Diddy trial: Cassie Ventura testifies in sex-trafficking case
Defence attorneys for musician Sean “Diddy” Combs spent the entire day cross-examining the woman whom they describe as the most important government witness in the case - singer Cassandra Ventura, known as Cassie.
Here are my three takeaways from the latest testimony:
Softening Diddy's image
After seeing their client portrayed as a violent, coercive, drug-and-sex-crazed abuser during the prosecution’s questioning of Cassie, defence attorney Anna Estevao sought to soften Combs’ image before the jury.
Estevao referred to Combs’ “imperfections” as she elicited complimentary comments from Cassie, who has described her ex-boyfriend as “an exciting, entertaining, fun guy.”
Combs was “very sweet, attentive” when she fell in love with him, Cassie told the jury. “What I thought was his real personality came out, and I liked who that was,” she testified.
In a 2007 email read to the jury, Cassie wrote to Combs: “I've never felt so loved, safe, and empowered since we've come together.
“I cannot express enough how grateful I am that you've chosen to be a part of my life.”
Combs suffered an overdose
The defence is calling greater attention to Combs’ illicit drug use than was publicly known, while suggesting withdrawal symptoms from substance abuse may have contributed to his violent mood swings.
“I think it was a part,” Cassie said. She testified Combs used the same drugs as her during their drug-fueled sex romps they called “freak-offs” - ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, and opioid painkillers.
On one occasion in February 2012, Cassie testified, following a night of partying in Los Angeles - a freak-off followed a visit to a sex club and then the Playboy Mansion - Combs suffered an overdose from painkillers and ended up in the hospital.
Cassie went to the hospital, but the defence did not elicit details about Comb’s treatment or recovery. Cassie said she and Combs took painkillers almost the entire duration of their decade-long relationship.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. What have they done in the past?
Chipping away at the charges
Job one for the defence is to persuade jurors that freak-offs were consensual, not sex trafficking, as alleged in the indictment and opening statements. Estevao spent a lot of time reviewing with Cassie certain text messages intended to show her as an equal partner in arranging the sessions and hiring the male escorts.
“I can’t wait either,” said one reply Cassie texted to Combs in 2009.
The freak-offs were an “integral part of our relationship early on,” Cassie told the jury.
In a similar 2017 message, she wrote, “I love our FOs”.
In an exchange highlighted by the defence about a planned freak-off, Combs wrote to Cassie: “If you’re not into that, NP,” meaning no problem.
In another message, Cassie, who has testified about her fear that Combs could have released videos of the sex sessions, noted that she would retrieve her iPad to make a recording happen.
Still, during Estevao's questioning, Cassie at one point stuck to her main point, telling the jury about the freak-offs: “It was a job.”
The defence also seeks to diffuse the allegation that Combs engaged in a racketeering conspiracy by using his business and employees to facilitate sex trafficking, interstate transport for prostitution, or other illegal acts. Cassie previously testified Combs’ security guards and personal assistants knew about the freak-offs and enabled them by obtaining supplies like baby oil, lubricant, and even illicit drugs.
However, on cross-examination, she told the jury those staffers never entered a hotel room when a freak-off was underway. When Estevao asked, “You never told any of them what was going on?” Cassie replied, “I did not.”
What's next?
One huge unknown is how the defence may address Cassie’s allegation that Combs raped her in August 2018, after they had broken up, and Cassie was dating Alex Fine, now her husband.
Cassie testified Wednesday that after she and Combs had a pleasant "closure conversation" during a dinner in Malibu, Combs took her back to her LA apartment, and they went inside.
“Then he raped me in my living room,” Cassie matter-of-factly told the jury.
“I just remember crying and saying ‘no.’ But it was very fast”.
However, that was not the last time she saw him (until this trial). Cassie disclosed being “intimate with Sean again,” as the prosecutor put it, another time later that year by choice.
Cassie said: “We've been together for over ten years. Like, you don't just turn feelings off that way. We were very connected at that point still. I still had good vision of who he was as a person. Like, I didn't hate him”.
Support for sexual abuse victims and mental health helplines
Rape Crisis England & Wales runs a rape and sexual abuse support line - you can call the helpline on 0808 500 2222 or use the online chat (both are free and are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year)
The Survivors Trust resources site is an online platform designed to offer survivor-led resources and practical tools to help people affected by sexual violence and abuse, and their supporters navigate their journey of healing. You can contact their helpline on 08088 010818
Samaritans operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year, by calling 116 123. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org
Papyrus offers support for children and young people under the age of 35 over the phone on 0800 068 41 41 between 9am and midnight every day of the year. If you would rather text you can do so on 07786 209697 or send an email to pat@papyrus-uk.org
Mind also offers mental health support between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. You can call them on 0300 123 3393 or text them on 86463. There is also lots of information available on their website.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know