← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Cassie Drops More Bombshells: ‘Hundreds of Freak-Offs,’ Coercion, and Hidden Sex Tapes | Diddy Trial Day 3
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Ashley Banfield
Foreign hey, everybody, I'm Ashley Banfield and this is Drop Dead Serious. Today we are back inside the federal courthouse in Manhattan where Cassie Ventura just gave what may be the most excruciating testimony we've heard yet in the government's sex trafficking case against Sean Diddy Combs. And if you've been following it, yes, it is gross, it is kinky, it's dirty, it's embarrassing, it's shocking, it's stuff I don't think I've ever heard of and I don't think I'm a prude. But the most important thing is not the gross stuff necessarily. And by the way, plenty of that came today, right? Like mouth sores. Cassie saying that she was having so much oral sex, she was developing mouth sores, that she was developing constant UTIs that even antibiotics wouldn't cure. She talked about violence and even an alleged rape, saying that Sean Diddy Combs raped her after they broke up. But in the end, the gross stuff, the shocking stuff, everything you see in the headlines everywhere, that's not necessarily the thing that's going to pack the punch, really. It's sometimes the little details that prosecutors are laying out that will prove what they're trying to prove, which is a RICO case. They're not trying to prove that Sean Diddy Combs was kinky, dirty and nasty. They're trying to prove that he was organized in his racketeering that they allege he was a leader of and little things all the way through. The stories that you're hearing amid all the grossness and the dirtiness and the kink, that's what's really going to end up proving this stuff, right? So throughout this podcast, I'm going to stop down amid a lot of these details and I'm going to tie them back to rico, Racketeer influenced corrupt organization, rico. And whether the jury is going to believe whether these details are proof of RICO or not. In this courtroom, the day rarely starts out with the kind of graphic punch that you've been seeing in the headlines. Like this morning in the courtroom, Diddy was wearing a cream colored sweater layered over a crisp white collared shirt paired with gray slacks. His mother, Janice Combs, was in court. So was his son King, and his stepson, Quincy Brown, who has attended every day of the trial so far. And then around 10am, Cassie resumed her testimony, facing the jury with a flat matter of fact tone. But the content, yeah, the content was anything but flat. Prosecutor Emily Johnson picked up where she left off, guiding jurors into what Cassie described as a decade spent under Diddy's thumb. The morning started with more testimony about that now infamous 2016 InterContinental Hotel beating video. And a new video was shown from a different angle, and it was released to the public, too, in court. Cassie was the one who narrated the footage, and she sort of went frame by frame, and by now, you've probably seen a lot of it. She's seen leaving. She's on the surveillance, leaving the room barefoot, carrying a purse and a bag and a phone. And the prosecutors are probably trying to show here that she's trying to flee. You know, who walks out of a hotel room barefoot to the elevators unless you're in a hurry. Right. Possibly that she was fleeing because she was being coerced, maybe even kidnapped. Cassie testified that the bag that she was carrying and the phone, that they were hers. And that's important because it contradicts what Diddy had claimed at his bail hearing. That those things belonged to him, he said, and that he was simply trying to retrieve his things when he chased after Cassie and beat her up to get his things. You know, Diddy's point was that he wasn't stopping Cassie from escaping anything, that he was just chasing her down to get his things. Well, Cassie testified today they were her things. Purse, bag, phone. And by the way, it's also very different than what Diddy's defense lawyer said in their opening statement, that he was just trying to get his phone. Right. This is going to be hard for his lawyers to sort of get past. Cassie also in court today confirmed that an escort named Jules was inside that hotel room when she fled for the elevator doors. And keep in mind, that is a person. That is someone the prosecution may call to corroborate her story if they ever found the guy named Jules. I don't know. Stay tuned. Cassie told the jurors that she tried to defend herself against Diddy, but that any resistance just made things worse. She testified, quote, it would escalate the fight more and make it worse for myself. It would make him stronger and make him want to push harder. When asked how many times Diddy pulled her to the ground, she answered, too many to count. Look, it may seem a small piece of testimony, but I think it's an interesting piece of testimony because it's possible that the prosecutors want to use that. Too many to count. To show the jury that Diddy's alleged coercion is a pattern. It's not a one off. It's a pattern of behavior. Too many to count. I was beaten up, dragged thrown down as a pattern of behavior. And that is critical also to prove in a RICO case, pattern matters. Right after that attack, Cassie testified that she took a selfie of the injuries to her face in her Uber. She described the selfie to the jury, saying, that's me. Just a selfie of my fat lip wearing sunglasses. The text messages that were shown to the court include Cassie telling Diddy, quote, I have a premiere Monday for the biggest thing I've ever done with a fat lip and a black eye. Sick to think it's okay to do what you've done. Stay away from me. End quote. Powerful, powerful. She is in a text message saying, in real time, I got a fat lip and a black eye from you. This wasn't a battle over a phone. She's saying, right. Wait till he argues. Wait till he cross examines. But it looks like the prosecutors are lining up evidence of a physical assault and psychological manipulation. And then the jury was also shown photos of the hotel hallway aftermath. A shattered vase, soil on the walls, scuff marks throughout the hotel room. Diddy texted her afterwards. One message read, the cops are here. Bakassi said that she didn't believe it. Another message read, you're going to abandon me all alone? I'm getting arrested. Another message from Cassie instructing Diddy put a robe on, saying she was just trying to protect him from the hotel staff. Now, prosecutors could be trying to prove here that Diddy pressured her to fix things, cover things up, obstruct justice. Amid all that chaos, Cassie also testified that Diddy showed up at her apartment later that night, banging and kicking at her door. She said his assistants warned her he was coming. Prosecutors may be trying to show here that this is evidence of intimidation and again, obstruction of justice, witness tampering. But Cassie didn't tell the police who attacked her. She testified, quote, just in that moment, I didn't want to hurt him that way, end quote. Instead, she covered her bruises with makeup and wore sunglasses and showed up to her first big premiere. The jurors were then shown a series of still images pulled directly from what prosecutors described as the free cough videos. It was explicit footage of Cassie and male escorts having wild sex. Images that had been recovered from raids on Diddy's homes and from broken, outdated electronics that Cassie herself turned over. One of the phones had been found hidden inside a Balenciaga boot in a closet at dinner. Diddy's Miami mansion. Prosecutors say the videos and the fact that they were saved and hidden and backed up show premeditation and structure. Structure. This Is important because they could be lining up the argument here that videos were tools of blackmail, coercion and control. Videos of sex, maybe to some evidence of rico, maybe to others. And today on the stand, Cassie claimed that Diddy once played one of those dirty videos on his laptop of her involved in a freak off and that he threatened to release it. The images included Cassie with a man named Dave and another showing oil glistening on her skin. Cassie told the jury, that's me and Dave. When asked what the substance was on her body, she simply answered, oil. Cassie also said she used aliases to book hotel rooms for the freak offs. Names like Veronica Bang and Anita Crawford. She told jurors this is what was expected of her, that it was her job. Again, you might think that's a small detail. I think it's a big detail. Maybe. If prosecutors are trying to prove that these regular free coughs were part of an enterprise with Diddy at the very top, they're building the blocks towards proving their case with these little itty bitty facts. It was my job. What if prosecutors have receipts like booking records tied to those names, those aliases that might corroborate her story? So watch this space. The video and the stills of the free coughs were not shown to the press. They were not shown to the public. They weren't even shown to the gallery in the courtroom. They were only shown to the jury and to the legal teams and to Cassie herself. But the jurors reactions said plenty. One woman visibly pursed her lips. A male juror shook his head. Another sat with his hand pressed to his face in disbelief. Cassie. Meanwhile, she remained still. Her shoulders were squared, her voice was steady, her composure didn't crack, even as jurors were staring at her in the most compromising of photos. Moments that she said she was coerced into, Moments that prosecutors say form the foundation of their case. And don't forget, the reason that the rest of us didn't see those videos is because you could say if she's a sex victim, right, Trafficking victim or a sex assault victim, that's really triggering and it's abusing her all over again. If it's just opened up to the court. She already said how terrified she was if Diddy would have revealed those videos that he threatened to reveal, allegedly. Cassie told the court that those free cuffs took a brutal physical toll on her body. And this is where things get pretty gross. So I'm going to give you a little warning here. It's. It's gross, it's sad. And if you know, if you've been a victim of sexual assault, if you have it in your family, if you know someone, this could be pretty hard to listen to. Cassie said that the regular, rough sex that she was meant to endure in these free coughs left her with near constant urinary tract infections, the kind that made every bathroom trip feel like fire. She also developed painful sores on her tongue, she said, and in her mouth, caused by the repeated friction of what she was forced to do during these sex marathons. She also testified that she frequently experienced burning sensations, bladder pain, and had to manage the infections without fully recovering. In between these free coughs, Gassy said the pain became something that she just learned to live with. And then there were the stomach issues, which she attributed to the drugs Combs continued to supply for her, she said. Gassie testified that she was frequently under the influence of mdma, Ecstasy and ketamine, a combination that wreaked havoc on her digestive system. She described feeling sick and bloated, nauseated for days after each session, her body reacting violently to what it had endured, she claimed. She said the ketamine in particular gave her terrible stomach cramps and acid reflux that made sleep almost impossible. In the aftermath of it all, she said that she and Diddy would recover after free coughs with IV fluids, massages, and meals prepared by a chef. Again, may sound like a small detail to you, it may go unnoticed in the headlines. But back to rico. If prosecutors are trying to prove that Diddy used his enterprise to carry out these free coughs for his own enrichment. Well, using your staff to set up IVs, and using your staff to set up the massages and using your staff to cook for a recovery day, that would be a pretty good strategy on their part. Cassie also told the jury that she turned to opioids not just to come down from the party drugs, but to dull everything. The physical pain, the emotional trauma, and the deep sense of emptiness, she said that followed. She said she began using them more regularly between 2007 and 2008, and that Diddy himself had given them to her during that time. According to Cassie, Diddy and others sourced the drugs through drug dealers. Prosecutors say this supports allegations of drug trafficking within the alleged criminal enterprise. And no, he's not charged with drug trafficking. He's charged with sex trafficking. But for rico, you gotta have predicate acts, and drug trafficking is one of those things that qualifies as a predicate act, and you only gotta prove two of them. But so far in this trial, and we're only, you know, a week in. I have counted over a dozen. Later, Cassie described what should have been a Happy memory. Her 29th birthday. She went to dinner with friends, a dinner that Diddy had apparently arranged. Then they went out for karaoke. But Diddy, she said, kept pulling her away and demanding her attention. She told the jury, quote, I just wanted to celebrate my birthday, but we went and had a freak off instead. Cassie then named the people in Diddy's inner circle who allegedly witnessed all this abuse. His driver, his assistance, his security. Her former manager, James Cruz. She also described the very first time that Diddy allegedly got violent. She said it was 2007 and they were inside a Cadillac Escalade. She said he hit her in the back of the head and knocked her to the floor while his security guard and driver were present. Another time, she said he stomped on her face while she curled up trying to shield herself. And still another time, Cassie described a separate beating where she said, quote, I just remember him putting a wine opener between his fingers and lunging at me, end quote. The abuse didn't stop there, she said. Cassie testified that Diddy kicked her in the back so hard that she fell, leaving her with a large bruise in her back. She also claimed he tore apart her hotel room in a rage. Cassie said, quote, he literally kicked me with the bottom of his foot. When I got back to my hotel room, it was torn up, end quote. Cassie also said her friends once jumped on Diddy's back to stop an attack, which could mean there are potential corroborating witnesses that may testify, but we don't know yet. Cassie testified that Diddy then moved her into the London hotel for a week and told her she couldn't leave, that only her stylist was allowed to visit. She testified about a beating that followed a visit to Prince's house in la. She said Diddy found out that she'd gone to Prince's house, that he tracked her down there, that he dragged her out, and that he beat her. And then came her relationship with Kid Cudi. And with it, another terrifying chapter. Cassie told the jurors that she and Diddy, quote, weren't in the greatest place, quote, when she began dating the rapper, whose real name, by the way, is Scott Muscati. She said she kept the relationship private, but that Diddy found out anyway. During one of the so called freak offs, she testified he went through her phone and discovered emails between her and a member of his staff. And then the threat came, she said. Cassie testified that Diddy told Her kid Cudi's car would be blown up, as in a threat of arson. She said Diddy wanted kid Cudi's friends to watch that happen. And According to Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit against P. Diddy, that is exactly what happened. Kid Cudi's car exploded in his driveway. And kid Cudi later confirmed it to the New York Times. And later on, while on a flight to Connecticut, Cassie said she emailed her mother, using an alias Veronica, warning that Diddy was threatening to leak sex tapes and that she feared for her safety and for kid cuddies. But the most painful part of her testimony came when she described the night she says Diddy raped her in 2018. She said she had dinner with him in Malibu to seek closure. She was already dating a man named Alex Fine, a man who is now her husband, who, yes, has been in courtroom the to support Cassie. But Alex Fine was not allowed to be in the courtroom for this part of her testimony. Cassie said Diddy was nice at dinner, playful, almost romantic. And then he drove her home. She told the jury, quote, I went inside. He came in and raped me on the living room floor. I just remember crying and saying, no, but it was very fast. His eyes were black. He wasn't himself, end quote. Cassie testified that she never saw or heard from Diddy again except for one text in 2019. She said it referenced a, quote, iPad full of skeletons, end quote. Cassie said she took it as a threat, a reminder of the free cough videos and what Diddy could do with them. The prosecutor asked how many of those sessions Cassie endured, and she said, quote, impossible to know, but hundreds. She confirmed none occurred after the breakup. And then came another bombshell, one that hadn't been disclosed publicly until now. Under oath, Cassie revealed that she settled her 2023 civil lawsuit against Diddy for $20 million. She filed that suit on November 16th of 2023, but it was settled within 24 hours. Her allegations in that suit mirrored almost word for word, the testimony that she's been giving in this federal courtroom. And even more importantly, everything in that civil suit formed the basis for the FBI to begin an investigation of Diddy. And don't you know, that is what led us to where we are today in a federal courtroom. Diddy, who does not even have bail, has been locked up since September, charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. Court wrapped up at 4:15 today. The jury was dismissed. But earlier at the lunch break, lawyers for two upcoming witnesses, Mia and another woman, called Jane. They told the judge that their clients Were terrified. Mia's lawyer said, quote, candidly, her nerves are through the roof. She had planned to take this to her grave, end quote. So who knows? Will those two witnesses follow through, come into court, give their testimony under oath again? Watch this space. This was another bad day. You know, not going to lie. It is ugly, and it is memorable, and it makes for headlines and it makes for punchlines, and it will destroy Diddy's life even if he beats the the wrap. But I keep coming back to this, you know, as bad as it gets, as bad as the details are, as kinky as the details are, as dirty, as evil, as nasty, A lot of that stuff isn't important for the color. It's important for the details. Specific details that may actually line it up. Back to Rico. Yeah, Rico's what matters here. And by the way, even if Diddy beats this rap, this is going to forever leave the ugliest stain on his legacy. And I keep thinking back to Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby may be a free man. He may have gotten out of prison on a technicality, but that man is destroyed. I mean, sure, I guess some people will go to his comedy shows, but Bill Cosby is a joke. He's a punchline. Over a hundred women had the same stories, but it takes that many, apparently, to get a guy into court only to let him get out of court again. If Diddy is free, he will never, ever be free from this reputation, from these stories, from these horrors. He will never, ever ascend to where he was before. It would be impossible. It would just be impossible. I mean, the looks on the jurors faces, shaking their heads, putting their hands to their heads, that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Tomorrow, Cassie returns to the stand, But a certain kind of hell awaits her. If she thought the last two days were bad, the next two days will seem like, you know, those last two were a picnic. Diddy's lawyers get their chance now to cross examine Cassie, and you can expect a veritable bloodbath in that courtroom. They have to come out swinging if they want to knock down the two days of blistering damage that Cassie just gave. Two days of detail after detail that just might line up with racketeering. But there is one big problem for Diddy's lawyers. You might say a problem that is nine months big beating up on a very pregnant woman. That is not a good look. So threading that needle of tearing down her testimony without tearing down Cassie, that is going to be a hell of a balancing act. Stay with us though, because tomorrow things should get even more explosive. I'm Ashley Banfield. And remember everyone, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.