← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Diddy's Worst Nightmare: "Mia" Unleashes Hell in Court | United States vs. Sean Combs Day 12
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Ashley Banfield
Lowes knows you want the best for dad this Father's Day. Help him take on any project with big deals on DeWalt. Right now, get a free XR8amp hour battery when you buy select DeWalt tools. That's not all. Get up to two free select tools when you buy a select DeWalt 20 volt max battery kit. Maximum initial battery voltage measured without a workload is 20 volts. Nominal voltage is 18. Hi, everyone. I'm Ashley Banfield and this is drop dead Serious. It is day 12 of the federal racketeering trial against Sean Diddy Combs. And what happened inside that courtroom today might be some of the most emotional and the most difficult testimony that we've heard yet. We're talking about a former assistant who worked with Diddy for nearly a decade, who's decided to keep her identity private and is going by a pseudonym, Mia. Her identity has been sealed by the court because prosecutors say that Mia is a sexual assault victim of Sean Combs and not just once. What Mia shared under oath today, it shook the room. And for the first time, the jury didn't just hear about what happened behind the scenes in Sean Combs world, they felt it. We also heard more from Deontay Nash, the celebrity stylist whose candid, unfiltered testimony picked up right where it left off. With some jaw dropping moments and one liners that had even the jury laughing. Diddy walked in wearing all gray, gray sweater, gray pants and a crisp white oxford shirt. Those are the clothes that, that his lawyers provide for him. Because don't forget, every night when court is over, he changes right back into his jail jumpsuit. He eats prison food and he sleeps on a prison mattress, only to wake back up in the morning and get back into that prison jumpsuit and head for court. And that's where he gets to change back into whatever fancy clothes the lawyers bring for him that day to wear in the courtroom. And on this day, he once again gave a thumbs up to the gallery as he entered the courtroom and greeted his attorneys like it was just another day at the office. And in the gallery, familiar faces again took their usual seats. His mother, Janice, his three sons, Quincy, Christian and Justin, his publicist, Holly Baird, and his longtime friend, Charlucci Finney, who once again was wearing his signature free puff sweater and hat. When Janice walked in, Diddy waved and blew her a kiss and then mouthed what looked like hi, mommy. Court opened up today with the defense picking up right where they left off in the cross examination of celebrity stylist Deontay Nash during cross examination. Deontay stayed in his unabashed, candid self the entire time. But Diddy's lawyer, Xavier Donaldson, came in swinging, trying to poke holes in Nash's credibility. But Deontay did not flinch. Donaldson zeroed in on one glaring omission. Deontay had never told the prosecutors about the blood that was coming from Cassie's face during one of those assaults. Not once. And that wasn't the only thing that Deontay said for the first time on the stand yesterday. But Deontay had a good answer for that. He said that he held back from prosecutors, only giving them the bare minimum, admitting that he did not want to be a part of this process. Quote, I didn't trust anybody. I gave the government as little as possible. They didn't ask. That's on them. When Diddy's lawyer brought up Cassie's movie shoot in South Africa, Deontay beat him to it. Quote, Mr. Donaldson, I see what you're getting at. I did hook her up with Michael B. Jordan. He's fine. She fine. Gallery laughed. Jury chuckled. Even Diddy's lawyer, Brian Steele, was seen silently cracking up. And when the conversation turned to Gina, another of Diddy's girlfriends, Deontay shut it down fast. Quote, oh, no, you're not gonna put that one on me. Another wave of laughter swept through the courtroom. And as for Deontay's impression about what Cassie thought about Gina, Deontay made it clear she wasn't that pressed about Gina. When Puff would be with Gina, she'd be like, all right, girl, it's time to go out. In other words, Cassie wasn't sweating it. And then came redirect. Prosecutors brought the jury back to the very first time that Deontay met Diddy, a moment that, in hindsight, set the tone for everything that followed it. It was Cassie's 29th birthday, a night that should have been about cake and candles and a celebration of her. But according to Deontay, Diddy showed up late, made a scene, and then tried to get Cassie to leave her own party. But he said Cassie didn't want to go. Deontay said she wanted to stay there with her friends, but that Diddy had other plans for her. Prosecutors asked if drugs were involved that night, and Deontay said yes. Both Diddy and Cassie were using, but made it clear that Diddy seemed fully aware and totally in control. And then came the line that stopped the courtroom cold. Deontay testified that Diddy looked Cassie dead in the eye. And said, quote, girl, you gonna get some D tonight. End quote. At one point, Nash's own lawyers could be seen nodding or shaking their heads, reacting every time his answers veered off script. Still, it was clear that Deontay had had the room. He had the jury, the gallery. And in a case of full trauma and testimony that can gut you from the inside out, Deontay Nash brought something unexpected. He brought clarity, color, and just a little bit of comic relief. And man, oh, man, was the jury ever going to need it for what came next. Because next up, the government called a witness who walked into court under a pseudonymous Mia, not her real name. And for safety reasons, the court has sealed her identity. No photos, no identifying details, no sketches, even just one woman testifying. About nearly a decade behind the scenes of Diddy's empire, Mia was as quiet as a mouse on the stand, speaking in hushed tones. She could barely look up from her lap, and she cried through much of her testimony. Whether it was shame or fear or the humiliation of it all, she made no eye contact with the jury, nor with the gallery, and certainly not with the defendant, Sean Combs. We do know this. Mia started working for diddy back in 2009, first as a personal assistant, and then, as she put it, she rose through the ranks, eventually becoming director of development at Revolt films. What she shared with the jury wasn't just shocking, it was deeply personal. It was graphic, and it was almost too much to hear, even in a case that's been full of disturbing moments. When prosecutors asked what it was like working for Diddy, Mia didn't sugarcoat it. She called the environment, quote, chaotic, toxic, exciting. She said, quote, the highs were really high, but the lows were really low. And at the center of it all, according to her, it was, quote, puff's mood that dictated everything. Mia told the jury she never set out to work in hip hop or handle logistics for a global celebrity empire. She said she was living in New York City when the opportunity came up. She had just turned 26 and had applied for a job with Diddy's team. After a handful of interviews with company executives, she landed a final meeting with with Diddy himself. That interview, according to Mia, took place inside Diddy's apartment. She told the jury that he opened the door mid phone call, didn't even hang up, Just waved her in like it was any other day. And even though Mia had worked for big names before, this one felt different. She was nervous, she was excited. She told the court this felt like her big break, but it didn't. Take long for that dream to sour. Mia testified that she quickly realized the phrase 247 wasn't just a catchphrase at Combs Enterprises. It was the job description. She said she had worked high pressure roles before, including working for actor Mike Myers. But Even those, quote 247 jobs had a structure. Early calls at 7am Maybe a start, that's 10 goes till 6. But with Diddy, there were no boundaries, she said. None. Mia told the jury she was promised a $55,000 salary, but when the checks started coming in, it was only 50,000 and she was working around the clock. But the hours weren't the only surprise, she said the job wasn't just intense, it was a competition. On her very first day, Mia was told she would not be seeing Diddy for at least two weeks. And why? Because she was told she was on trial, not in a courtroom, in the office. A professional trial, a probationary period where multiple assistants were brought in and pitted against each other. Mia compared it to a show called I Want to Work For Diddy on VH1, a reality show where contestants were pushed to their limits. Only this time, it wasn't TV drama. This was her real life. She told the jury that her longest stretch without sleep lasted five whole days. It ended in Las Vegas during a work trip. She said she'd been taking Adderall XR to stay awake, a prescription that she'd had for adhd. But even that couldn't keep her going. Eventually, she said, her body just started shutting down. She said her hearing became distorted and that she felt like everything around her was underwater. And in that moment, Mia said, she broke down in tears. And only then, she testified, after five days without sleep, after her body started shutting down, did Diddy finally tell her she could rest. To back up her claims, prosecutors introduced a thick binder packed with emails. Years of correspondence between Mia Diddy and members of his inner circle. The contents of that binder were admitted under seal. So I couldn't see them. But the jurors, they got to look. And what they saw, according to prosecutors, pulled back the curtain on what Mia says life was really like behind the scenes. In one of those emails, Mia laid it all out. She claimed that she managed Diddy's entire social media presence, that she served as his liaison with Hollywood, that she kept his calendar for him, that she had to stay within his line of sight at all times. She. She had to anticipate his needs, and above all, she had to protect his privacy at all costs. She wrote that on any Given day, her duties could swing wildly from doing 17,000 things like cracking his knuckles or handling his taxes to doing absolutely nothing at times. But the most important part, Mia said it all came down to one thing. His mood. In that email, she wrote that reading and anticipating Diddy's emotional state was key because his mood dictated everything. The tone, the energy, the structure of the day. And if you got it wrong, she said, there were consequences. Mia told the jury there were no boundaries, not even inside the house. She said she wasn't allowed to leave without permission, but she figured once Diddy went to bed, she was off the clock. And one night at 2am, sometime around 2009 or 2010, she decided to sneak out just for a couple hours to see some friends. According to Mia, that decision did not go over well. She testified that not long after she left, security told her that Diddy sent people out looking for her. Like a manhunt. And privacy, she said there was none. Mia told the jury that she wasn't allowed to lock her own bedroom door. The rule, as she understood it, came straight from Diddy himself. Quote, this is my house, end quote. And in his house, locked doors were not allowed. Weird thing was, it didn't seem to be the case for the men who lived at the house. They did have locks. They had deadbolts. Security guards like Uncle Paulie, Drock and Reuben. Yeah, they had deadbolts. In a moment, you are going to find out why this is such an important detail that Mia told the jury. According to Mia, by the time she joined Diddy's inner circle, the job was already a revolving door. She told the jury that three personal assistants had already already quit and that only one was still standing, a man named Malcolm McCrae. But when Malcolm left, Mia said the entire load landed on her. No backup, no breaks, just her alone. For a full year, Mia said she was Diddy's only personal assistant. She described it as overwhelming, isolating and relentless. She told the jury that she didn't even have time to process how she was feeling, because feeling anything at all was a luxury she simply couldn't afford. At one point, she said Diddy pulled her aside, gave her a pep talk, told her that the chaos was only temporary, that he believed in her. But the grind, it didn't stop, she said. Eventually, new assistants were brought in, but according to Mia, their jobs looked very different than hers. She told the jury that other assistants had frequent time off, that they had breaks and breathing room. Meanwhile, Mia said she felt buried, carrying the full weight of Diddy's world. And when she slipped up, Mia said she paid for it dearly. She testified that Diddy would curse her out, berate her, humiliate her in front of others. She said he told her that she was unintelligent and made her feel worthless. After painting a grim picture of life as Diddy's assistant, prosecutors then asked Mia about her role at Revolt Films. And for a moment, Mia's testimony actually brightened. She described her time as Revolt as, quote, overwhelmingly awesome, end quote. And that finally, it seemed her efforts were starting to pay off. At least it appeared that way on paper. Mia told the jury that her starting salary at revolt was $70,000, eventually bumped to $100,000. And there were supposed to be bonuses, too, one for every project that she brought in. But those bonuses, Mia said, they didn't always come through. Still, her responsibilities were big. She was identifying film and TV projects worth investing in, helping Diddy land executive producer credits, and developing original content. This was the job that she dreamed of, she said, the title and the influence and the creative power she sought. But as Mia's testimony would later make painfully clear, success under Diddy came with a price. By the time Mia was promoted at Revolt, she was still working out of Diddy's house. But that changed finally in late 2015 or early 2016, when she moved into a proper office. And somewhere along the way, she met a girl named Cassie. Like other witnesses, Mia referred to Diddy as Puff. And she said she saw Puff and Cassie together all the time. According to Mia, she grew very close with Cassie. Like, very, very close. She described their bond as being like sisters or best friends. But what she saw behind the scenes was deeply troubling. She said she told the jury that Cassie and Diddy's relationship cycled between extreme highs and devastating lows. She called it, quote, unequal, toxic, and ultimately abusive, end quote. Mia was quick to clarify the abuse. She said it was all one sided, all directed at Cassie, never the other way around. She also testified that Diddy controlled everything about Cassie's professional life. The music releases, the visual content, even studio time. All of it, she said, ran on Diddy's schedule. And then prosecutors introduced another email into evidence, this one dated April 21, 2012, sent about 4am it was from Cassie. She had just backed out of a scheduled performance, citing, quote, overages in costs, end quote. Cassie apologized to the team, including Mia, Diddy and executives at Bad Boy and Interscope, for, quote, the drama I have caused, end quote. Minutes later, Diddy responded. She said his message was riddled with typos and instructed her to make sure the BET executive in charge of the event knew that she was, quote, not ready, end quote, and didn't want to embarrass herself. Cassie wasn't having it. She shot back, saying her readiness wasn't the issue. What she lacked, she wrote, was support from the label. Mia wasn't just working behind the scenes at Revolt. She was also helping Cassie build a career of her own. She testified that she played a major role in helping Cassie, quote, navigate the world of film and television. But even then, she said, Diddy was always there, looming in the background. According to Mia, he was very involved in the final decisions. And when he showed up to Cassie's shoots, the atmosphere changed completely. Mia told the jury that the energy would shift and that things would grind to a halt. She said Diddy even had final say over how Cassie looked. Mia testified that she would regularly send him photos of Cassie's outfits, her hair, her nails. All of this for his approval. And the control did not stop there. Mia said, quote, the office, meaning bad boy or one of Diddy's companies, covered Cassie's credit cards, her homes, her cars. Everything Mia said was under Diddy's corporate name. And when Diddy got upset, Mia told the jury that he would take it all back, quote, all the time, end quote. She said her time with Cassie was always on Diddy's terms. He decided when they could see each other, when they could talk, when she could help. And sometimes, Mia said, her job wasn't just to support Cassie. It was to actually spy on her, to, quote, keep tabs on her, end quote. Mia said that apparently was part of the assignment. Mia told the jury, quote, I had to do everything that he told me to do. We had to be wherever Puff told us we could be, end quote. And if he made a move without his green light, Mia said the consequences were chilling. Quote, something bad, like, very scary could happen. That's how she put it. She called Diddy's punishments, quote, unpredictable, but always, always, she said, quote, terrifying. And according to Mia, when Diddy wanted to reach Cassie, he made sure it happened. She testified that he'd call, text, email, and if Cassie didn't respond, he'd find another way. Sometimes that meant using staff, sometimes security, and sometimes it meant using Mia. He said she was often tasked with relaying his messages, and on more than one occasion, if Cassie didn't respond fast enough, security would physically show up and look for her. And then Mia's testimony turned much darker. The first incident, Mia said she Remembered clearly happened in 2009 or 2010. She described being inside Diddy's home when she heard loud thuds coming from upstairs and then looked up to see suitcases flying over a railing. They came crashing down into the foyer below. And later she found Cassie outside hiding behind a bush. Mia said Cassie was crying and shaking and silently waved her away as if to say, you don't see me. I'm not here. But that would not be the last time that Mia said she saw violence up close. One of the most disturbing incidents mirrored something the jury had just heard from Deontay Nash. The night that Cassie's head was split open, Mia told the jury that Diddy showed up in a rage, screaming, have you been drinking? Not just at Cassie, but also at her and at Deontay, too. Mia described Diddy as, quote, crazy aggressive. She said Diddy threw Cassie to the ground and began beating her. She said both she and Deontay jumped in to try to stop it. At that moment, she said she feared for Cassie's life. She told the jury, quote, I thought he's actually going to kill her. Mia said she watched as Diddy slammed Cassie's head into what she called, quote, the sharpest, strongest corner of the bed. Frame. Frame. And then Cassie's forehead started gushing blood. That is when Mia said everything shifted. She told the jury that Diddy flipped instantly into what she described as, quote, protector mode. She said that Diddy demanded that she call another assistant named Kayla and then instructed her to tell the doctor that Cassie had been drunk and hit her head. Mia said she made the call not because she wanted to lie, but because she said it was the only way to get Cassie help. And she made it clear to the jury those instructions came directly from Diddy. Throughout that night, Mia said he was consumed with rage. She told the jury, quote, his eyes turned black. There was no getting through, end quote. Mia said that she'd seen Diddy high before, but not that night. That night, she told the jury, there was no indication that he was on drugs. To her, it was something even more terrifying. Pure, unfiltered rage. There was one story that Mia told that really stood out. It started as a rare escape, a moment of rebellion, the night that she and Cassie defied Diddy's orders to stay in and not leave the hotel. But they snuck out anyway to go to a party. And not just any party. A party at the house of music legend prince. According to Mia, it happened in 2011 or 2012. Diddy had instructed Mia to stay in the Hotel with Cassie while he spent the night at home with his kids. It seemed simple enough until a friend invited them to Prince's house. And with that kind of invitation, Mia said she and Cassie debated it like little kids. Should they go? Should they stay? Ultimately, they went. And for a little while, she said it was fun. She said they were dancing and laughing. And Mia told the court that it felt like a real break from all the pressure. But suddenly everything changed. She said, when Diddy showed up, she said the moment their eyes met across the room, Mia knew, she said, that she and Cassie bolted, literally ran through Prince's house trying to get away. But according to Mia, Diddy caught up to Cassie. Mia testified that Diddy threw Cassie to the ground and started to attack her right there at the party. She testified that that is the moment Prince's security team stepped in. She said she did not go back to the hotel that night, that instead she hid at a different hotel. But the next day, she told the jury she got a call from someone in HR named Vashta, who told her that Diddy was suspending her. No pay, no real explanation, just one word. Insubordination. Mia testified that HR never mentioned the physical assault that she said she'd just witnessed at the hands of her boss. Not a word about what had happened to Cassie at Prince's house. Just that she, Mia, the assistant, was in big trouble. Of all the stories that Mia shared on the stand today, this one was one of the more vivid and haunting descriptions. Mia told the jury that she traveled with Diddy and Cassie to Turks and caicos twice around 2012. And what happened there, she said, has stayed with her forever. One night, Mia said she was jolted awake by Cassie, who had burst into her room screaming, quote, you gotta help me. He's gonna kill me. Mia wasn't sure if those last two words were hit me or kill me, but either way, she told the jury, the fear in Cassie's voice was unmistakable. Cassie, normally composed, was panicked and terrified. Mia testified that they sprang into action, grabbing heavy wooden furniture, even the bed, anything they could find to barricade the hotel room door. And she said Diddy was on the other side of it, banging and yelling and trying to get in. Eventually, she said, they slipped out the back of the hotel and ran towards the beach. She says she could even remember the mosquitoes that followed them as they were running. The next incident that Mia described was harder to piece together. A blur of panic. She said she couldn't remember the full sequence, but the images, those were seared into her brain. She and Cassie, she said, escaped again, this time by water. Mia described paddling away from shore on flat paddle boards with Diddy screaming from the beach behind them. And in that moment, she said, one question hit her. Was it scarier to face Mother Nature or go back to puff? She remembered the sky turning black and the hotel, whatever safety it might have offered, getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Mia never called the police. She told the jury that Diddy often talked about people trying to blackmail him. And calling the police, she said, would have been seen as exactly that blackmail, Quote, I was taught I was supposed to protect him, end quote. Then prosecutors turned to the topic of Cassie's injuries. Mia testified that she personally saw Cassie with black eyes, bruises, a busted lip, and that terrible gash on her forehead. And then the jury saw the photos to match. One of the photos showed Cassie at the premiere of the movie the Perfect Match, casually eating a hot dog. Mia said that she took that photo herself and that Cassie had bruising on her arms and around one eye that she had tried to conceal with makeup. But it was there, and she saw it. Another photo was shown from the Cannes Film Festival, and in that one, Mia testified that Cassie had a busted lip. And then came the audio. Mia told the jury that she once heard a recording that Cassie had secretly made, audio of a fight between Diddy and Cassie. She said she recognized both voices immediately. Cassie sounded panicked. And puff. According to Mia, he sounded, quote, very, very, very angry. End quote. But it wasn't just shouting. Mia testified that the recording captured something far more disturbing. The sounds of physical assault. A thud, a struggle. The unmistakable sounds, she said, of somebody getting hurt. And according to Mia, caring for Cassie was part of the job. But it wasn't always about glam teams or red carpets. Sometimes it was about damage control and hiding the injuries. Mia testified that she was often tasked with bringing Cassie things like arnica gel, which later, Mia said she learned was used to treat bruising. She said there were stretches when she looked after Cassie in hotel rooms, especially before Cassie had a place of her own. And during those days, she said, there was a strict rule. No one could leave until Cassie's injuries were healed and covered. When the prosecution asked Mia directly whether she was allowed to leave, her answer was simple. Oh, no, we were not allowed, end quote. As for the hotels themselves, Mia said their stays could last anywhere from days to weeks and that she was responsible for everything. Transporting Diddy and his guests to and from the hotel, unpacking their things, setting up the rooms, and then Staying on call around the clock because even behind closed doors, Mia said the job never stopped. She testified about one trip to New York that in her words, felt different. She'd been to Diddy's home in New York many times before, but this time something was off, she said, and not just the usual tension. Quote, the energy felt bad in a different way than normal, she told the jury, quote, Normally I was used to when Puff was upset, this was more like he wasn't mad. He was really upset. End quote. Mia said Diddy told her that Cassie had been talking to someone else. And when pressed, Mia confirmed that someone else was Kid Cudi. When prosecutors asked how this incident compared to others, Mia didn't hesitate. Quote, Normally he was angry and aggressive, she said, but, quote, this time it felt ominous. End quote. And then she added something even more chilling. Quote. All this time before, I never witnessed Cassie do something to cause him to be upset. This was the first time and I was bracing myself for something really bad to happen. End quote. And that dark cloud, Mia said, never lifted. Because in Diddy's world, even silence could be dangerous. And then Mia told the jury about what she called hotel nights and what other witnesses have called freak offs. She said she did see Cassie those nights, though not often. But on one night in particular, something stuck with her. It was at the London hotel in New York. Mia said she was making a delivery for Diddy When Cassie answered the door wearing a bright blue wig. Mia said she only opened the door a crack, just enough for her face to peek through. And Mia said she couldn't tell if Cassie was clothed. She said she asked Cassie if she was okay, but that Cassie looked like she was, quote, struggling. Eventually, Mia said Cassie quickly said yes and shut the door. After those nights, Mia testified that it was often her job to clean the rooms. Sometimes, she said did, he told her to. Other times it was just understood, quote, office procedure, end quote. Mia told the jury that the goal was to make sure that hotel staff didn't stumble onto something that could end up on tmz. But what Mia described was not your average mess. She said the rooms were, quote, a nightmare. Candle wax on the furniture, wet towels everywhere, broken glass, puddles of water on the floor, and sometimes blood. When she asked about it, Mia testified that Diddy told her it was from Cassie's period. Mia told the jury that she was often with Cassie before these so called hotel nights and remembered one in particular. She said they were sitting in Cassie's car when Cassie got a text, looked down at her phone and Groaned, quote, ugh, Puff wants to have a hotel night, end quote. According to Mia, Cassie didn't just seem annoyed. She was upset, nervous, uncomfortable. Mia said that Cassie developed stomach issues and even got sick. And the aftermath of those so called freak offs, Mia said it actually had a name, man down. Because after those nights, Diddy and Cassie would sleep for days, only waking up to eat. And then Mia's testimony took yet another dark turn. She told the jury that before she started working for Diddy, she didn't do drugs at all, but that once she entered his world, that all changed. Mia testified that she used drugs while working for Diddy, sometimes in his presence, other times on her own. And when she was with him, she said he was the one who provided the drugs. The first time, she recalled, was at Diddy's home in Miami during what she believed was either the Winter Music Conference or the Warner Music Conference. She wasn't sure of the year because the event happened annually. That night, Mia said she took mdma, a pill Diddy gave her personally. She said Diddy told her it was, quote, the best pure. And by taking it, she was now part of something he called, quote, the Breakfast Club. Mia said she interpreted that to mean that she was finally in part of the inner circle, the cool kids. She told the jury that she took the drug because in that moment, she felt safe, she felt protected. And more than anything, she said she believed that Diddy would finally see her as more than just an employee. Mia also described a drug experience that she said left her shaken. And it didn't happen at a club or a party. It happened on Diddy's tour bus at Burning man, she said. She testified that the bus had been outfitted for the night. Blackout shades were drawn, disco lights were flashing, and laid out in front of them, three separate plates of powdered drugs. According to Mia, Diddy turned it into a game. Everyone there was expected to take a hit of either cocaine, Molly, or ketamine. And Mia said it was not an option. Mia told the jury that she was nervous, like, really nervous, and that she tried to say no, but that Diddy wouldn't let it go. What started as joking quickly turned serious. She said he got stern. Told her, quote, she was messing up the whole vibe, end quote. Mia admitted that she even tried to fake it, pretended to snort the powder without actually doing it. But she said that Diddy caught on. Mia said he got right up in her face and said that he was upset. And that's when she said Diddy cut a line of drugs just for her. Mia testified that she did snort it, but that the second she got away, she tried to blow it back out. Mia didn't just testify about her own drug use. She said she witnessed Diddy using drugs, too. She told the jury that she saw him take mdma, ketamine, and prescription pills, usually at parties, but sometimes in more unexpected places like the recording studio. There were moments, she said, that made her feel deeply uncomfortable. She remembered thinking, this is an inappropriate time to be doing drugs, like right before a board meeting, she said, or even before appearing on the Chelsea Handler show. But prosecutors asked if Diddy ever used drugs while working. And Mia did not hesitate. Quote to me, she said, Puff was always working. She also testified about where he kept the drugs. A Louis Vuitton bag she referred to as his med bag. It's the same bag other witnesses have already testified to. Mia said she tried not to snoop, but occasionally she'd catch a glimpse. Once, she said she saw pills stamped with a smiley face with X's over the eyes. Whatever was in that bag, she said, it was always close by. When prosecutors asked Mia to sum up what it was like working for Diddy, her answer seemed brutally honest. At the best of times, she said Diddy treated her like a best friend, a creative partner, someone he could count on. He complimented her work, acted like a protector, and he gave her life advice. But at the worst of times, Mia said Diddy treated her like, quote, a worthless piece of crap. End quote. Mia testified that he would humiliate her, scream at her, curse her out, and go on long, demeaning rants about how incompetent or stupid he thought she was. She said her job always felt like it was hanging by a thread. He'd threatened to fire her, he'd throw things at her. But in the same breath, he dangled promises that someday she could have any role she wanted in any of his companies. And for Mia, there was one dream that mattered most. Creating film and television. She told the jury that that's what she really wanted. But even that, she said, came with strings attached. While working on projects for Revolt tv, she said Diddy would threaten to strip her of her credits, using the very thing that she loved most as leverage. It was, in her words, a constant push, pull, validation one minute, verbal destruction the next. And for years, she said, she stayed. And then Mia described a night that has never left her. It happened sometime between 2010 and 2014. Around 3am she said, she was in Diddy's kitchen. He had friends over, and the energy was tense. At one point, she says he told her to go to IHOP and get food. But before heading out, Mia testified that she ran to her room to change her tampon, something she said she hadn't had a free moment to do all day. And that's when, according to Mia, everything exploded. She said Diddy got angry and impatient and looked at her and said, I meant now, end quote. Then Mia said Diddy launched into a rant that was loud and cruel and humiliating. Mia told the jury that there was, quote, literally blood dripping down her leg, end quote. When Diddy then grabbed a bowl of spaghetti and threw it at her aggressively. And then Diddy screamed, quote, get the out. End quote. Mia testified that Diddy chased her outside. The spaghetti missed her by a few feet. But what stuck with her even more was that no one said a word. No one intervened. The next day, she said she got a call from HR and that once again, it was the woman named Vashta. Mia said Vashta let her know that she was being suspended. No pay, no explanation. No mention of the spaghetti being thrown at her by her boss. No mention of what she said happened in the kitchen. Just one sentence, quote, puff is the boss and that's what he wanted, end quote. And once again, Mia said the violence was not addressed. The only consequence was hers. Mia also described a violent outburst on the set of a music video, one that she said could have ended very differently. It happened in Los Angeles, she said, sometime around 2011 or 2012. The Wi Fi had gone down and Diddy was furious. Mia testified that he wanted her to fix it immediately and screamed, quote, I don't care if you have to call Bill Gates, end quote. But then she said he threw a computer right at her, hard. Mia said the laptop flew across the room and, quote, came very close to hitting her in the head. She told the jury this wasn't a one time thing. There were other incidents, she said, other objects, other moments where she felt like a target. And each time, she said, the feeling was the same. She told the jury, quote, I was terrified and so humiliated and so confused. What did I do wrong? End quote. Throughout her testimony, Mia described a pattern, a cycle of emotional control, verbal attacks, and at times, physical violence, and that it was not isolated. Mia told the jury that Diddy injured her on multiple occasions at Cassie's apartment in Turks and Caicos, even inside the offices of Revolt tv. The first incident she already described. The same night that Deontay Nash said he saw Cassie's head split open. Mia said she jumped in to try to stop the assault and ended up physically attacked herself. But in Turks and Caicos, it happened again. She said she was asleep in a hammock when suddenly she woke up drenched and shocked. According to Mia, Diddy had dumped a large metal ice bucket on her. He was screaming and then said he snatched her phone out of her hand. Mia told the jury she jolted up in a panic because in their inner circle, Diddy's moods were a constant topic of text conversation and that his internal teams kept each other updated and not always using the kindest words. She said she didn't want Diddy to see anything that looked like she was, quote, talking shit about him. So she tried to stop Diddy, and she said she even jumped on his back. And in response, she said Diddy threw her in the pool. But the most jarring moment, she said, happened at Revolt. It was one of her first visits to the office. Mia said Diddy asked to use her phone and that she handed it over to him but stayed close by. She said she was worried because her last text was to stylist Derek Roche, saying Diddy was, quote, being a jerk. According to Mia, Diddy saw the message and bolted into the bathroom with her phone. She said she followed him, trying to keep the bathroom door from closing. But she said Diddy slammed the door on her arm repeatedly until she thought her arm had broken. She said her arm was very badly bruised. And later, at the studio, Mia said Diddy made a comment that stuck with her quote, I wouldn't want someone going through my phone if I had what you had, end quote. He told her. Then he claimed he had sent himself, quote, compromising photos from Mia's phone. But Mia said she wasn't worried. She told the jury there were no such photos on her phone. She believed he was bluffing, trying to scare her. And when prosecutors asked her if she'd ever considered using what she knew to hold over him, Mia's answer was firm. Quote, oh, no. Never. End quote. As if Mia's testimony up until this point wasn't disturbing enough, the worst was yet to come. She told the jury that Diddy sexually assaulted her, and not just once, multiple times over the course of her employment. Mia made it unequivocally clear she never wanted to engage in sexual activity with Diddy. These incidents, she said, were never consensual, and they happened sporadically over the span of several years. Mia told the jury that Cassie was never present during these assaults and that she never told Cassie about them. But she said the first assault happened at the Plaza Hotel in. In New York during Diddy's 40th birthday party. @ the time, she'd only been working for him for a few months. She told the jury he gave her two vodka shots and that when she drank them, something felt off almost immediately. She says she remembered thinking, quote, whoa, did I eat today? End quote. Mia said she was in her 20s back then, living in New York, and that two vodka shots should not have hit her that hard, but they did. Mia testified that it wasn't long before she found herself backed up against the kitchen wall. She said Diddy leaned in close, told her not to be nervous, and that he'd noticed the, quote, good job she was doing. That's when, Mia testified he kissed her and slipped his hand up under her dress. She said she felt completely frozen and that the next thing she remembered was waking up at sunrise alone in a chair. She was wearing her clothes, but she said she did not remember how she got there. She told the jury, quote, he was my boss. He was the boss or the king, a very powerful person. End quote. Mia testified that at the time, she told herself it was a one off, that maybe Diddy was drunk, maybe it was a mistake, an accident. But what happened next, she said, shattered that illusion. She told the jury about a second assault, this time at Diddy's house in Los Angeles, where he lived from 2009 to 2010. Mia said she was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom, the one with the bunk beds. She stayed on the bottom bunk, and the door, she said, was unlocked because it had to be. She told the jury that Diddy would not allow her to lock the doors, even though male staffers, they had deadbolts and they used them. Mia testified that she woke up in the middle of the night with Diddy on top of her. She said he told her to be quiet, and then with one hand, he began to remove his pants. And through tears, Mia said he, quote, put himself inside of her, end quote. At that moment, she said, she froze. Mia told the jury she felt, quote, terrified, confused and ashamed, end quote. The prosecutor lowered her voice, gently guiding Mia through this testimony. But even as she struggled to speak, Mia told the jury, quote, it was very quick, but it felt like forever, end quote. Mia said she couldn't remember exactly how it ended, but she said one thing with certainty. Quote, he didn't leave a job unfinished. She said it ended, quote, when he got what he wanted, end quote. Later in her testimony, Mia described yet another assault. This one, she said, happened at another Los Angeles home that Diddy kept At the time, she told the jury that she was helping him get ready for a meeting, something she did often. She described sitting on the floor of his closet and prepping his wardrobe for a trip, handling the last minute details. And then she said, quote, I looked up, and he was standing right in front of my face. He had his penis out, and he grabbed my head, and he put it in there. At that point, Mia was no longer holding it together. She was sobbing on the witness stand. When asked how she felt in that moment, Mia answered, quote, like trash. Scared, defeated, and like an idiot. End quote. As Mia's testimony neared its end, prosecutors asked her a final, devastating question. Were there any other times that Sean Combs sexually assaulted her? Mia paused and then said she couldn't recall every detail. Not clearly, but she remembered the feelings. Quote, horrible, dark things, end quote. She said, tied not to dates or times, but to places, physical spaces that still made her stomach turn. And one of those places, she said, was a private jet. Mia told the jury she woke up mid flight to use the bathroom, and that as she approached the lavatory, she saw Diddy standing in a separate area nearby. According to Mia, he tried to rush her inside, but she said she told him no, no, no, but that it didn't work. And that's where she says her memory goes black. She says she couldn't recall what happened after that, but she remembered how she felt. As prosecutors began to close out their direct examination, they asked Mia a simple but crucial question. Had she ever initiated sexual contact with Sean Combs? And Mia replied, no. She told the jury there was no pattern to these assaults, no warning signs, no consistency. They were sporadic, she said, spaced out just far enough that each time she convinced herself this would be the last. She testified that instead of stopping to process what was happening, she focused on the work. She kept on moving, and she used a phrase that came straight from Diddy himself. Quote, keep it moving, end quote. When asked directly if she ever wanted to engage in any of the sex acts with Diddy, Mia replied, no. And when asked if she ever said the word no out loud, she said, quote, no, other than trying to squiggle out of it, end quote. And then came the question everyone in the courtroom seemed to expect, but still braced for. Why? Why didn't she say no? And Mia told the jury, quote, you could not tell him no. You couldn't say no to making a sandwich. You couldn't say no to anything. End quote. She explained that saying no to Diddy, even in the smallest context, could mean the end of Everything. She feared being fired, labeled a threat, blacklisted from the industry, and worse, she feared physical retaliation. Finally, the prosecutors asked whether Diddy ever acknowledged what she says he did to her. And Mia's answer was chilling. Yes, she said, but not with remorse. According to Mia, Diddy would sometimes threaten her that he would tell the staff, maybe even Cassie, about the assaults. But Mia said he made it sound like she was a willing participant. Mia told the jury she felt trapped, and with tears in her eyes, she said, I didn't tell anyone I was going to die with this thing. No one would ever know. End quote. And as for reporting it, Mia testified that going to HR was never a real option. In her experience, HR didn't show up to protect people. They showed up only when Diddy wanted to punish someone. She believed that speaking up wouldn't lead to justice, it would lead to punishment. And she told the jury she truly thought that no one would even believe her anyway. Then prosecutors asked her directly, had anyone else in Diddy's orbit ever tried to speak up? And Mia said yes. She named somebody, Kayla Faulkner, and testified that Kayla once witnessed a violent incident between Diddy and Cassie, and Kayla reported it. According to Mia, Kayla told the chief of staff that she believed Puff had hit Cassie. And shortly after that call, Kayla was fired, Mia said, but it didn't end there. Mia told the jury that Diddy later pulled her aside with a warning. More accurately, a directive. Mia testified that Diddy told her if Kayla ever filed a lawsuit, Mia would have to testify and lie. Mia explained to the court that Diddy told her what to say and that he wanted her to tell a completely unrelated story about Kayla drinking and not paying a bill and throwing a wallet and punching Mia. All of it designed to discredit Kayla. And Mia said it wasn't the first time she'd been given this directive. She testified that after Capricorn Clark was fired, Diddy did the same thing, pressuring her to defend him, instead telling her exactly what to say and how to say it. And about law enforcement. Mia said she never reported the sexual assaults to police, not because they didn't happen, but because, in her words, quote, it did not feel like an option. And she explained to the jury why she felt that way. Mia described a traffic stop in Los Angeles where she'd been speeding because Diddy was furious if she was late for work. When she told the officers who she worked for, they didn't believe her. So she called Diddy, she said, and the moment the officers heard Diddy's voice, Mia testified, they said, oh, my God, it's Puff Daddy. End quote. Another time, Mia said, she was pulled over again, but this time, Diddy was actually in the car. And the second that officers recognized him, Mia said, they actually apologized. In both cases, Mia said the message was loud and clear. This man had power. This man had influence. This man had protection. And Mia did not. As Mia stepped down from the stand today, she never looked in Diddy's direction. She had just spent several raw and grueling hours recounting what she says happened behind closed doors. She cried almost constantly during her testimony, and she spoke so quietly it was tough to even hear her. Her head down most of the time, dabbing her eyes now and then, never looking up from her hands. Three of her closest friends sat in the front row, and as they listened, they cried, too. Across the courtroom, Diddy sat still, legs crossed, hands in his lap. He shook his head as Mia described the sexual assaults. Later, he picked up a pen, clicked it occasionally, jotted down notes on the sticky pads, and passed them to his lawyers. All while Mia described some of the most horrific moments of her life. She said, as for the jury, some of them took notes, others just watched. They were focused and they were processing every word. And what comes next may be just as explosive. We are still in the prosecution's case in chief. The defense has not even called a single witness yet, and yet this courtroom already feels like it's boiling over. And by the way, full transparency. I, along with many other people, are being sued by Diddy because of our coverage in cases that are yet unresolved. But as we await the next witnesses in day 13, I will be right here every step of the way with a complete daily recap of this case against Diddy. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Ashley Banfield. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.