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    What Happened in the Closing Arguments of the Sean Combs Trial

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    The jurors will begin deliberating on Monday. The music mogul has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.The federal government and Sean Combs’s defense team presented their closing arguments this week after extensive testimony in which the music mogul’s ex-girlfriends said they were pressured to have sex with male escorts in drug-dazed marathon sessions.Mr. Combs is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, and has pleaded not guilty, saying the sexual encounters were consensual. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating on Monday, which will mark the eighth week of the trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan.Here are some key observations from the closing arguments:The ChargesSex TraffickingThe federal prosecutor who delivered the government’s closing argument on Thursday, Christy Slavik, emphasized to jurors that convicting Mr. Combs of sex trafficking required only one example of him coercing his girlfriends into sex with prostitutes.For examples of such coercion, Ms. Slavik pointed to Mr. Combs’s 2016 assault on Casandra Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel that was captured on surveillance video, and a fight between “Jane” and Mr. Combs in 2024 before he directed her to have sex with another man.Jane, who was identified by a pseudonym, testified that she repeatedly said “I don’t want to” before Mr. Combs asked, “Is this coercion?”The next day, the defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo argued that Ms. Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, was a willing participant in the frequent sex sessions that Mr. Combs called “freak-offs.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What It’s Like on the Ground at the Sean Combs Trial

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThe trial of Sean Combs, the rap mogul best known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, has entered its third week, as federal prosecutors attempt to prove charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom.Centering so far on the testimony of Casandra Ventura, a former girlfriend who performs as Cassie, the trial has also included time on the witness stand by Ms. Ventura’s family and friends; a former boyfriend, the rapper Kid Cudi; male escorts who were involved in her sexual relationship with Mr. Combs; and multiple employees of Mr. Combs, who witnessed his behavior over the years. (Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his lawyers arguing that any sex was consensual.)Yet while many headline-grabbing cases tend to be broadcast online these days, the rules at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse prohibit video or audio recording, meaning only those present can experience the proceedings directly.Present each day for The New York Times has been a team of reporters, led by Julia Jacobs and Ben Sisario, who have covered the story since even before Mr. Combs was under criminal investigation. (Ms. Ventura filed a lawsuit against Mr. Combs in November 2023, which was settled a day later for $20 million; that account helped put into motion a series of events that led to Mr. Combs’s indictment last year.)This week on Popcast, the host Joe Coscarelli, who has also been covering the trial, was joined by Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Sisario to discuss the intricate charges against Mr. Combs; how the testimony so far has played in court versus how it is consumed online later; the effect of the trial on the reputations of Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura; and what is still to come in the weeks that remain.Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More

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      At Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial, Former Employee Expected to Describe Being Kidnapped

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      Prosecutors are set to present the testimony of a onetime assistant, who they say was twice held against her will. The defense denies she was kidnapped.A former employee of Sean Combs who, prosecutors say, was kidnapped twice by the music mogul or his bodyguards, is expected to testify on Tuesday at Mr. Combs’s racketeering and sex-trafficking trial.The woman, Capricorn Clark, has been a frequent character in testimony at the trial, figuring prominently in the much-discussed fallout over Mr. Combs’s discovery that Casandra Ventura, his longtime on-and-off girlfriend, and the rapper Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, were romantically involved.The government contends that after Mr. Combs discovered evidence of the budding relationship in late 2011, he went — armed and with a bodyguard — to wake up Ms. Clark in the middle of the night and force her to take them to Mr. Mescudi’s home. On Thursday, Mr. Mescudi gave his account of Mr. Combs’s jealous meltdown, which he said escalated to his Porsche being set on fire with a Molotov cocktail in early 2012.Lawyers for Mr. Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, have denied Mr. Combs’s involvement in any kidnapping or arson — and have said there was never any criminal conspiracy. They assert that Ms. Ventura and another woman that Mr. Combs is accused of sex trafficking are not victims, but rather former girlfriends who agreed to participate in sex that, while “kinky,” was entirely consensual and legal.Capricorn Clark, a former employee of Mr. Combs, is expected to testify this week.U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New YorkThe kidnapping accusations are meant to buttress the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs, which accuses him and members of his inner circle of a series of crimes dating back to 2004. The crimes cited in the indictment include sex trafficking, arson, drug violations, bribery, obstruction of justice and two acts of kidnapping — both of them involving Ms. Clark.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kid Cudi Is Expected to Testify in the Sean Combs Trial

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      The rapper is scheduled to take the stand on Thursday to describe how his car was “blown up” after a threat by a jealous Mr. Combs.Kid Cudi, the rapper whose brief relationship with Casandra Ventura is said to have led to angry threats by Sean Combs, is expected to take the witness stand on Thursday in the music mogul’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.The rapper, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, is part of an important narrative at the heart of the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs. The government has accused Mr. Combs of running a criminal enterprise for two decades and said his associates set fire to a rival’s car by slicing open the convertible top and dropping in a Molotov cocktail.In 2023, after Ms. Ventura filed the lawsuit that kicked off Mr. Combs’s legal troubles, Mr. Mescudi confirmed that his car had exploded. But he has yet to speak publicly about the details of his role in the case.Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, and his lawyers have said he was “simply not involved” in the allegations of arson put forward by prosecutors.While on the witness stand last week, Ms. Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, recalled the chaotic aftermath once Mr. Combs learned about her budding relationship with Mr. Mescudi in late 2011. She said Mr. Combs made the discovery while looking through her phone at the site of a “freak-off,” the sex marathons with male prostitutes at the center of the case.Ms. Ventura testified that Mr. Combs lunged at her with a wine bottle opener and, later that day, threatened to release sexually explicit videos of her in retaliation.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kid Cudi Will Soon Take Center Stage at the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial

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      Casandra Ventura had testified that the mogul threatened to have the entertainer’s car blown up after learning about their relationship.Prosecutors confirmed this week that Kid Cudi, the rapper whose romance with Casandra Ventura is said to have sent Sean Combs into a jealous, threat-filled rage, will be testifying in the music mogul’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, could take the witness stand as soon as Wednesday, but the precise timing of his testimony is uncertain.Ms. Ventura, who is known as the singer Cassie, testified last week that after Mr. Combs discovered her relationship with Mr. Mescudi in 2011, Mr. Combs made a series of threats to her, including that Mr. Mescudi’s car would be “blown up” in his driveway.In 2023, after Ms. Ventura filed the lawsuit that kicked of Mr. Combs’s legal troubles, Mr. Mescudi confirmed that his car had exploded. But he has yet to speak publicly about the details of his role in the case.As part of the racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr. Combs, the government has accused him of running a criminal enterprise that helped him commit a series of crimes dating back to 2004. Among the list of allegations is that Mr. Combs’s associates set fire to a rival’s car with a Molotov cocktail.A lawyer for Mr. Combs, Teny Geragos, said in the defense’s opening statement that Mr. Combs was “simply not involved” in the allegations of arson put forward by prosecutors.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What to Watch This Weekend: An Experiment from Comedy Weirdos

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      Perhaps you would enjoy “Knuckles,” a Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff that outpaces its origin story.Wendy Whipple (Stockard Channing) and Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) in “Knuckles.”Paramount Pictures/Sega, via Paramount+What if I told you that midway through “Knuckles,” the new Paramount+ limited series based on the character from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, there’s a mini rock opera featuring vocals from Michael Bolton? If that piques your interest, then you will find many things to enjoy in this show, which frequently feels less like an exercise in I.P. expansion and more like an experiment from comedy weirdos. There’s some strange sauce at work in “Knuckles,” which makes it overcome its crassly commercial origins to feel like a worthwhile watch for those in need of a quick and zany distraction.At its core, “Knuckles” is a spinoff of the two “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies about a blue alien who can go fast. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (2022) introduced Knuckles, a bright red echidna, sometimes called a spiny anteater, voiced by Idris Elba, who starts out as Sonic’s foe but turns out to be an ally. You don’t actually really need to know much of anything about the “Sonic” movies or Sega video games to enjoy “Knuckles,” however. There’s occasionally mention of Sonic lore, but it just serves as a backdrop to a bizarre buddy comedy.“Knuckles” finds the titular character teaming up with Wade Whipple (Adam Pally), a lowly deputy sheriff of the town where Sonic and his pals reside. Wade wants to win a bowling tournament. The deadpan Knuckles believes his quest worthy and promises to turn Wade into a “warrior.” (The theme song is Scandal’s very catchy “The Warrior” from 1984.)So, yes, “Knuckles” is mostly about a man and an animated egg-laying mammal with super strength venturing from Montana to Reno in order to bowl. Along the way they are pursued by some bad guys (Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. the rapper Kid Cudi, and Ellie Taylor) who want to trap Knuckles, but they also stop to have Shabbat dinner at Wade’s childhood home. There, Wade’s mother, played by Stockard Channing, teaches Knuckles about Judaism and the filmography of Julia Roberts.And then there’s the “low-budget rock opera,” directed by Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone, in which Wade enters a musical dream sequence dressed as Knuckles in a fuzzy mascot suit. He is accompanied by a chorus of dancing owls led by Julian Barratt of the British comedy group the Mighty Boosh. It’s a deeply absurd episode that feels right in line with the rest of Taccone’s work, especially the underrated film “Hot Rod” (2007).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mahogany L. Browne’s Love Letter to Hip-Hop

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      It was a clear black night, a clear white moon. Warren G, “Regulate” (1994)Originally appearing on the soundtrack of the Tupac Shakur film “Above the Rim,” this song is built around a sample of Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near).” I’m looking like a star when you see me make a wish. […] More

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      ‘Crater’ Review: A Rocking Road Trip

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      This Disney film is surprisingly nimble at incorporating an emotional core into its sci-fi adventure.You wouldn’t necessarily expect a lightly dystopian undertone concerning the oppressive state of labor in a family-friendly science-fiction Disney film (released during the writers’ strike, no less), but “Crater” manages just that while maintaining the lighthearted fun of a children’s adventure.The film, directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, takes place on a lunar mining colony, where miners agree to contracts with the promise that they and their families will earn a ticket to Omega, a distant, habitable planet. Legal loopholes, though, ensure that most don’t actually live to see that day arrive.Yet, via a rule that allows descendants of deceased miners to automatically go to Omega, the film’s young protagonist, Caleb (Isaiah Russell-Bailey, and Hero Hunter in flashbacks), is scheduled to leave the colony after his father (Scott Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi) dies — only, he doesn’t want to leave his friends behind. Hoping to make the most of their limited time together, Caleb and his friends, with the help of a new girl from Earth (McKenna Grace), steal a lunar rover and embark on a road trip in search of a mysterious crater that Caleb’s father told him to find as a kind of dying wish.It’s refreshing to see Disney invest a decent budget into an original sci-fi world for a live-action film (it’s also a movie that undoubtedly would have flailed at the box office, but may and should find an audience on streaming), and Alvarez makes good use of it. And while it might not have the indelible charm of other children’s classics, “Crater” does well not straining itself trying to please audiences beyond the family crowd. Most of all, the film is surprisingly nimble at incorporating an emotional core that makes its story more interesting than the adventure itself.CraterRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Watch on Disney+. More

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      Kid Cudi Aspires to Guide the Kids

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      5:00a.m. 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00p.m. 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00a.m. 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00p.m. 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 Samuel R. Delany Jonathan Bailey Piet Oudolf […] More