The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continued Thursday in Manhattan federal court, with “Mia” — a pseudonym for an alleged victim and former assistant to Combs — testifying that he physically and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
She described a harrowing work environment dominated by Combs’s “unpredictable and terrifying” behavior. She said she witnessed Combs unleash multiple attacks on his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in marathon sexual encounters called “freak offs” and used his business empire, as well as guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Here are some key takeaways from Thursday’s testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News and the Washington Post.
‘Mia’ testifies that Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times
A former personal assistant to Combs, who was referred to in court by the pseudonym “Mia,” alleged that Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times throughout her employment.
She recalled that a few months into her employment, she was with Combs celebrating his 40th birthday in a hotel penthouse. He served her shots of vodka before kissing her and putting his hand up her skirt.
“I was shocked and I froze. I couldn’t even process what was happening,” she testified.
In 2009 or 2010, when she was staying at Combs’s home in Los Angeles, she awoke to Combs on top of her. She said Combs told her to be quiet, and “put himself inside of me.”
“I just froze, I didn’t react,” she said, adding through tears: “It was very quick, but it felt like forever.”
“Mia” recalled another alleged attack in which Combs once forced her to perform oral sex on him in his L.A. home.
She said she convinced herself after each attack that it would be the last.
“I always thought this was the last time,” she said. “Next time, I would somehow be more prepared. I had to get right back to work, there was so much going on.”
Former assistant recalls toxic work environment
Sean “Diddy” Combs listens as “Mia” testifies at his sex trafficking trial in New York City on Thursday. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
Earlier in her testimony, “Mia” described a “toxic” working environment in which Combs was controlling and often violent.
She said that he once pressured her to take ketamine, and that the mogul had what she described as a “traveling medicine cabinet” filled with illicit drugs stashed in bags and suitcases while on the road.
She said that when he became angry, he threw various things at her, including a bowl of spaghetti, a phone and a computer.
“He threw things at me. He threw me against the wall. He threw me into a pool,” she said.
“Mia” also recounted an incident at their office in which she said Combs borrowed her phone to make a call and then refused to give it back, threatening to use anything incriminating he found against her.
She said she chased after him to get it back and he slammed her arm in a bathroom door multiple times. He eventually ran outside and left the building with her phone, she said, adding that the incident left her arm so badly bruised she thought it might be broken.
‘Mia’ says she worked for days without sleep, leading to a breakdown
The former assistant said work for Combs ran the gamut, from “cracking his knuckles to writing his next movie to doing his taxes.”
The jury was shown a list of daily responsibilities she wrote to show another employee. It included maintaining Combs’s “daily routine in both professional and private circles from the minute he wakes up in the morning until the moment he falls asleep at night.”
It also included “anticipating his needs, whims, and moods” and staying within his eyesight at all times unless he said otherwise.
She described working long work hours on little or no sleep, and testified that she once worked for five days without sleeping, using extended-release Adderall to stay awake. That led her to have a breakdown.
“I had a physical breakdown,” she told the court. “My hearing went, it felt like I was under water, my equilibrium was off, blurred vision, out of nowhere I was hysterical and could not stop crying.”
At that point, she said, Combs told her she could go sleep.
‘Mia’ says she wasn’t allowed to lock her door or leave Combs’s homes without permission
The former assistant told the court that she traveled with Combs wherever he went, staying with him at hotels and his homes, where she was not allowed to lock the door to her room.
“This is my house and no one locks the doors,” she said Combs told her.
She also said she was not allowed to leave without his permission.
“Mia” recalled one instance in 2009 or 2010 when she left Combs’s Los Angeles home late at night after he was asleep. Combs later sent his security personnel to find her.
“I got in big trouble,” she said.
Big picture: “Mia” is the second former assistant to testify that they felt trapped by Combs. Earlier this week, Capricorn Clark, another former aide, alleged that Combs kidnapped her during an apparent plot to kill the rapper Kid Cudi, who was dating Ventura.
‘Mia’ says she witnessed Combs attack Ventura during a party at Prince’s house
Photos of Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie Ventura are shown in court on Thursday. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
The former assistant said she became close friends with Ventura, and that if the two did something without Combs’s permission, they would get in trouble.
“The punishment was unpredictable and terrifying,” she testified.
“Mia” recalled an incident in 2012 when she and Ventura went out to a party at Prince’s house without Combs’s permission.
Combs showed up at the party, “Mia” said, and she and Ventura fled, but Combs eventually caught up to them, and threw Ventura to the ground and started to attack her.
Prince’s security staff intervened, she said.
The next day, she said she was suspended by Combs without pay for “insubordination.”
Big picture: The prosecution has multiple witnesses to corroborate accounts of violence. Mylah Morales, a former makeup artist for Combs and Ventura, testified that she was staying with Ventura at a hotel on the night of the Prince party, and woke up to the couple screaming at each other in a bedroom of the hotel suite. When Combs left, Ventura had a swollen eye, busted lip and knots on her head, Morales testified. Morales said she didn’t call the police because she feared Combs and feared for her life.
Former assistant recalls brutal assault that left Ventura’s head ‘gushing blood’
Combs watches as defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson cross-examines celebrity stylist Deonte Nash. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
She said she witnessed Combs assault Ventura multiple times. She recalled one particularly violent incident in Ventura’s apartment, where she and Nash were helping Ventura pack for an upcoming trip. Combs came in and threw Ventura to the ground.
The former assistant said both she and Nash tried to stop it. She said she jumped on Combs’s back.
“He threw me against the wall so quick and so easily, and I realized we were in real, real danger,” she said, adding: “His eyes turned, like, black and there was like no getting through. Like, I was trying to get him to stop, and it was like he was looking through me.”
Combs continued to hit Ventura, she said.
“He slammed her head into the corner of the bed,” she said, causing it to start “gushing blood.”
After the assault, she said Combs told her to schedule an appointment with a plastic surgeon to fix the gash on Ventura’s head and to say that Ventura fell because she was drunk. She said she followed Combs’s orders because she thought it was the only way to get Ventura help.
Big picture: Nash told the court about the same incident during his testimony on Wednesday. And like Morales, Nash also said he didn’t report the incident to police because he feared retaliation from Combs.
‘Mia’ says she had to clean up hotel rooms after ‘freak offs’
The former assistant testified that she would stock hotel rooms with baby oil, personal lubricant and candles for “freak offs” Combs had with Ventura and male escorts — which he referred to as “hotel nights” — and then clean them up afterwards.
“Mia” said the rooms would be in disarray, covered with candle wax, broken glass and occasionally blood, which Combs told her was menstrual blood.
The former assistant detailed two instances in which she saw Ventura appear upset during or before a “hotel night.” On one occasion, she went to the hotel room to drop something off, and Ventura came to the door.
“She was struggling. I had never seen her like that before,” the witness testified. “I asked her, ‘Are you OK?’ And she said, ‘I’m good,’ and closed the door.”
On another occasion, she said she became physically ill when Ventura told her that Combs had texted wanting a “hotel night.”
