Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial live updates: Singer Cassie returns to the witness stand today in a federal trial against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, continuing her testimony about what she describes as a decade of abuse, coercion, and exploitation. Cassie tells the court she endured abuse at the hands of Combs during "freak-offs" - sexual encounters with male escorts, and that the videos were later used as blackmail. Cassie — full name Casandra Ventura — first rose to fame in the mid-2000s with her hit single “Me & U” and later became romantically involved with Combs after signing to his Bad Boy Records label. Prosecutors are expected to finish questioning her by midday, after which Combs’ defence team will begin cross-examination. What is the trial? Federal prosecutors have accused Combs of running what they call a “sex-trafficking empire,” in which he allegedly used his fame and wealth to manipulate and abuse women, including Cassie, over the course of years. During her testimony Tuesday, Cassie said she was pressured into participating in prolonged, drug-fuelled sex acts with paid male sex workers — encounters she called “freak offs” that she said left her physically and emotionally broken. “‘Freak offs’ became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” she told the jury. She also testified that Combs repeatedly beat her and threatened to release intimate videos if she tried to leave. The Leaked Video: Cassie’s 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs — settled within a day — triggered a broader criminal investigation and inspired multiple additional legal claims from other alleged victims. In May, CNN released surveillance footage from 2016 showing Combs attacking Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway, supporting her claims of physical violence. Combs’ lawyers have acknowledged he could be violent but argue all sexual activity was consensual and deny the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
