The fourth week of P Diddy’s federal sex trafficking trial in New York took another chaotic turn when the judge threatened to eject the music mogul from the courtroom
P Diddy’s sex trafficking trial took a chaotic turn as the rapper was told he could be booted from the courtroom.
The rap mogul, 55, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. It’s the fourth week of testimony in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile court battle.
On Thursday (June 5), the 17th day of the trial, US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian threatened to remove the rapper from the court for “nodding vigorously” and looking at the jury during testimony. The judge called out Combs when the jury returned from its lunch break.
He told lawyers that he had been “clear” that no facial expressions should be made to the jury. He declared: “There should be no efforts whatsoever to have an interaction with this jury.”
The judge said that it is “absolutely unacceptable,” adding: “If it happens again, I will give an instruction to the jury or it could result in the exclusion of your client from the courtroom.”
Diddy’s defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo told the judge that this will not happen again. Diddy had been interacting with the jury during the cross-examination of Bryana Bongolan, a former graphic designer for Combs and friend of the rapper’s ex Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura.
Court artist Jane Rosenberg, who has been watching Combs in court, told NBC News that the music mogul has been making facial expressions at jurors since the trial began.
It’s not the first time the courtroom has been disrupted during Diddy’s trial this week. On Tuesday (June 3), a supporter of the rap mogul was dragged out of the courtroom by cops after making a foul-mouthed outburst.
According to CNN and NBC News, the woman yelled: “Diddy, these motherf***** laughing at you” and “it’s not right what they’re doing to him!”. The judge overseeing the case, US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, told court officers to “escort her out right now”.
It’s said Combs turned around after the judge ordered the lady to be removed. The Washington Post said the woman said she believed people were unfairly mocking Combs and that she “wanted to make her voice heard”.
The heckling incident came after prosecutors discussed a video played by the defence featuring a former Diddy employee going under the pseudonym “Mia” to protect her identity.
She previously told the court that Diddy sexually assaulted her while she was employed by him for eight years. Mia claimed she was raped by the rapper and that he was frequently violent towards her.
Diddy’s pregnant ex Cassie Ventura was one of the first people to take the stand in the trial. Text messages between the former couple were shared, in which they discussed the infamous alleged “freak off” parties.
During Cassie’s testimony, she claimed Diddy forced her into “disgusting” sex acts with strangers during the alleged “freak-off” parties, which would continue for days at a time and be fuelled by drugs.
She claimed that in one, Diddy asked a male escort to urinate into her mouth. Cassie alleged she felt “heavily objectified” during the parties, and claimed that Diddy would watch from another room via FaceTime.
However she claimed she continued to engage in them between 2007 and 2018 as she was in love Diddy. She also claimed that when she tried to leave, he would punish her.
The rapper has maintained that the sexual activity was always consensual and denies any wrongdoing. He has been in court during the trial, and his hair has turned grey since his arrest.
The trial continues.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
