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On Friday, Danity Kane member Dawn Richard described witnessing Sean "Diddy" Combs have a violent outburst against Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura in 2009. Testifying under oath in the s*x trafficking case against Combs, Richard took the stand and described seeing Diddy Combs strike Cassie Ventura with a skillet before kicking her on the floor when she was curled up. Dawn Richard said that she witnessed Diddy
"Kick her in the head and beat her in front of us."
Richard also showed up to court wearing a plaid blazer and khaki pants to present her statement while Diddy Combs observed from across the gallery. Her testimony supported claims made in her 2024 lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, which were comparable to Ventura's past descriptions of enduring physical and emotional abuse within their 11-year on-and-off relationship.
Richard described a specific episode at Diddy Combs' Los Angeles residence where he purportedly dragged Ventura up the stairs by her hair, the crashing of glass, and her screams, also establishing the course of the abuse throughout the trial.
Witness Dawn Richard describes an alleged 2009 assault by Sean Combs on singer Cassie
As she testified, Dawn Richard, an ex-Bad Boy Records-signed artist, gave a full description of an encounter between Sean Diddy Combs and fellow artist and Diddy's previous girlfriend, Cassie. Asked to point out Diddy Combs in the courtroom, she indicated him by the cream sweater he had on.
Richard testified that she was a member of the girl group Danity Kane and had worked with Diddy in a fusion group, having known Cassie since 2005 and seeing her often. She testified to observing a violent altercation in 2009 at Diddy's Los Angeles home, where he became violent and physically attacked Cassie.
Richard remembered Combs furiously ordering his meal, then almost hitting Cassie over the head with a skillet full of eggs, so she fell and rolled into a ball in an effort to protect herself. The beating went on with punches and kicks, and Combs pulled Cassie upstairs amidst shattered glass and screaming. Richard conceded she was too scared to act, fearing she would be attacked back.
The next day, when Richard and his co-worker showed up at the studio, Combs locked all the doors and downplayed the incident as a lovers' spat, threatening that "people go missing" for criticizing him, a veiled threat of possible deadly repercussions. In her words:
"Where he comes from, people go missing if they say things like that. “And then, he gave us flowers.
When asked what she thought Diddy meant by that, she responded with,
"That people could die, death.'"
She further continued,
"I observed Cassie being attacked. She was attacked by Sean Combs. He came down the stairs screaming, belligerent, asking where his food was, and proceeded to hit her over the head and beat her on the ground in front of us."
She continued, saying, regarding the egg incident between Diddy and Cassie, which she witnessed,
"Diddy yelled at Cassie that she always messed things up, saying “where the fuck was his eggs... he tried to hit her in the head with it... She went into the fetal position, and you could see she was … trying to hide her face and her head... I was scared that if I intervened, I might get [it] worse."
Prosecutors are basing their case on Richard's account to corroborate Cassie's allegations and demonstrate how Combs supposedly waged violence and intimidation to dominate his victims. Richard is to resume her testimony on Monday.
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Combs faces new claims in the ongoing civil lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by Richard at present charges Combs with subjecting her to abusive and degrading work conditions, including physical assault and inappropriate touching. The legal complaint also states that Richard saw Combs violently attacking Cassie Ventura on several occasions.
At the trial, before Richard testified, jurors were shown photographs of several items found in the room of Combs at a hotel when he was arrested last September. Among these were baby oil and lubricant bottles, as well as several bags with cocaine and other drugs, some of which were prescribed to people other than Combs. This evidence has formed an integral part of the current legal hearings against Combs.
Cassie Ventura testifies in the Diddy case and denies a money motive
In a New York federal courtroom, Cassie Ventura spent four days testifying against music mogul Sean Diddy Combs, recounting in detail the nature of their decade-long relationship.
Ventura told the jury that she would willingly give up the $20 million settlement she previously reached with Combs if it meant ending her association with what she described as humiliating, drug-fueled s*x parties.
Rejecting the argument of the defense that she acted for financial gain, she spoke of her own hunger for freedom and personal agency. Most central to the trial are her accounts of so-called "freak-off" parties, which she claimed were a regular part of their relationship.
Cassie Ventura's testimony has been the government's turning point in its case against Combs, charging him with racketeering, s*x trafficking, conspiracy, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. Now 55, Combs has entered pleas of not guilty to all the charges.
The case has drawn intense media interest, not just for the violent nature of the allegations but for what it symbolizes, a wider reckoning with unchecked power and exploitation in the entertainment industry.
Cassie Ventura details alleged abuse by Sean 'Diddy' Combs in court testimony
During sworn testimony in court this week, singer Cassie Ventura outlined a string of serious charges against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, with whom she was in a long-term relationship during his heyday in the entertainment industry.
Ventura painted a picture of a years-long pattern of alleged abuse that ranged from physical violence to s*xual coercion and staged encounters with male escorts, encounters she asserts were coerced, not willing, and videotaped by Diddy Combs. She herself indicated a specific instance in 2018, which she described as r*pe, and said happened when she was trying to end the relationship.
The defense wanted to discredit her and exhibited messages in which Cassie Ventura seemed loving towards Combs and was open to Diddy's way of life. Cassie Ventura, in turn, explained that her behavior in public did not reflect the emotional and psychological pain that she was going through.
To support her testimony, ex-Danity Kane member Dawn Richard also testified on the stand about a 2009 incident in which she claimed to have witnessed Combs physically attacking Ventura. Further testimony by other women, who are to testify under pseudonyms, is forthcoming in the next few days.
Ventura also spoke to the $20 million settlement that she received following a lawsuit she filed late in 2023, saying that taking the money was not about the money but about legal action taken so she could start to heal from what she characterized as years of pain and loss of her personal and professional life.
The ongoing trial hearings of Sean "Diddy" Combs persist, with testimony by Cassie Ventura and other potential witnesses informing us on a series of serious allegations. The trial is still ongoing, with both prosecution and defense presenting evidence and questioning credibility. And Richard's statement worked as a bombshell at this point.
With further testimonies to be heard in the coming days, the court will proceed to assess the allegations and counter-allegations as part of the overall inquiry into Combs' alleged conduct.
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