Diddy’s Testimony Trap: Will He Risk All in Sex Abuse Trial?
The government’s lead witness and Combs’s ex-partner, Cassie Ventura, 38, identified in court documents as Victim 1, is preparing to take the stand and testify by name about what she endured during their on-and-off relationship from 2007 to 2018.
In November 2023, she filed a bombshell sexual assault lawsuit against Combs that was settled out of court in just one day—but kicked off an ever-growing list of public accusers. Six months later, in May 2024, CNN published footage from a security camera at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles showing Ventura fleeing a room, only to be attacked by Combs, who is seen wearing a white towel around his waist and socks. He then grabs her by the neck, throws her to the floor and violently kicks her and grabs her purse and suitcase, the video shows.
As Ventura lies motionless, Combs kicks her again and briefly drags her back toward the room before letting go and walking away. Moments later, the footage shows, he sits down in a chair, grabs an object from a table and forcefully throws it toward her.
He apologized after the video was released, saying, “I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.” On Sunday, May 19, 2024, Combs shared the statement via an Instagram video, captioned with the words: “I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life,” the rapper said in the Instagram video. “Sometimes you gotta do that. I was f—
ed up. I mean I hit rock bottom but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
His attorneys tried and failed to have the clip excluded from trial, claiming it was “substantially” edited, which CNN denied.
At least two other people will testify for the prosecution under pseudonyms and will allege abuse by Combs, court documents show.
As for whether Combs will testify, his attorney has said it’s possible. “I don’t know that I could keep him off the stand,” Agnifilo said in the documentary The Downfall of Diddy. “He is very eager to tell his story.”
Legal analyst Rahmani says that would be a dangerous move. Testifying would subject Combs to cross-examination and make his words admissible in more than 60 pending civil cases. More broadly, Rahmani expects that Combs’s defense will argue his accusers are motivated by “fame, money or revenge” and challenge their credibility.
But “when multiple victims are testifying Combs physically and sexually assaulted them,” Rahmani says, “It will be hard for the defense to argue it was all consensual. Adults can consent to sexual activity no matter how freaky it is, but the victims may have been coerced by force or were unable to consent because they were under the influence of drugs.”
Whatever unfolds inside the Manhattan courtroom, Rahmani believes the odds are stacked against Combs. “I expect him to be convicted,” he says, “and spend decades in prison.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
