Cassie Ventura testified for four days against her ex-boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs, in his federal trial for sex crimes.
Cassie, 38, was emotional at times as she sat on the witness stand detailing alleged abuse at the hands of the Bad Boy Records founder.
Her husband, Alex Fine, was in court throughout his pregnant wife’s testimony.
Her testimony as “Victim 1” was crucial to the government’s case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is relying on Cassie as its “star witness,” according to criminal defense attorney Phil Harvey.
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“After a full week of trial, we don’t know who victims 2 and 3 are yet, but we do know one thing: Cassie Ventura is the star witness so far,” Harvey told Fox News Digital.
“It’s clear that the government wants to paint Sean Combs as a depraved character. Regardless of their personal morality, the jurors are going to have a negative view of Mr. Combs, no question. And the government is going to want that to hold for the rest of trial.”
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Diddy’s lawyer, Anna Estevao, “did a good job staying on track,” Harvey said.
“She got Ms. Ventura to admit that she willingly participated in some of the so-called ‘freak offs,’ and she got Ms. Ventura to read some of her own text messages with Mr. Combs, highlighting the consensual nature of a lot of their relationship,” Harvey noted.
“That’s good lawyering, especially when you have a sympathetic witness like Ms. Ventura, who is visibly pregnant and clearly victimized.”
The former girlfriend of Diddy testified May 13-14 about the alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of the rapper. Cassie claimed she was physically abused and forced into participating in “freak offs,” where Diddy would coerce her into having sex with a male escort while he watched.
She claimed to have entered rehab and pursued trauma therapy at the beginning of 2023 after having “horrible flashbacks” on set of a music video.
In one emotional text exchange, she allegedly told Diddy, “As much as you think you’re Bruce Willis, you aren’t. He’s married and before he was married, the family as a whole went on trips together, or just with him and his woman. Eddie Murphy and Paige took his kids away on their own.”
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“He didn’t go with his ex because that’s not who he’s in love with. I’ve been at the edge of tears this whole week. I don’t think that you sympathize with my feelings.”
During cross-examination, Diddy’s defense lawyer introduced messages showing the rapper checking in on Cassie in 2019. A few months later, Combs congratulated Cassie, saying she was going to be a great mother. Cassie confirmed she was pregnant at the time.
On March 7, 2020, Combs texted, “miss my best friend…Frankie is so beautiful…”
Frankie is Cassie’s first daughter.
Cassie responded, “miss you too…”
He replied, “thank you so much for responding…I’m always here if you need me…”
Cassie sent her love to Combs’ family as well. The rapper responded, saying, “S— has definitely been rough without your friendship…”
Former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard testified to allegedly witnessing Diddy assaulting Cassie in 2009. Richard told the court Friday that one day after an alleged altercation in which she “observed Cassie being attacked,” the “Last Night” rapper told her it was par for the course in a normal relationship.
WATCH: Cassie Ventura’s lawyer reads statements from her and her husband outside New York City courthouse
Diddy and Richard were in the recording studio when he allegedly said that what was witnessed the day before was “passion” and what people in relationships do. He claimed that Cassie was OK, and it was best if they didn’t say anything.
The Bad Boy Records founder allegedly said that, where he’s from, people go missing. She interprested his words to mean people end up dead.
Cassie revealed Friday she’s expecting to receive a $10 million settlement from the InterContinental Hotel, the location of the 2016 assault where Diddy attacked her in the hallway.
Diddy and Cassie allegedly had a “freak off” at the hotel March 5, 2016, that turned violent. Cassie previously testified that she was attempting to leave the “freak off” after Diddy gave her a black eye.
WATCH: SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS SEEMINGLY ASSAULTS CASSIE VENTURA IN 2016 LOS ANGELES HOTEL INCIDENT
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After making it to the elevator lobby, the singer-songwriter testified, Diddy assaulted her. The rapper could be seen dragging Cassie down the hotel hallway in surveillance footage that was shown to the jury and previously released to the public in 2024.
Former hotel security guard Israel Florez, who responded after the violent attack, testified Monday that he tried to call police, but Cassie told him not to.
Cassie testified to using drugs, including ketamine and cocaine, as a way to disassociate during the “freak offs,” which would sometimes last for days.
“For me, it was dissociative. … I couldn’t imagine doing that without some sort of buffer,” she told Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson. “I needed to remain high to stay present with the experience.”
The prosecution finished direct examination of Cassie Wednesday. That same day, Cassie told the jury she chose to testify against Diddy because she could no longer carry the guilt.
“I can’t carry this anymore,” she told the court. “I can’t carry the shame, the guilt. … What’s right is right. What’s wrong is wrong.”
Harvey noted that the case isn’t as clear-cut as it would appear.
“There’s no question Ms. Ventura was victimized by Mr. Combs. We’ve all seen the assault video,” he said. “And she got a $20 million rape settlement in civil court.
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“The question we are left with from Week 1 is: Was Cassie Ventura victimized in such a way to amount to the specific federal charges in his indictment?”
He said the government was taking a risk by emphasizing Diddy’s character.
“Those jurors are going to eventually get a set of legal instructions from the judge,” Harvey said. “Those jury instructions are going to make it clear: This is not an assault trial. It’s not a rape trial. And it’s not a morality play. Instead, the jurors will be asked if the government manages to prove three types of federal crimes: racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
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“If the jurors get to deliberation, and all they have is a lot of evidence that Mr. Combs is a depraved soul who may have committed assault, battery and even rape, those jurors can still acquit him.”
The trial, which began Monday with opening statements, is expected to last eight weeks. Combs has been in jail since his arrest in September 2024, after his Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided by law enforcement.
