From the stand, Richard confirmed she was a witness to multiple instances of this violence, which the jury spent last week hearing about firsthand and seeing on hotel surveillance footage.
“Frequently, he would punch her, choke her, slap her in the mouth, kick her, punch her in the stomach,” Richard told the Manhattan courtroom.
Upon taking the stand, Morgan expressed to the court that she was there under subpoena and did not wish to testify.
One particularly harrowing incident Morgan described happened when she was with the couple in Jamaica on a vacation.
I draw my line at physical abuse,” Morgan said, later telling the jury, “We haven’t spoken since.
The three witnesses who testified at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan on Monday all supported or validated information about the defendant’s alleged physical and psychological abuse of Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend of ten years, who described her interactions with the troubled rap mogul in court.
For three years, singer Dawn Richard was a member of the girl group Danity Kane and Combs-led trio Diddy-Dirty Money before he broke up with them in 2012. Combs created Danity Kane as a part of the Combs-led MTV reality series Making the Band. In the show, Combs regularly gives the singers in Danity Kane demands and orders that frequently turn into abuse and insults.
In September, Richard sued Combs, alleging that he had abused him sexually and physically. She told the court on Friday that she witnessed him dragging Ventura by her hair upstairs at his Los Angeles home in 2009, putting his arm around her neck, and beating her with a skillet full of eggs. Richard stated in his testimony that Combs told her that “we could die” and “if we said anything, we could go missing” following the alleged incident. Richard stated on the stand that anyone caught in Combs’ inner circle was warned to stay “out of my relationship or else we would pay for it, or else something bad would happen to you.”.
In addition to supporting Ventura’s testimony regarding the abuse she endured at Combs’ hands for ten years, prosecutors are using Richard’s testimony from Friday and what she told the court on Monday to demonstrate a pattern in Combs’ behavior. She was a witness to several incidents of this violence, which the jury heard about firsthand and saw on hotel security footage last week, Richard confirmed from the stand.
Richard told the Manhattan courtroom, “He would often punch her, choke her, slap her in the mouth, kick her, and punch her in the stomach.”. One possible explanation is that Cassie was advocating for herself. Maybe it’s just a random thing. If she had her own opinion, it might be. He would harm her for being quiet, especially when she tried to defend herself. “”.
The defense’s tactic was to criticize Richard’s testimony and draw attention to discrepancies in her descriptions of her interactions with Combs, such as the skillet incident and the frequency with which she observed Combs carrying a gun. Richard acknowledged on the witness stand that her recollections of these events and what she witnessed have evolved over time, but she also stated that she has since recalled more information. Richard was made aware by defense lawyer Nicole Westmoreland that she had stated in an interview that Combs had stated at the time that “this was a love thing” and that “people going missing” had never been brought up.
When questioned years later about her memories of the period, she said, “It was a hard time, a bad time for me.”. Not everything returned at once. Since the setting was traumatic, I made an effort to forget about it. “”.
Richard testified that she occasionally witnessed Combs using illegal drugs and firearms while she was a member of his inner circle in the workplace. Richard was asked by Westmoreland during cross-examination why, in the eight meetings she had with prosecutors, she never brought up these alleged firearms. Richard said to the defense lawyer, “It wasn’t asked. “”.
Richard testified that Venrura never saw her career take off because Combs was acting as both her boss and boyfriend at her label, Bad Boy Records. There were numerous delays in recording new material.
“It will be on my terms,” he said. Every time, it was wait, wait, wait. Sometimes it was just wait your turn, and other times it was violent or volatile, but she had to wait for her turn.
Federal prosecutors claim that Combs’ violence against Ventura involved coercive control, manipulation, blackmail, drug use, marathon sex sessions, and trafficking. Richard also told the court that several Combs employees saw him use violence against her, but no one ever intervened to stop it. Combs entered a not guilty plea to several of the charges listed in a federal indictment pertaining to racketeering and sex trafficking; he still disputes all of the accusations made against him.
According to Richard, she had no expectation of payment for her testimony. but wants to make amends. She declared, “I’m expecting justice.”. Combs was “shocked and disappointed” by Richard’s lawsuit, according to Combs’ lawyer.
She attempted to collaborate with Combs once more in spite of all of her accusations, Richard acknowledged. Richard stated: “I want to be made whole and to receive justice.”. “.”.
In response to Westmoreland’s question about whether that entailed receiving payment, Richard said, “Yes.”. “”.
After Richard testified, Kerry Morgan—whom Ventura described as her 20-year best friend but with whom she had become estranged due to a violent incident involving Combs—was called to testify. Morgan told the court that she was there by subpoena and that she did not want to testify when she took the stand.
When asked by the prosecution, Morgan recounted several instances in which Combs had abused her old friend, including one instance in which she claimed he had touched her as well. Morgan related a particularly terrifying experience that occurred while she was on vacation in Jamaica with the couple. Following Ventura’s prolonged use of the restroom, Combs attacked her; Morgan related the sounds she later heard emanating from her friend at the time.
It was harrowing and terrifying. She testified in court, “I went to the long hallway after hearing her yelling. They were leaving the master bedroom, and he was dragging her by her hair.”. Then, according to her, Combs chased them for hours after throwing Ventura to the ground and hitting her head on a brick. The two then escaped the scene in a golf cart and took refuge in a ditch on the nearby course.
Morgan, who claimed to have had a front-row seat for the majority of the years Combs and Ventura were together, confirmed on the witness stand the ferocious jealousy in their relationship. Because Ventura was envious of Combs’ ex-wife Kim Porter, with whom he had children and spent holidays, Ventura was ignored on those significant occasions. The mogul became envious of Michael B. When Jordan was out of town filming a movie, Ventura started talking to the Sinners star. Last week, Ventura testified in court that she and Combs broke up while she was in South Africa for a few weeks filming a movie. She claimed that during that time, she spoke with the actor, which made Combs envious.
According to the singer’s testimony in court, three rap moguls attacked her in 2018 while she and Ventura were enjoying some music in her apartment. Combs grabbed her by the neck and struck her with a wooden hanger.
At the time of the attack, she told the court, “He came up behind me and choked me and left finger marks on my neck and hit me in the head with a wooden hanger.” She also claimed that Combs was mentioning cheating. The restroom was where Cassie was. I was struck behind my right ear. “”.
Morgan told the court that Ventura grabbed some items and the two women left the apartment. They then went to a nearby urgent care center to see if she had suffered a concussion because she was feeling lightheaded and had “vomitted a few times” following the alleged assault. Although Morgan hired a lawyer, she never sued Combs, she told the court, and Combs gave her $30,000 in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement about the incident. She testified that the incident and Ventura’s response to it put an end to their long-standing friendship.
She didn’t support me following that incident, which is why I stopped talking to her. We haven’t spoken since Morgan told the jury, “I draw my line at physical abuse.”. The night of the assault was the last time I spoke to Sean, and signing the NDA was the last time I saw Cassie. “.”.
The last witness on Monday was Sean James, a former Combs assistant who told the court how security guards around Combs were always armed and how, when he asked why, he was told to “stay in your lane.”. He became tearful while testifying, and he explained how an executive pointed him to a photo of the rich tycoon on the wall with the words, “This is Mr. Dot Combs’ kingdom and we are all here to serve in it.”. “”.
In addition, James recited a portion of an exchange he claims he had with Ventura regarding Combs and their relationship: “He controls my career, pays my allowance, and pays my rent,” she reportedly said.
On Tuesday, James is scheduled to come back for an additional hour of interrogation prior to cross-examination.
