On Tuesday, the second day of the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, court heard of the lurid life Combs lived and his dominance over, and abuse of, his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Combs is charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, and, if found guilty on all counts, he faces life in prison. The former hip-hop star has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ventura was the prosecution’s ‘star’ witness and the only witness to testify on Tuesday, and she is vital to the prosecution’s case. CNN reports for the case to be brought in federal court, prosecutors must be able to show that the alleged crimes occurred in multiple states and Ventura’s testimony will show the jury the crimes Combs is accused of took place in multiple states, which gives the federal government jurisdiction. Ventura told Prosecutor Emily Johnson that Combs controlled “a lot” of her life, from her career to the way she dressed and they “were in a relationship for a little over ten years.” It was a tumultuous relationship, she said, adding some of their frequent arguments got violent and resulted in “some sort of physical abuse.".“He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” she said, adding she suffered injuries from the abuse, including knots on her forehead, busted lips, and “bruises all over my body.” At this point, Johnson showed a still image of a well-known video from hotel surveillance cameras from 2016. Ventura said it showed her leaving a hotel room after “an encounter that we called a ‘Freak Off." Johnson asked her to describe a “Freak Off”’. “Within the first year of our relationship, he proposed this idea, this sexual encounter that he called voyeurism where he would watch me be in intercourse with a third party, specifically with another man,” said Ventura, adding a “Freak Off” entailed “hiring an escort and setting up this experience, so that I could perform for Sean.” “Eventually it became a job for me, pretty much, so I knew it was something he wanted me to do. I had the contacts to set it up and get a hotel room and all of that, but in the beginning, Sean set it up. He was in charge.” .She said the “Freak Offs” gave her a queasy feeling, but she felt a sense of responsibility to continue. “It was him sharing something like that with me. I was confused, nervous but also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to be doing especially as regularly as it became, but again, I was just in love and wanted to make him happy.” The ‘third parties’ at the Freak Offs in various states in the US were often paid escorts, said Ventura, adding she would tell Combs’ travel agent she would need to arrange travel for ‘new staff members’ when she needed to fly an escort in for an encounter. Ventura said “Freak Offs” were held at both her and Combs’ houses, as well as hotels in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Ibiza, and Turks and Caicos. Johnson asked Ventura about when she met Combs. She said she signed a contract with Bad Boy Records, Combs’ company, in early 2006 but that before she met Combs, she knew him as a “larger than life” music entrepreneur, meeting him when she was 19 years old. .Ventura said they had a platonic relationship initially and that Combs looked out for her when she had a few “rough performances.” While celebrating her 21st birthday in as Vegas, Ventura said Combs kissed her in a bathroom. “I was just really confused at the time,” she said, adding she was a “young, new artist” who “just didn’t really know the lay of the land when it came to things like that.” “Did you want to kiss Sean at your 21st birthday?” asked Johnson. “No, not at my 21st birthday,” answered Ventura. Eventually they developed a more comfortable relationship. “I wanted to be around Sean for the same reasons as everyone else at the time, just this exciting, entertaining, fun guy that also happened to have my career in his hands,” Ventura said. “It felt special because not a lot of people got that time with him.” During a trip to Miami with friends Ventura said she took ecstasy that Combs gave her while they were drinking and partying on a boat. Ventura said she and Combs had sex for the first time on this trip. .After the trip, she travelled with Combs everywhere, believing they were in a were in a monogamous relationship, but soon realized they were not. “I didn’t get that he was him; he was Puff Daddy and Puff Daddy has many women,” Ventura said, describing how she felt jealous about seeing him with other women. “He likes the company of women, and I had to just really learn that over time.” Ventura testified until the court recessed for the day. She returns to the witness stand on Wednesday morning.
