Diddy Trial Recap: 1st Week of Testimony

Here's what went down in the Diddy trial this week

The sex trafficking trial of Sean Diddy Combs testimony now underway after both sides delivered their opening statements

And today jurors heard from a male escort who talked about his relationship with Diddy and his girlfriend

Fox News Lisa Evers was inside the courtroom today. She's live in lower Manhattan with more on today's proceedings

Lisa, what's the latest? Well, Natasha and Bianca, a big day here in federal court in the Sean Diddy Combs trial

It's the start of week two. Things really kicked up into high gear. There were opening statements

A jury was impaneled. There was even explosive testimony from one witness

Now, the mother of Sean Diddy Combs and his kids left court today after a very rough day

They showed up to support him as his trial kicked into high gear. But some of the testimony was so disturbing that his three daughters walked out of the courtroom

Male strip show manager Daniel Phillip took the stand and testified that he was booked by Cassie Ventura

to dance at what he thought was a bachelorette party, but it turned out to be only Cassie and Sean Diddy Combs

in a hotel suite at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Philip testified that he was paid several thousand dollars

to have baby oil massages and sex with Ventura while Combs watched from a corner and then pleasured himself

He said that was the first of many sex encounters in Manhattan at their residences and also at other hotels

Now, the first witness that spoke, that testified and got on the stand was a security guard at the hotel where Cassie Ventura was beaten in that horrific video that

pretty much everybody saw in Los Angeles in 2016. Now, he testified that he shielded her from Combs

because Combs did not want her to leave the hotel after the attack. But he says he shielded her

helped her go back to the room, get her bag and her phone and get her out of there. So a lot more

a lot happened today, a lot more expected tomorrow. And we're also expecting to hear

from Cassie Ventura on the witness stand sometime this week, probably sooner rather than later

That's the latest here from federal court. I'm Lisa Evers, Fox 5 News. Well, dramatic day of testimony inside federal court in lower Manhattan as Cassie

Sean Diddy Combs' ex-girlfriend, took the stand. The R&B singer candidly discussing the disturbing allegations leveled against the music mogul

including the freak-offs. Fox News' Teresa Briolo is here to break it all down. And what the star

witness had to say, Teresa? Yeah, it's really shocking to hear that this is the first time we're actually hearing publicly from Cassie Ventura. She hasn't made any sort of public

comment about her relationship with Sean Diddy Combs. This all comes after that bombshell

eight-figure settlement in her civil case, but her story is what began this entire ordeal

and today she told it in open court. Much of Cassie's emotional testimony focusing on those

freak-offs. She said, quote, the FOs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but

to recover and try to feel normal again. Much has been made about these drug-fueled sex marathons

with escorts or sex workers in homes and hotels around the world. Sometimes they lasted 36 to 72

hours. Cassie told the jury today Combs dictated every aspect of these encounters. It was his

fantasy, and he was controlling the entire situation. She said he was directing it

A large component of these freak-offs were drugs, and she testified, for me it was disassociative

and numbing. I couldn't imagine doing any of that without any sort of buffer

A buffer while she said she was heavily objectified by men She told the court she met Diddy when she was 19 years old He promised her a record deal and a career Soon after meeting him he kissed her and then they had sex He eventually introduced her to those freak which he recorded and she said he used as a form of blackmail

She also testified that the freak-offs and other aspects of their relationship weren't without physical abuse

Quote, he would smash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down

When asked how often she was abused by Diddy, she said, quote, too frequently

The defense, you know, has embraced what they needed to embrace. And as a lawyer, you say you admit what you can't deny and you deny what you can't admit

And all of this at the end of the day is not whether or not he was a domestic abuser or a good person or engaged in this type of sexual behavior

That's not sex trafficking. And that doesn't make him a racketeer. And so, really, that's what a jury is going to need to focus on

And that's where the prosecution's challenge is going to be. Because right now we've heard a lot of inflammatory testimony, absolutely

But again, that doesn't amount to sex trafficking under federal law. The bottom line, Cassie says she didn't want to upset Diddy because she loved him

She's expected to continue her testimony tomorrow. We do want to begin tonight with Cassie Ventura back on the witness stand in the Diddy trial

The R&B singer testifying in graphic detail about the physical and sexual abuse she says she was subjected to

at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Sean Diddy Combs. All this as prosecutors showed still images from the videos of encounters

Diddy allegedly referred to as freak-offs. Fox Ice Richard Jacobus is here now with more on the dramatic testimony

from Cassie's second day on the stand. Natasha, Steve, once again, it was a dramatic day in court

Cassie Ventura broke down and cried on the stand. The R&B singer said at one point during rehab and trauma therapy

she didn't want to be alive anymore because she could not take the pain

A key revelation today was Ventura's admission that she settled with Sean Diddy Combs for $20 million in a 2023 lawsuit that the accused hip-hop mogul of raping and physically abusing Ventura for decades

Ventura saying, I wanted to be compensated for the time and the pain and the many, many years of having to try to fix my life

She says she testified against Combs to do the right thing, and so she no longer has to carry the shame and the guilt

Ventura's attorney saying outside court tonight that today was a powerful one in court

She's very pregnant. She's about to give birth, but she's holding up strong

I mean, having to recount what happened during those 10 years and beyond and talking about her contemplation of suicide, really just very powerful

One of the most serious accusations Ventura has made against Combs is that he raped her after they had broken up in 2018, telling the court, quote, I just remember crying and saying no, she says, but it was very fast

Ventura claiming that she didn't even think Combs noticed that he did rape her

The jury today was also shown sexually explicit images taken from the freak off videos

A female juror appearing to exhale, letting out a deep breath while putting her hand over her chest

and a male juror seemed to quickly look away when the images popped up. Asked if Ventura was ever

injured in Combs' freak-off, she replied that he would, quote, grab me up, push me down, hit me in

the side of the head kick me you name it Attorney and jury consultant Madeline Somerville says tomorrow is the true test cross Will Cassie Ventura hold it together and not buckle under pressure If I prepping her for tomorrow I would say don let them rile you up

because they have a couple different angles that they can go with, the defense, right

They can say that she was jealous. They can say that she was, you know, this was consensual

that she was essentially willing to subject herself to this for a lavish lifestyle

but the more they push that with her, the worse they're going to look

Ventura also recalled today that one of Sean Combs' security guards cried when he saw her

following a beating from Combs in 2015. She testified that Combs then instructed her

to hide her black eyes and knots on her forehead from his son by applying more makeup

Now to an explosive day of testimony in the sex crimes trial of Sean Diddy Combs

star witness Cassie Ventura is questioned by the defense who tried to portray her as a willing

participant in the freak offs. And Fox News Lisa Evers is live in lower Manhattan. And after spending

the day in the courtroom, Lisa is bringing us up to speed. Lisa. Yes, well, Natasha and Bianca

the court session here ended just a short time ago. That is later than usual. That's because

they're trying to wrap up this testimony with Cassie Ventura, the cross-examination of her

within two days. Now, just a short time ago, take a look at this video. We saw Sean Combs' sons

leaving the court, getting into the black sprinter that takes them to and from the trial

Combs' three daughters were not in court with them today. They were missing yesterday as well

Just moments ago, we caught up with Cassie's attorney, Douglas Wigdor. Here's what he had to

say. There's no credibility issues with her. The facts are the facts. She's telling them as they

are, her truth, and they are what they are. This is not a typical cross-examination. There's no

issues with her credibility. There's two sides to every story, and you can't rush the judgment

and you have to just wait until all the facts, and we did see the facts, and we did see the

receipts as to what was happening in real time with their relationship. Now, this was Cassie's first day under cross-examination by Diddy's defense team

It was her third day on that witness stand under oath, Natasha and Bianca

Yeah, Lisa, so Cassie also dropped a bombshell statement about Diddy's drug use

What does she have to say about that? She did, Natasha. Well, they were trying to show that they had this lifestyle that was very, you know

it was an on-again, off-again relationship. There was a lot of drug use and abuse

The bombshell came towards the end of the session today, where Cassie testified that Diddy overdosed in 2012

She actually drove him to a hospital, and that's the first time we've been hearing

that his drug use went, that alleged drug use, went that far

Now, his defense team has said that he had a drug addiction problem. She had a drug addiction problem

She talked about that again today because they're really trying to show that she was right there with him

that she was not in a situation where she was being trafficked

Natasha and Bianca. THE DEMOCRATS ARE TAKING THEM TO THE DEMOCRATS. THEY'RE TAKING THEM TO THE DEMOCRATS

ALYSSA, BEFORE YOU GO, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WRAPPING UP WEEK ONE. SO WHAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING

NEXT WEEK? WHAT CAN PEOPLE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT? WELL, WE HAVE ONE MORE DAY OF

CROSS FOR KASSY VENTURA THAT WHY THEY WENT A LITTLE BIT LATER TODAY BECAUSE THE JUDGE WANTS TO HAVE IT WRAPPED UP BY THE END OF TOMORROW REMEMBER SHE VERY PREGNANT The judge wants to have it wrapped up by the end of tomorrow Remember she very pregnant I don know if she very close to it It has to be very close to her due date So they wanted to get her off the stand by the end of today

Next week, we can look at more of the prosecution as witnesses as they continue to present them

We'll see what that entails. And then, of course, we still have the defense presenting

We have to wait and see what their whole defense is. But we got some pretty good hints today of what we can expect to hear from them

More testimony about Cassie. there were the explicit text messages between her and Combs today, where she was telling him

she loved him, that she actually liked the freak-offs, especially when they had made love

after the freak-offs, so kind of portrayed those in a little bit of a different picture than what

we heard yesterday. The most powerful part of Cassie's testimony today, and probably out of

all four days that she was on the stand, came during questioning about the $20 million settlement

she received after that civil lawsuit against Shondity Combs. The defense tried to imply that

money was tight for her at the time and asked her if the reason why she canceled her scheduled tour

overseas was because she now had millions of dollars. She responded by testifying and crying

on the stand, saying, I'd give that money back if I never had to have freak-offs. If I never had to

have freak-offs, I would have had agency and autonomy, and I wouldn't have had to work so

hard to get it back. Her husband left the courthouse after sitting through testimony nearly

all week listening to his wife detail all the alleged sexual abuse she endured over 11 years

An audio recording was also played in court of her confronting someone named Sujit who said they had

video on their phone of Cassie pleasuring herself and having sex with someone who wasn't Diddy

More texts between Diddy and Cassie were shown of Cassie showing enthusiasm for the freak-offs

Not something she said she wanted to do, but did it to please Diddy as her career took a backseat

saying it became like another job, setting up the freak-offs, preparing for them, and recovering from them

Cassie also testified that she went to rehab for opiate addiction and still takes medication for it

One of Cassie's lawyers spoke out after she wrapped testimony. Everything that she's gone through in the 10 years or so with Sean Combs, her drug addiction and her recovery

to be able to come into this courtroom and testify for the last week on these very

graphic subjects is a true testament to her character. And her husband, Alex Fine, released this statement in part saying

I did not save Cassie, as some have said. To say that is an insult to the years of painful work my

wife has done to save herself. Cassie saved Cassie. 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. And Cassie also in part

releasing this statement, 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 abuse and fear

Cassie also revealed that she received $10 million from another settlement involving

Intercontinental, the hotel where she was captured on TV, on surveillance video rather

being beat and dragged and kicked by Diddy. Now through her lawyer, she adds that she's asking

for privacy at this time as she prepares for the end of her pregnancy and her growing family

We're live outside federal court. Michelle Ross, Fox 5 News