Diddy’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura took to the stand again on Thursday to face the rapper’s defence team as they began their cross-examination of the singer
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was back in court today, facing a raft of charges including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The disgraced music mogul, 55, was arrested in September and vehemently denies all accusations levelled against him in the criminal trial and the civil cases against him. He has been locked up since his arrest, with multiple bail applications being denied.
Combs’ ex-partner, Cassie Ventura, took the stand this week, and gave a harrowing account of what she allegedly experienced throughout their decade long relationship. Cassie testified that Diddy had brought pop sensation Britney Spears to her 21st birthday bash in Las Vegas. He also reportedly invited singer-songwriter Dallas Austin to the festivities.
Britney Spears has been not been accused of any wrong-doing.
At the time, Cassie was already on Diddy’s record label books, and she told the jury that their relationship had been purely professional, until that night. During the party, she said, Diddy planted a kiss on her, leaving her bewildered.
“Britney, Diddy, and Cassie are pictured together in Las Vegas in 2007,” the entry notes said. Cassie’s then-boyfriend, Ryan Leslie, was also at the party.
Judge Arun Subramanian, overseeing the trial, stated that both prosecution and defence teams will need to iron out issues surrounding the cross-examination gets underway. Meanwhile, defence lawyer Anna Estevao reckons the cross-examination could roll over into Friday.
On Wednesday, the jury were presented with text exchanges between Combs and Cassie spanning several years. These included messages about Freak Offs and alleged threats made by Combs.
Combs’ legal team have signalled they won’t finish grilling Cassie until Friday. If that is how it pans out, she might have to come back to court on Monday for what the lawyers call re-direct.
Subramanian highlighted that both sides had agreed Cassie would be done dishing the dirt by week’s end, especially as she’s pregnant with her third child.
The judge was not happy with the change of plans, saying, “That is the exact opposite of what I was told.”
Combs’ brief, Marc Agnifilo, owned up to the blunder. “That is why there is a sword that I must fall on,” he admitted, blaming the delay partly on the prosecution’s decision to summon two other bods before Cassie.
In today’s courtroom drama, Combs’ defence quizzed Cassie if it’s “fair to say” his career was ruined after she sued him in November 2023, making public for the first time the concept of “freak-offs.
“I could understand that,” Cassie conceded. Earlier this week, Cassie claimed that when she tried to ditch Combs, he threatened to torpedo her career with sleazy sex tapes.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
