Diddy trial: Here's what Cassie said under cross examination
TODAY: Cassie cross-examined in Diddy trial
Cassie Ventura, ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, is expected to face cross-examination from lawyers today. Cassie testified she was frequently physically and suffered medical issues as a result of the "freak-offs." LiveNOW from host Josh Breslow spoke to criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Michael Brown on the latest.
NEW YORK - R&B singer Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura returned to the witness stand for a third day on Thursday and was forced under cross-examination to read aloud to a jury her explicit messages with former boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The case continues to shed light on their allegedly dark and abusive relationship that lasted over a decade. Combs’ sex trafficking trial in Manhattan is expected to last about two months.
Cassie Diddy text messages
Combs’ lawyers are seeking to portray Cassie as a willing participant in Combs’ lifestyle, and say that while he could be violent, nothing he did amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Combs' lawyers began questioning the prosecution's star witness, and some of the text messages read on Thursday expressed enthusiasm for Combs-directed encounters with other men that she previously testified had disgusted her.
Trial day four sketch by Jane Rosenberg
Defense attorney Anna Estevao read what Combs said in email and text exchanges, while Cassie recited what she wrote to him.
In one from August 2009, Combs asked her: "When do you want to freak off? Lol."
"I’m always ready to freak off," she replied.
Two days later, Cassie sent an explicit message to Combs.
Cassie questioned over explicit messages during Diddy trial
More developments today in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial, including questions directed toward R&B singer Cassie. She has been speaking about her nearly 11-year relationship with Diddy. Lawyers have been having her read out loud for the jury many sexually explicit messages that she and Combs shared from years before. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani is speaking with LiveNOW's Andrew Craft on the latest details.
"I can’t wait to watch you. I want you to get real hott," he replied.
"Me Too, I just want it to be uncontrollable," she said.
Cassie asked for a short break, which Judge Arun Subramanian granted, after yet more explicit messages were shown. This came a day after she was made to see still images from videos of sexual encounters during prosecutors’ questioning.
Trial day two sketch by Jane Rosenberg
Estevao also had Cassie read through warm and loving messages with Combs early in their relationship. Cassie testified that Combs was charismatic, with a larger-than-life personality. At the time, she said, "I had fallen in love with him and cared about him very much."
The defense said that they wanted Cassie to return next week, but the judge said there had been pre-trial discussions for months about the need to finish Cassie’s testimony this week, given her advanced pregnancy.
Diddy trial updates
Dig deeper:
Prior to the start of the trial, Combs’ lawyers made clear that they intended to label a lot of the sexual behavior of their client as part of the swingers lifestyle.
Under questioning, Cassie said that on at least four occasions during their relationship, she watched Diddy have sex with other women. She said Diddy told her it was part of a "swingers lifestyle."
Takeaways from latest Cassie testimony in Diddy trial
Legal analyst Adante Pointer joins LiveNOW's Christina Evans to break down what we learned Wednesday in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial.
Estevao asked Cassie directly whether she thought "freak-offs" were related to the swingers lifestyle. "In a sexual way," Cassie responded, before adding: "They’re very different."
Later that afternoon, Cassie said that she continued to have "freak-offs" with Combs even when dating rapper Kid Cudi because it "was a job." She talked about having a burner phone while dating Kid Cudi due to being scared of what Combs would do.
Thursday's testimony and evidence was in contrast to the violence and shame Cassie said accompanied "hundreds" of her encounters with male sex workers that Combs watched and controlled during their relationship — which stretched from 2007 to 2018 and started when she was 19, and he was in his 30s.
She said the drug-fueled "freak-offs" would last hours and even days, with her sometimes taking IV fluids to recover and eventually developing an opioid addiction because it made her "feel numb" afterward.
Trial day four sketch by Jane Rosenberg
Who is Cassie?
The backstory:
Cassie is an R&B singer, model, dancer, and actress who broke into the industry in 2005. She met Combs then 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 and were in an on-and-off relationship from 2007 to 2018.
Federal prosecutors accuse Combs of exploiting his status as a powerful music executive and entrepreneur to violently force Cassie and other women to take part in these encounters with sex workers, which he called "freak-offs."
Combs denies all the allegations and has pleaded not guilty. Combs, 55, has been jailed since September. He faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted.
EARLIER: Diddy trial: Cassie testifies more about relationship, 2016 hotel attack
Cassie sued Combs in 2023, accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse. Within hours, the suit was settled for $20 million — a figure Cassie disclosed for the first time Wednesday — but dozens of similar legal claims followed from other women.
In May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance video from 2016 showing Combs attacking Cassie — grabbing, punching and kicking her in a hallway. After the video surfaced, Combs issued a public apology, admitting to the incident.
The video will serve as a key piece of evidence in the trial.
Follow along with live updates from FOX 5 NY here. Because the trial is in federal court, a livestream is not available.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from happened on the first four days of the trial of Sean Combs, as reported by WNYW FOX 5 New York and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles.