Diddy trial recap: Kerry Morgan testified she ended friendship with Cassie after Combs ‘assaulted’ her with a hanger
Sean Combs’ former personal assistant David James also delivered testimony at Manhattan federal court
Kerry Morgan testified in the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial today following dramatic testimony last week from his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
Morgan was Ventura’s best friend from 2001 to 2018. Morgan said she was assaulted by Combs in 2018. Afterward, Morgan said Ventura wasn’t supportive and ended her friendship with the singer.
“He came up behind me and choked me and left finger marks on my neck and hit me in the head with a wooden hanger," Morgan testified. "Cassie was in the bathroom, it hit me behind my right ear."
Morgan previously testified she witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura multiple times, adding that the music mogul controlled his then-girlfriend’s livelihood. Earlier today, singer Dawn Richard similarly told the jury that Combs once said he “owned” Ventura, and that she could “see” that Ventura was afraid of him.
The day ended with a few minutes of testimony from Combs’s former assistant, David James. He will return to the witness stand on Tuesday morning.
Cassie’s testimony, baby oil and ‘freak offs’: The key moments from the first week of Diddy’s trial.jpg?quality=75&width=230&auto=webp)
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Live coverage of Monday's hearing has ended
The Independent’s live coverage of the sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs has ended for Monday (May 19).
For live updates on new developments, head to Tuesday’s live blog:
Diddy trial live: ‘Freak off’ escort and Cassie Ventura’s mother expected to testify
Key moments from week one of the trial
Sex workers from Craigslist, baby oil, “freak offs” and explosive testimony from Cassie Ventura were key features of the first week of the sex trafficking trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Here is what you need to know about what the jury has heard so far:
The key moments from the first week of Diddy’s trial
Ventura releases powerful statement after testifying
After four days on the witness stand the R&B singer released a statement, read by her lawyer outside the courthouse in New York.
“This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from the abuse and fear,” it read.
“For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember. And the more I can remember, the more I will never forget. I want to thank my family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and I’m grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received.”
Trial to resume with more witness testimony
The trial is set to resume today in New York with more testimony from prosecution witnesses.
Pop singer Dawn Richard is expected to return to the witness stand to continue testifying against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
On Friday, she told the jury that she often saw Combs beat his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Richard recounted an incident at Combs’s Los Angeles home in 2009 when Combs beat Ventura and dragged her upstairs by the hair. Richard then said she heard breaking glass and screaming.
Ventura spent four days last week testifying that Combs physically and emotionally abused her throughout their 11-year relationship.
'I worried for my safety': four days of explosive evidence from Cassie Ventura
Cassie Ventura was the star prosecution witness testifying against her ex Sean “Diddy” Combs in the first week of the trial.
Ventura told the jury she had initially consented to the drug-fuelled sex marathons called “freak-offs” to please Combs, but grew sickened by them.
Detailing how Diddy hit her during multiple “freak-offs,” she broke down on the stand Friday, grabbing tissues to pat down her tear-stained cheeks. The prolonged abuse made her feel "worthless, just like dirt... like I was nothing,” she testified.
Ventura said she often took drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, and GHB, before and during the sometimes days-long freak-offs to stay awake and “feel numb.”
She also testified that after a closure conversation following her 2018 breakup with Diddy, the disgraced mogul raped her on her living room floor.
Viral video falsely claims Prince left an audio recording about Diddy
A video has gone viral claiming Prince made a recording “warning” about Sean “Diddy” Combs, reportedly affecting the trial.
Except no such recording has surfaced, and the video caption itself says the content is fictional.
“No official sources confirm the existence of such a recording”.
Coombs trial draws intense interest
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs in Manhattan federal court has drawn intense media coverage because of Combs' wealth and towering influence in the music industry.
Combs, previously known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, founded Bad Boy Records, and is credited with helping turn artists like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.
But now the 55-year-old is facing a jury trial, charged with sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges.
The hip-hop mogul was arrested in September 2024 as federal authorities alleged he threatened, abused, and coerced victims “to fulfil his sexual desires” between 2004 and 2024. Combs has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
Part of the criminal case stems from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura’s November 2023 civil suit against Combs. She spent four days testifying, and said he agreed to settle the civil case after 24 hours for $20 million.
The trial, which began last week, could last for up to two months.
Cassie Ventura's husband releases statement in tribute to his wife for 'bravery'
Alex Fine, Cassie Ventura’s husband, released a statement in support of his wife after her four gruelling days of testimony at the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Fine said he “felt so many things sitting there” listening to Ventura, 38, testify about “freak offs” and years of abuse.
“I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love for Cass. I have felt profound anger that she has been subjected to sitting in front of a person who tried to break her. You did not break her spirit nor her smile,” he said in his statement.
Fine said he did not save Ventura, but rather she saved herself.
“She alone broke free from abuse, coercion, violence and threats. She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her. All I have done is love her as she has loved me," he added.
Fine and Ventura began dating at the end of her on-again, off-again 11-year relationship with Combs. Fine and Ventura married in 2019 and are expecting their third child together.
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The celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s sex trafficking trial
Michael B. Jordan, Mike Myers, Britney Spears and Kanye West are some of the celebrities' names that were brought up in the first week of the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial.
Read about the celebrities mentioned in the trial so far below:
The celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s sex trafficking trial
Aubrey O’Day blasts ‘selfish’ Diddy for having children in court during graphic testimonies
Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day has called Sean “Diddy” Combs “selfish” for having his children appear in court during his ongoing trial in New York.
Six of Diddy’s seven children — Quincy, 33, Justin, 31, Christian, 27, Chance, 18 and twins D’Lila and Jessie, also 18 — have appeared in court to support their father.
O’Day, whose girl band was signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, told Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’s podcast Friday that she did not know any father who would want his children to sit through the kind of testimony heard in week one of the trial.
Read more of her comments below:
