A judge has threatened to remove Sean “Diddy” Combs from the courtroom for “nodding vigorously” at jurors during his sex trafficking trial.
Judge Arun Subramanian admonished Diddy for reportedly interacting with the jury during testimony given by fashion designer Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a longtime friend of his former long-term partner Cassie Ventura.
“Mr. Agnifilo, your client was looking at jurors and nodding vigorously,” Subramanian said, referring to Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo. “This can't continue or I will give a limiting instruction you won't like, or other measures including barring your client from the courtroom. Do you understand?”
Subramanian asked Agnifilo if it would happen again. “No your honor, it's not going to happen again,” Agnifilo responded. The judge then emphasized: “This cannot happen again.”
Throughout the trial, Diddy has been passing notes to his lawyers, shaking his head, and leaning in to look at exhibits. The court artist who has been sketching Diddy for more than a month told NBC News the rap mogul has “been making facial expressions at jurors since the start of the trial.”
Diddy has also been seen blowing kisses to his mother as she watches from the courtroom gallery and making eye contact with jurors, The New York Times reports.
When his lawyers were conferring with the judge on one occasion, Combs gestured it was cold in the courtroom by rubbing his hands together, The Times noted. He then looked to the jury to see one of them rubbing his arms to keep warm. “Cold,” Combs mouthed with a smile, and the juror responded by nodding and smiling, according to the outlet.
The music mogul is facing sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
The judge scolding the defendant was one of many jaw-dropping moments Thursday.
- A woman who dated the music mogul from 2021 through 2024 took the stand in the afternoon, telling the court about her “hotel nights,” which closely resemble the “freak-offs” Diddy and Cassie Ventura did for years.
- The woman, who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane Doe, sounded nostalgic when recalling the “lust-filled” start of their relationship until she was asked about May 2021, when she reached for a tissue and dabbed her eyes, noting that month marked her first “hotel night.”
- Although she just wanted to be with her partner, she told jurors she “felt obligated to perform these nights with him” because he was paying her rent.
- These sex sessions often spanned 12 to 24 hours and would include a male escort, drugs, and two dozen bottles of baby oil, she testified.
The judge’s reprimand came after Bongolan wrapped up her testimony. She testified Wednesday that she had been left traumatized after Combs dangled her over a 17th-story balcony of Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment. After enduring two hours of harsh scrutiny over her memory of the incident during cross-examination Wednesday, the witness faced another hour of questioning over the timeline Thursday.
Jurors saw a photo — dated September 26, 2016 — showing a large bruise on the back of Bongolan’s leg she said she sustained when Diddy “slammed her onto patio furniture.” She also testified that she took that photo hours after the incident transpired.
Nicole Westmoreland, one of Diddy’s defense attorneys, pointed out a discrepancy in Bongolan’s timeline by displaying records from the Trump International Hotel in New York. The document showed that Frank Black — one of Diddy’s many aliases — checked in to the hotel from September 24, 2016 through September 29, 2016; he performed in New Jersey for the Bad Boy Reunion Tour on September 25, 2016.
Pointing out that Bongolan claimed the incident happened in the early hours of the next morning across the country in California, Westmoreland asked: “Do you agree that a person can’t be in two places at the same time?”
“In theory, yeah,” Bongolan replied, speaking quietly, as she did throughout her time on the stand.
Westmoreland then directly asked if she lied to the jury. “I can’t agree with you,” Bongolan said.
The defense attorney also challenged Bongolan on why she continued to spend time around Diddy after he allegedly gave her “significant injuries.” Days after the balcony incident, Bongolan admitted attending a private party that Diddy held at a club on October 5, 2016.
“You weren’t too fearful to not go to the event?” Westmoreland asked. Bongolan then took a long pause before responding: “I know I had a feeling inside, but I went.”
