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Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Court is adjourned until Tuesday

PHOTO: Prosecutor Emily Johnson questions rapper Kid Cudi as he testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, May 22, 2025 in this courtroom sketch.
23:05
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Diddy Trial Day 9: Kid Cudi on the witness stand
By Aaron Katersky, Mason Leib
Last Updated: May 29, 2025, 4:05 PM

This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.

The second week of testimony in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs began on Monday.

Key Headlines

  • Court adjourns for the week after HSI agent testifies about computer data extractions
  • Hotel manager's note: Combs 'always spills candle wax on everything'
  • Kid Cudi testified Combs looked 'like a Marvel supervillain' in meeting after car fire
  • Kid Cudi testifies about car being set on fire during his relationship with Cassie Ventura
Here's how the news is developing.

Pinned
Jul 02, 2025 2:50 PM

Sean Combs trial reaches an end with mixed verdict

The highly anticipated trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has reached an end.

The jury found Sean Combs not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge.

The jury found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura) and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane").

He was found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and "Jane."

Combs was accused of being the ringleader of an alleged enterprise that "abused, threatened and coerced women" into prolonged, drug-fueled sexual orgies with male prostitutes, which he called "freak-offs," and then threatened them into silence. Combs has said that all of the sex was consensual and that while his relationships sometimes involved domestic violence, he wasn't engaged in trafficking.

Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs was simply part of the swinger lifestyle and that he "vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY."


Pinned
May 20, 2025 6:13 PM

Male escort 'The Punisher' testifies about alleged sexual encounter with Ventura as Combs watched

Sharay Hayes, who was known professionally as "The Punisher," a nickname he said he was given on the West 4th Street basketball court, testified that he came to know Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura in late 2012 after he was hired “to create like a sexy scene, sexy erotic scene for them on occasion.”

Hayes testified that he advertised on a website and his phone number was on the website. He told the court that a woman who went by Janet called “stating it was her birthday, and her husband said she could hire a dancer.”

PHOTO: Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, May 20, 2025 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, May 20, 2025 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

Hayes testified that he was instructed to go to Trump Tower on Central Park West to perform a striptease. When he arrived, he testified that Ventura greeted him in a bathrobe with “nothing on underneath” and explained “that she didn’t want me to actually dance.”

Instead, Hayes testified that the woman he still knew as Janet said she and her husband “liked to create a sexy scene” that included the application of baby oil while her husband watched. She allegedly handed him a stack of money that he counted in the bathroom totalling $800.

“I was specifically told to not acknowledge her husband. Try not to look at him. No communication between me and him,” Hayes testified. He told the court that he did not recognize the man Ventura referred to has her husband but came to learn in subsequent encounters that it was Combs.

“The room was dimly lit, maybe electronic candles," Hayes testified. "All of the furniture was covered in sheets and there was an area pretty much for me to sit and for her to sit across from me. There were bowls of water and bottles of baby oil.”

During the encounter, Hayes testified that a man entered the hotel suite.

“The man was nude but I could not see his face,” Hayes testified. “So it was a nude male with a veil on. What I saw was a bottle of Astroglide he was carrying.” He told the court that he used the product himself and recognized the purple cap.

“There was a table and chair so he sat behind the table and chair,” Hayes recalled in his testimony. “I noticed that at times he was masturbating.”

Hayes testified that Combs spoke to Ventura during the 25-45 minute episode. “It was mostly subtle directions. Move the light to the side. Move her body a certain way,” Hayes testified.

“At some point the man stood up and left the room. Ms. Ventura followed him out. I sat there waiting on the couch," Hayes told the court.

When Ventura re-entered the room, “She asked me if I wanted to finish. I declined. I said I was good, as long as they were happy I was happy. She said that’s what we wanted, and I was handed additional money.” It was an additional $1,200, according to Hayes' testimony.

Hayes told the court that the couple called him another eight to 12 times.

The court is now on lunch.


May 29, 2025 4:05 PM

Court adjourns for the week after HSI agent testifies about computer data extractions

Testimony concluded for the week with an agent from Homeland Security Investigations who conducted data extraction from three laptop computers that belonged to Cassie Ventura.

One of the laptops allegedly included a user profile for Frank Black, an alias used by Sean Combs.

Court is now adjourned until Tuesday.

“Do not talk to anyone about the case,” Judge Arun Subramanian instructed the juror before dismissing them, telling them instead to “watch the Knicks avenge their Game One loss.”

Subramanian also told the jury that the trial is “right on schedule.”

When court resumes on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said they plan to call Combs’ former assistant, Capricorn Clark, as well as representatives from the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department.

“I think we are right on time,” prosecutor Maureen Comey said of the pace of testimony, telling the jury the government’s case would take about six weeks total to present. “I would think that we should be able to wrap this up before the Fourth of July,” Comey said.

The defense asked Judge Subramanian to allow Combs to have additional access to videoconferencing from jail. Subramanian said he has had no luck with the Bureau of Prisons. Prosecutors said they would call and ask on the judge’s behalf.

Absent videoconferencing time, the defense sought additional phone time, saying Combs is “out of minutes.”


May 22, 2025 6:35 PM

Hotel manager's note: Combs 'always spills candle wax on everything'

The general manager of the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel showed the jury a reservations log with entries that indicated Sean Combs had stayed at the hotel several times.

The log included several of the aliases that previous witnesses have testified Combs used, including Frank Black and Frank White.

The general hotel manager, Frederic Zemmour, said guest profiles include notes. Combs’ guest profile note, which was shown to the jury, included the following: “Always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil, place room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”

The note also instructed reservation takers to authorize an extra $1,000 to cover room damages when Combs stayed at the hotel.

Housekeeping was instructed to put fruit and chocolate in Combs’ room and keep the thermostat at 75 degrees, according to Zemmour's testimony, and to spray air freshener outside any room in which Combs stayed.


May 22, 2025 7:50 PM

Makeup artist testifies she allegedly found Cassie Ventura with 'swollen eye,' 'busted lip'

Makeup artist Mylah Morales testified that it was Grammy weekend 2010 when she returned to the Beverly Hills Hotel after a night out with Cassie Ventura.

According to her testimony, Morales fell asleep on the couch but “woke up to a little bit of commotion.” Morales told the court that Ventura walked in and headed into the bedroom and Sean Combs entered a moment later.

“Where the f--- is she?” Morales testified an angry Combs asked.

Morales told the court that Combs walked into the bedroom and shut the door. Morales testified that she then heard “yelling and screaming” before Combs allegedly opened the bedroom door and stormed out of the suite.

“I was just frantic and I didn’t know what to do,” Morales testified. “She had a swollen eye and busted lip and knots on her head,” referring to Ventura.

Morales, who testified that she first met Ventura when she was 16 years old, told the court that she took Ventura to her house, where she stayed a few days to recover.

“My friend, who’s a doctor, a medical doctor, I asked him to come the next day to make sure she didn’t have a concussion,” Morales testified. Morales told the court that the doctor suggested Ventura be taken to the emergency room but “it was her wishes not to go to the ER.”

Asked why Morales did not insist that Ventura go, Morales replied, “We were very afraid.” She testified they were “afraid of Sean."

“I feared for my life,” Morales told the court.

Morales and Ventura never again spoke about the alleged incident at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to Morales' testimony



May 22, 2025 6:16 PM

Kid Cudi concludes testimony: 'I knew Sean Combs was violent'

On cross-examination, Scott Mescudi testified that Cassie Ventura told him about alleged physical abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Sean Combs but that she did not mention sexual abuse.

Defense attorney Brian Steel said both Mescudi and Combs were “played” by the same woman.

“The person who played you, the person who played Sean was Ms. Ventura. True?” Steel asked.

“Yeah,” Mescudi replied.

At the conclusion of cross-examination, Steel thanked Mescudi, who responded, “Yeah, no problem.”

On re-direct examination, Mescudi testified that Ventura told him that Combs “would hit her, sometimes kick her.”

Mescudi told the court that he and Ventura broke up because “things were getting out of hand” and that he felt concerned for his safety and her safety.

“I knew Sean Combs was violent,” Mescudi testified, prompting an objection and a sidebar.

During the SoHo House social club meeting in 2012, when, according to Mescudi's earlier testimony, Combs claimed not to know what Mescudi was talking about regarding the firebombing of his car, Mescudi told the jury that he thought Combs “was lying.”

Kid Cudi’s testimony has concluded. The court is in lunch break.


May 20, 2025 6:13 PM

Male escort 'The Punisher' testifies about alleged sexual encounter with Ventura as Combs watched

Sharay Hayes, who was known professionally as "The Punisher," a nickname he said he was given on the West 4th Street basketball court, testified that he came to know Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura in late 2012 after he was hired “to create like a sexy scene, sexy erotic scene for them on occasion.”

Hayes testified that he advertised on a website and his phone number was on the website. He told the court that a woman who went by Janet called “stating it was her birthday, and her husband said she could hire a dancer.”

PHOTO: Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, May 20, 2025 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, May 20, 2025 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

Hayes testified that he was instructed to go to Trump Tower on Central Park West to perform a striptease. When he arrived, he testified that Ventura greeted him in a bathrobe with “nothing on underneath” and explained “that she didn’t want me to actually dance.”

Instead, Hayes testified that the woman he still knew as Janet said she and her husband “liked to create a sexy scene” that included the application of baby oil while her husband watched. She allegedly handed him a stack of money that he counted in the bathroom totalling $800.

“I was specifically told to not acknowledge her husband. Try not to look at him. No communication between me and him,” Hayes testified. He told the court that he did not recognize the man Ventura referred to has her husband but came to learn in subsequent encounters that it was Combs.

“The room was dimly lit, maybe electronic candles," Hayes testified. "All of the furniture was covered in sheets and there was an area pretty much for me to sit and for her to sit across from me. There were bowls of water and bottles of baby oil.”

During the encounter, Hayes testified that a man entered the hotel suite.

“The man was nude but I could not see his face,” Hayes testified. “So it was a nude male with a veil on. What I saw was a bottle of Astroglide he was carrying.” He told the court that he used the product himself and recognized the purple cap.

“There was a table and chair so he sat behind the table and chair,” Hayes recalled in his testimony. “I noticed that at times he was masturbating.”

Hayes testified that Combs spoke to Ventura during the 25-45 minute episode. “It was mostly subtle directions. Move the light to the side. Move her body a certain way,” Hayes testified.

“At some point the man stood up and left the room. Ms. Ventura followed him out. I sat there waiting on the couch," Hayes told the court.

When Ventura re-entered the room, “She asked me if I wanted to finish. I declined. I said I was good, as long as they were happy I was happy. She said that’s what we wanted, and I was handed additional money.” It was an additional $1,200, according to Hayes' testimony.

Hayes told the court that the couple called him another eight to 12 times.

The court is now on lunch.


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