, Antoine had sex with another woman while several people watched, she said.
Earlier, Judge Arun Subramanian sided with prosecutors when they argued that the identities of the rapper and his friends should be kept private while discussing this incident.
Jane said there was 'growth' in her relationship with Diddy after Cassie lawsuit
17:00 , Katie HawkinsonJane said there was “growth in the relationship” after she got back together with Sean “Diddy” Combs in February 2024.
Jane said she felt like she could “assert” herself more.
The two were on a break following Cassie Ventura’s November 2023 lawsuit against Combs. The rapper settled the lawsuit for $20 million, Ventura revealed on the stand.
Defense asks Jane about 2016 InterContinental Hotel video
17:29 , Katie HawkinsonDefense attorney Teny Geragos asked Jane about the footage of Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles InterContinental Hotel in 2016.
Jane previously testified she was with Combs when the previously-unreleased footage aired on CNN last year. The footage has been brought up in court several times.
Jane testified she was shocked to see the footage and had not seen him act like that before.
Jane testifies again about June 2024 argument with Diddy
17:40 , Katie HawkinsonDefense attorney Teny Geragos has revisited Jane’s testimony about an argument she had with Sean “Diddy” Combs in June 2024.
Combs attacked her after she slammed his head into a marble countertop, Jane previously testified.
“I think it was just a ball of emotions that night,” Jane told Geragos today. “There was a lot of just resentment for so many things.”
Lunch break
17:42 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian has dismissed the jury for a lunch break.
Subramanian is now meeting with prosecutors and Combs’s attorneys in the robing room.
Defense attorney Teny Geragos is expected to continue cross-examining Jane after the break.
Jane back on the stand
18:40 , Katie HawkinsonCourt has resumed after a lunch break. Jane is back on the stand.
Defense points to call between Jane and another woman connected to Diddy
19:08 , Katie HawkinsonJane testified she called another woman she believed was with Sean “Diddy” Combs on vacation.
Jane said she grabbed Combs’s phone from him at some point after he punched her during their June 2024 altercation.
Jane said she then called the woman on Combs’s phone, and they insulted each other. Jane testified that she told the woman, “He’s beating my a** right now.”
Combs’s assistant then told Jane the woman didn’t go on the vacation with Combs.
Jane says Combs wanted to break up after Las Vegas trip
19:22 , Katie HawkinsonJane testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs wanted to break up with her after she went on a Las Vegas trip in 2024 with another famous rapper.
Jane testified earlier that a sex worker she and Combs previously had “hotel nights” with was present, and several people on the trip watched as he had sex with another woman.
Jane said Combs was angry that she attended a “hotel night” with someone else. He talked to her for eight or nine hours about breaking up, she said.
Jane says Diddy apologized to her in summer 2024
19:41 , Katie HawkinsonJane testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized to her after she saw pictures of him on vacation with another woman in Wyoming.
Combs texted her that he just wants to be friends and he was sorry for “anytime” he hurt her, according to message read in court.
Jury sees texts between Jane and Diddy arguing about Las Vegas trip
19:53 , Katie HawkinsonThe jury is reading texts between Jane and Sean “Diddy” Combs after her 2024 Las Vegas trip.
Jane said Combs was upset and had accused her of attending another man’s “freak-off.”
Jane texted Combs: “Please stop acting like I didn’t shelf myself to be just only your girl.”
“At least say you understand that it wasn’t cool to have me just doing hotel nights and everyone got private jets all over the world,” she continued. “I don’t even have anything post-worthy from our relationship.”
Jane said Combs talked to her for eight or nine hours about breaking up after the trip.
“My dumb a** thought if I f***** more and did more hotels I’ll finally get a trip,” she wrote in another message.
Courtroom sketches show chaos from this morning
20:01 , Katie HawkinsonNew courtroom sketches show the chaos in court this morning as prosecutors, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s attorneys and Jane’s attorney met with Judge Arun Subramanian in his robing room.
The attorneys often left the room to confer with their respective clients. As a result, court was delayed by almost two hours.
Prosecutors spar with defense as cross-examination ends
20:12 , Kelly Rissman, Katie HawkinsonDefense attorney Teny Geragos has finished cross-examining Jane.
The court is now on a short break before the redirect examination.
Moments ago, prosecutors argued that Geragos has been suggesting that Jane is “shaping” her narrative to “please the prosecution” after Geragos mentioned she had an immunity order to testify in front of the grand jury, among other things.
The jury once again heard texts in which the couple referred to themselves as Kobe Bryant (Jane) and Michael Jordan (Combs). When asked why they called themselves that, Jane said: “Because I’m the best” and “Because he’s the best.”
Judge blocks prosecutors' request to include 2023 note from Jane in evidence
20:31 , Katie HawkinsonJudge Arun Subramanian denied the prosecution’s request to submit into evidence a note Jane wrote in late 2023 saying she felt “obligated 98 percent of the time” to have “hotel nights” with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The defense argued that the note was written after she read Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit, which could have swayed what she thought.
Diddy asked entertainer to 'persuade' Jane to be intimate, texts show
20:38 , Katie HawkinsonSean “Diddy” Combs once asked a sex worker to “persuade” Jane after she told him she wasn’t “in the mood.”
“I know what you want, baby, but not really in the mood for that part,” Jane texted Combs. “Don’t wanna make you mad.”
Combs told Jane it was “all good.” He then texted Paul, a sex worker they often invited to “hotel nights.”
“Imma need you to persuade her,” Combs wrote to Paul.
Jane said she didn’t know about the message at the time.
Jane describes toll of 'hotel nights'
20:45 , Katie HawkinsonJane told prosecutors she wishes she could forget “hotel nights,” which involved her having sex with other men while Sean “Diddy” Combs watched.
"I felt like a whore, I’m not a trained actress," Jane testified.
After a 24-hour “hotel night” in Turks and Caicos, Jane texted the entertainer who had sex with her and told him Combs “didn’t make me feel like a human being.”
In another text, Jane wrote: “It had been 24 hours with no breaks for me and at first I was going with the flow for the second linkup, but I had warned him that I just felt overwhelmed to overperform for a moment I’ve never done before.”
“I’m not a robot, just a mix of tired, hungry, sleepy, sore,” she added.
Jury sees texts from Jane about 'hotel nights'
21:18 , Katie HawkinsonThe jury saw more texts Jane sent to Sean “Diddy” Combs about their “hotel nights.”
“I don’t feel like performing loveless, cold sex,” Jane wrote.
“I need a break,” she continued. “I don’t want to do anything. I’ve hit a wall.”
“It’s been three years of me having to f*** strangers. I’m tired.”
Recap: 'Jane' finishes testifying
21:55 , Katie HawkinsonSean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-girlfriend Jane finished testifying today after spending several days on the stand describing her three-year relationship with the music mogul.
The day got off to a rocky start, with testimony delayed nearly two hours as prosecutors, Combs’s attorneys and Jane’s attorney had private conversations with Judge Arun Subramanian.
After she took the stand, Jane described how she felt during her “hotel nights” with Combs, which involved her having sex with other men while he watched.
Jane testified she went on a trip to Las Vegas in 2024 with an unnamed rapper for a birthday celebration. They flew on the rapper’s private jet, she said.
Combs was not aware of the trip because they were on a break, Jane said. The rapper was “close” with Combs, she added.
Antoine, a sex worker who had done “hotel nights” with Jane and Combs, was at the birthday dinner, Jane testified. Later, Antoine had sex with another woman while several people watched, she said.
Combs went on to accuse Jane of attending another man’s “freak off,” she testified.
Jane told prosecutors she wishes she could forget “hotel nights.”
"I felt like a whore, I’m not a trained actress," Jane testified.
After a 24-hour “hotel night” in Turks and Caicos, Jane texted an entertainer named Paul and told him Combs “didn’t make me feel like a human being.”
Jane hugged prosecutor Maurene Comey and defense attorney Teny Geragos as she left.
Testimony will resume tomorrow morning.
