Cassie Details “Physical Abuse and Dragging” in Emotional Testimony During Sean “Diddy” Combs Trial

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, took the witness stand in his sex trafficking trial on Tuesday, a day after prosecutors showed jurors video of the music mogul beating her in a hotel in 2016.

Testimony in the trial began Monday. Prosecutors told jurors that, for years, Combs used his status as a powerful executive to coerce women into abusive sexual encounters and became violent if they refused.

Cassie, noticeably pregnant on the witness stand, was emotional from the start. She would take deep breaths and sometimes paused as she spoke.

When the prosecutor questioned her about “freak-offs,” she said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do them. She said she was “confused, nervous, but also loved him very much.”

Asked how she felt when Combs first proposed engaging in a “freak-off,” Cassie said: “I just remember my stomach falling to my butt. Just the nervousness and confusion in that moment.”

She said she didn’t feel like she could say no to Combs because she “didn’t know what ‘no’ could be, or what ‘no’ could turn into,” which she said she learned could include violence and blackmail threats.

“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything. I just didn’t have much say in it at the time,” Cassie testified.

“Freak-offs” were the highly orchestrated sex parties that she said stemmed from Combs’ interest in voyeurism. They would entail hiring an escort and “setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean,” Cassie said.

Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel, Cassie said prior to the altercation: “We were having an encounter called a ‘freak-off’ and I was leaving there.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson started questioning of Cassie by asking her age, which is 38, and her occupation, which she said is “musician, an entertainer.” She said she was in a relationship with Combs for just over 10 years.

Cassie testified that her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.

“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Cassie told jurors.

She testified that Combs would mash her head, drag her, kick her and stomp her in the head when she was down.

Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: “Too frequently.”

A judge ruled that her husband, Alex Fine, can be in the courtroom for most — but not all — of her testimony.

Judge Arun Subramanian, acting on a defense request, said Fine must leave the courtroom when questioning turns to Cassie’s allegation that Combs raped her in 2018. That’s because Combs’ lawyers say they may call Fine as a witness later in the trial in an attempt to discredit Cassie’s allegation.

Prosecutors argued that Fine is part of the emotional support system for Cassie, who’s pregnant with their third child and should be in the courtroom when she testifies.

Cassie, a key prosecution witness expected to testify Tuesday, met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.

In her 2023 lawsuit, Cassie alleges Combs trapped her in a “cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” for more than a decade, including raping her and forcing her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers. Combs settled the lawsuit the next day.

Among other things, Cassie alleges Combs raped her when she tried to leave him and often punched, kicked and beat her, causing injuries including bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding. She also alleges that Combs was involved in blowing up rival rapper Kid Cudi’s car when he learned Cudi was romantically interested in her, and she alleges that Combs ran out of his home with guns when he learned Suge Knight, a rival producer, was eating at a nearby diner.

The proceedings Tuesday also included the hip-hop mogul’s lawyer questioning Daniel Phillip, a male stripper who says he was paid to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched.

Defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson pointed to Phillip’s past statements to federal prosecutors as he attempted to show inconsistencies in his recollection of events. Donaldson finished his cross-examination after suggesting Phillip had developed a crush on Cassie and wanted to isolate her from Combs so he could be with her romantically. Phillip denied that but admitted: “I was attracted to her. If she ever gave me the chance to date her, I absolutely would have.”

Once Donaldson was finished, a prosecutor asked Phillip more questions, underscoring the witness’ earlier testimony that it was Combs who directed his sexual activity with Cassie.

Subramanian had previously acknowledged that in his opening remarks about whether sexually explicit videos and images expected to be shown to the jury during testimony by Cassie should be viewed by members of the media.

He said that while a lot had been handled under seal before the trial, “we are now in trial and there is a heightened First Amendment concern.”

During the discussion about whether sexually explicit videos should be available for viewing by members of the media, attorney Robert Balin told the judge on behalf of media outlets that news organizations weren’t interested in reporting “something salacious” and were not seeking copies of the exhibits.

He also suggested as an alternative that a group of pool reporters could be allowed to view the exhibits.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson argued against letting media outlets see sexually explicit videos, saying there was good legal precedent to keep such materials out of the public record.

Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said there was no aspect of the videos that was not “in the nature of adult pornography.” He said they all contained images of people who are nude having sex or about to have sex.

On behalf of news outlets, Balin told the judge the First Amendment is “at a zenith” in this type of case and that it was important that the “people, though the press, be able to see justice is being done.” He said the best evidence of whether sexual acts that were recorded were coerced — as prosecutors allege — was the videos themselves.