This page reflects the news from Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial on Tuesday, June 10. For the latest updates from Diddy’s trial, read USA TODAY’s live coverage for Wednesday, June 11.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
A former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs said she felt pressured to please the hip-hop mogul through means that included demeaning sexual performances, even as his lawyers encouraged her to describe the loving and vulnerable moments during their nearly four-year relationship.
Combs’ federal trial resumed in Manhattan court on June 10 with the rapper’s attorneys cross-examining a woman testifying under the pseudonym “Jane.” They asked her about money Combs gave her, warm moments between the couple and the alleged “hotel nights” they held with male escorts.
While Combs’ lawyers showed explicit messages Jane sent fantasizing about the sex acts, she told the jury she “resented” Combs “for leading me into the lifestyle.”
“I felt pressured to perform these things my lover desired,” Jane told jurors. Her testimony comes after she alleged her ex-boyfriend physically, sexually and psychologically abused her during their on-and-off relationship.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
During their cross-examination, Combs’ lawyers asked Jane about times she appeared to willingly participate in hotel nights and other alleged sexual performances.
In one text exchange, Jane offered up her house for a “freak off” because she wanted to “spend time with my favorite person.” In response, Combs offered for him and Paul, an escort, to “stop by.”
On the stand, Jane said she wanted alone time with Combs, but “that’s the only option I was given. I wanted to see my lover, so I was accepting that.”
Jane continued to read several explicit texts between her and Combs. In one message, Combs suggested that “we don’t have to go crazy for the rest of the year. Let’s switch it up.” Jane responded, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” before telling him, “I don’t mind it.”
On the stand, Jane testified that there was an undertone of rejection to some of Combs’ texts, making her feel insecure. She said she suggested freak offs to make him feel better. “I know my partner and what he likes,” Jane explained.
Jane previously testified that she recruited sex worker Sly Williams to join their alleged hotel nights after watching him in adult films.
She explained that she and Combs watched Williams on a pornography site in October 2021. When Jane messaged Williams, Combs was “surprised and really happy because he had never had a girl pick the guy before,” she said. Jane also found another sex worker named Anton through the same site.
She alleged Williams later threatened to sell a tape of the two of them having sex and extorted her not to release it. Jane said Combs was “livid” and told her to call the police, but she didn’t out of fear.
Combs’ attorney Teny Geragos asked Jane about a time in 2022 when she researched a lifestyle she believed fit her and Combs’ situation.
“I came upon a word because I was trying to figure out my relationship, that was called a cuckolder: a man who was turned on by watching his woman having sex with another man,” Jane said on the stand.
Jane added when she read that definition, she thought “that was spot on.” She explained that she found two possible reasons for this: “The cuck derives pleasure from seeing his woman receive pleasure from another man,” Jane said, or they could be curious about bisexuality but ashamed to express themselves.
Combs has not publicly defined his sexual preferences, and experts prescribe different definitions and motivations for cuckolding. U.S. attorneys say he engaged in sex trafficking and transported sex workers for the purpose of prostitution.
Jane said she, Combs and one of the escorts they allegedly hired used the nickname “trifecta” when they had sex.
Jane claimed she was Kobe Bryant; Paul, the entertainer, was Shaquille O’Neal; and Combs was Michael Jordan. Jane said she frequently called Paul, the escort, her “boyfriend” and called Paul and Combs her “boys.”
BET Awards host Kevin Hart alluded to the music mogul during his opening monologue as he joked about why the show was happening on a Monday night. Hart called for “no afterparties” on a work night and said those are were things get “slippery, at them god damn afterparties.” After dropping the reference to Combs’ propensity for baby oil, Hart added, “We’re learning a lot about people, ain’t we?”
You may have seen major celebs like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio named during Combs’ trial. But the A-list actors aren’t accused of anything − they’ve only been mentioned in the background of events Combs attended.
For example, a former assistant identified as Mia alleged that she witnessed a 2012 discussion between Combs and Cassie Ventura Fine escalate at the premiere of a Pitt film during the Cannes Film Festival in France.
She claimed she saw Combs grit his teeth while digging his nails into Ventura Fine’s arm, and he eventually insisted that Ventura Fine leave.
Mia also referenced a high-stakes poker game between Combs and DiCaprio in texts she sent him around 2020.
In one message, she wrote that Combs said, while cursing: “That ‘Titanic’ (guy) doesn’t know (anything). He won $10,000, I won $650,000.”
Jane said she became worried Combs was struggling with substance use early in their relationship while they were on a trip to Turks and Caicos. She said Combs’ eyes were jaundiced, his gums were gray from alleged drug use and his hands were shaking from what she believed was alcohol withdrawal.
Jane said she suggested they go to Thailand, where there was a facility with a 30-day program, to which Combs allegedly responded, “What the hell, you think I need rehab?”
“I felt that I encountered somebody that was overdoing the partying,” Jane said, adding she would now call Combs a drug addict. She said she wanted “him to get back to his natural form and natural state.”
In a text sent toward the end of their relationship that was shown in court, Jane wrote to Combs: “I’m not Cassie, and I’ll make your life hell.”
“I had hit my wall and I was depressed over these nights,” she said on the stand, referring to the alleged sexual performances Combs and Jane had with male escorts.
Jane also discussed Combs’ relationship with rapper Yung Miami, whom he started dating about a year after he started seeing Jane.
“What was hard for me was the imbalance in treatment,” she said, describing what publicly looked like a monogamous relationship with Yung Miami. “That was hard to watch,” she said. “I didn’t sign up to date a man that was in a public relationship.”
In Jane’s cross-examination, Combs’ lawyer Geragos has argued the witness voluntarily participated in her relationship with the rapper.
For example, Jane had a rule for the alleged escorts they hired that they couldn’t use drugs, and three different entertainers were eventually dismissed because she wasn’t attracted to them.
But even as Combs’ lawyers have questioned Jane, keep in mind that the cross-examination has been markedly different from Mia‘s cross-examination, even borderline friendly. Mia was the first woman who testified using a pseudonym in Combs’ trial and also alleged sweeping abuse.
To note, Jane met with Combs’ attorneys prior to the trial starting, as recently as April.
Jane’s testimony did turn sharp at one point, when she shared she felt Combs gave other women more gifts and quality time during their relationships.
Geragos asked Jane how much a bag from the brand Bottega costs – an apparent reference to the thousands of dollars Combs gave Jane during their relationship – and Jane shot back “How much does my body cost?”
Jane, who previously revealed she had a successful OnlyFans account, said Combs didn’t want her to share content on the paid platform because he didn’t want her to be part of something some view as taboo.
But she still joined in 2024, telling jurors “I joined it because it was something I needed. If I could get off of it, I would.” Jane again referred to her work and income slowing while she was in a relationship with Combs.
One curious moment stood out to reporters in Jane’s cross-examination: The court heard a voice note from Combs to Jane after a trip they took to Turks and Caicos in 2023.
Combs can be heard saying “You are the crack pipe. That’s my new name for you: crack pipe,” and then making kissing noises. Combs’ lawyers asked if the nickname was a reference to him “being addicted to you,” and Jane said it was a sexual reference.
Jane and Combs’ finances have taken center stage during her cross-examination. Jane told the court that she was making money from influencing online, but she felt she couldn’t devote time to her career online once they started dating.
She said she didn’t typically ask her then-boyfriend for money, but she estimated he wired her more than $150,000 over the course of their relationship.
“I never really counted, but I would assume yeah, that would be close,” Jane said, explaining that she felt she only met about 10% of her potential earnings through influencing during their relationship.
That’s not the only money Jane addressed on the stand. Jane said Combs invested about $20,000 in a fashion line she started, centered around dresses and swimwear.
She also confirmed that when she moved into a rental home in April 2023, Combs paid approximately $40,000 to cover the security deposit and rent for her first and last month.
When Combs’ lawyer, Geragos, asked Jane if she believed Combs would stop paying her rent, she alleged he used the payments as a control tactic.
“There were some times that I definitely felt that he would do that,” Jane said. “And he used it kind of as a little tool. The rent was always just like a little reminder.”
Geragos confirmed that Jane received immunity from prosecutors in exchange for testifying.
The lawyer also questioned why Combs is still paying for Jane’s lawyer even though she was “testifying against” him. But Jane paused when Geragos said that before the jury, looking confused and asking “against him?”
As Combs’ lawyers continued to focus on the positive times between Jane and the rapper, she told the court that he “beamed a very bright light” when they met. She also said he encouraged her to be more confident, saying “he would uplift me.”
Jane said they often talked about God and religion, and he introduced her to gospel music.
“He had a favorite pastor, and he would often put a lot of sermons on the television, and we would watch it together and we would talk about it,” she shared. “We would have really insightful conversations.”
Under cross-examination by Combs’ lawyer Geragos, Jane testified that she still loves Combs to this day.
Jane said she “endured” nights in hotels with escorts because she wanted to spend time with Combs – including watching his favorite TV show, NBC’s true crime hit franchise “Dateline,” until he fell asleep.
“I felt loved by him because we experienced these things together,” Jane said on the stand.
Jane has maintained on the stand that she felt pressured into participating in alleged sex acts that Combs wanted. But the rapper’s lawyers have also asked her about good times between the couple.
The anonymous witness told the court “he was my baby” as she described how she’d take care of Combs after an alleged “hotel night” in which she had sex with a male escort.
She said she’d give her then-boyfriend foot massages and buy food for them.
“I felt that my partner was trusting me in a very vulnerable moment and, well, so, he made me believe that this was something really special. This was something only he and I did, and I really took that on very strongly,” she said.
Sunday night’s BET Awards hit heavy on the nostalgia, bringing back hip-hop and R&B stars from the early aughts to revive a sound not quite like any other.
To honor the “TRL”-style music video countdown show “106 & Park,” a slate of big-name performers took the stage for a 20-minute beat-pounding medley.
Amid mini-sets from Ashanti and Keyshia Cole, boy band B2K treated the audience to a rendition of their 2002 club anthem “Bump Bump Bump.” Complete with synchronized dance moves and all white ‘fits, the four-man music group leaned heavily into their classic boy band appeal.
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to tease out a more sordid history of the track. “Bump Bump Bump” was originally released with a feature from Combs. His influence on hip-hop, especially in the early 2000s, was so far-reaching that it’s hard to hit shuffle without running into one of his projects.
The story goes deeper, though. The track was also originally written by R. Kelly, who, like Combs, faced sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and is now serving time in prison after being convicted on all counts.
Was Combs‘ ex-girlfriend forced into having sex with male escorts while he made videos, or was she a willing participant?
Which version a jury believes could be key for prosecutors in the wake of a ruling by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian over expert testimony earlier in Combs’ criminal trial, which began in May in federal court in Manhattan and is expected to last through at least the first week of July.
The expert testified about some of the dynamics of abusive relationships, but the judge didn’t let her talk about “coercive control,” in which abusers use physical, sexual and psychological abuse to maintain power over victims.
Prosecutors asked the judge to reconsider his earlier decision, but on June 10 he ruled he would not allow the additional testimony.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in “freak offs” — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have video of.
Combs‘ attorneys have once again had their push for a mistrial in his sex-crimes case denied.
The embattled music mogul’s legal team’s latest request for a mistrial has been rejected by Subramanian. Combs’ lawyers had renewed a motion for a mistrial due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct in a letter to Subramanian dated June 7.
Combs’ lawyers’ latest push for a mistrial centered around testimony from Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a friend of Ventura Fine. Bongolan testified about an incident where Combs allegedly held her up on a balcony in Ventura Fine’s Los Angeles apartment in September 2016.
As Subramanian rejected the request, he joked that Combs’ lawyer Nicole Westmoreland’s cross-examination of Bongolan was like a moment from the dramatic television show “Perry Mason.”
Near the end of June 9’s testimony, Jane detailed an allegedly violent incident with Combs that left her with visible injuries. She described being choked, punched, kicked and dragged by the hair – an alleged beating resembling how he’d assaulted Ventura Fine at the InterContinental Hotel in 2016.
On June 18, 2024, Jane said she and Combs got into an argument during a date night at home. She’d accused him of being with another woman during his Utah family vacation from which he’d just returned.
Although Jane allegedly fled the altercation and hid, she said Combs continued to attack her when she returned home two hours later. The woman testified she punched Combs in his forehead before the rapper punched her twice in the head. Later, as she showered, he started smacking her in the face and then instructed her to “put some ice on” her injuries “and put an outfit on” of high heels and lingerie.
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling case that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September and later charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper has pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him.
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom. Sign up for our newsletter for more updates.
Contributing: USA TODAY staff
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
