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We Ran Into Some WEIRD People During Diddy’s Trial… - Rotten Mango | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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We Ran Into Some WEIRD People During Diddy’s Trial…

Rotten Mango

Sun Jun 01 2025

Summary

Rotten Mango Podcast Episode Summary

Title: We Ran Into Some WEIRD People During Diddy’s Trial…
Host: Stephanie Soo
Release Date: June 1, 2025

Introduction

In this gripping episode of Rotten Mango, host Stephanie Soo delves into the eerie and chaotic atmosphere surrounding the high-profile trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Mixing true crime with spooky elements, Stephanie and her co-host Mark navigate through the tumultuous courtroom environment, uncovering unsettling encounters and dissecting intense testimonies that shed light on the darker aspects of Combs' life and career.

Behind the Scenes Chaos

Stephanie begins by painting a vivid picture of the chaos outside the courthouse, describing it as a "literal zoo" (02:30). The duo recounts numerous unsettling incidents, including aggressive individuals brandishing weapons and harassing both the public and press. Notably, a man wielding a two-by-four plank and another threatening to use a pool ball in a sock created an atmosphere of fear and unpredictability.

Notable Quote:
Stephanie Soo: "It just feels horrendous. So we try our best to just remain respectful." (05:15)

The hosts also discuss the influx of supporters for Sean Combs, some of whom engage in confrontational behavior with the press. They highlight the challenges faced by smaller media teams in competing with legacy media, often resorting to hiring line sitters at a significant daily cost to secure their spot in the courtroom.

Unsettling Interactions and Surveillance

A recurring theme in the episode is the strange and invasive questions posed to Stephanie and her team, particularly inquiries about their accommodation details. These relentless questioning attempts to uncover their whereabouts and personal information left the team feeling uneasy and paranoid.

Notable Quote:
Mark: "They even ask like, who's here?" (14:45)
Stephanie Soo: "It's like instant. It's just nonstop questions about which hotel we're staying at." (15:10)

Additionally, Stephanie and Mark observe individuals discreetly recording press members, heightening the sense of being constantly watched and undermining the safety of those involved in the trial.

Sean Combs’ Courtroom Demeanor

Throughout the trial, Sean Combs maintains a stoic and closed-off demeanor. Stephanie meticulously describes his body language, noting his minimal reactions and controlled expressions, which starkly contrast with the emotional testimonies presented in court.

Notable Quote:
Stephanie Soo: "Combs is just staunchly looking ahead with very little movement." (25:07)

This lack of emotional response from Combs adds to the unsettling atmosphere, making jurors and observers question his involvement and possible motives behind the charges against him.

Capricorn Clark’s Testimony

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the testimony of Capricorn Clark, a former personal assistant to Sean Combs. Her emotional and detailed recounting of alleged abuse and intimidation provides a deep dive into the psychological manipulation she endured.

Key Points from Capricorn's Testimony:

Early Employment and Threats: Capricorn describes her initial role and the first instances of intimidation, including threats of violence from Combs if she disrespected him or leaked information to rivals like Suge Knight (35:27).
Lien Detector Tests: She was subjected to multiple lie detector tests under duress, with threats of being thrown into the East River if she failed (48:44).
Kidnap and Violence: Capricorn provides a harrowing account of being kidnapped and forced to participate in violent actions against Kid Cudi, including being pushed and threatened with a gun (85:10–123:05).

Notable Quote:
Capricorn Clark: "I was there to prove my innocence." (34:50)

Her testimony is marked by genuine emotion and vulnerability, making it one of the most impactful and relatable accounts in the trial. Stephanie highlights how Capricorn's unfiltered storytelling resonates deeply with both jurors and listeners.

Notable Quote:
Stephanie Soo: "She just feels like a normal girl that just got thrown up on the witness stand, just way in over her head." (47:36)

Other Witness Testimonies

Beyond Capricorn Clark, other former assistants like David James and George Kaplan provide additional layers to the narrative, each illustrating different facets of Combs' demanding and, according to them, abusive work environment.

David James: Details his exhaustive work hours, the pressure to maintain perfection, and initiatives like secretly taking ecstasy at parties (64:31–75:10).
George Kaplan: Shares experiences of undue stress and micromanagement, emphasizing Combs' relentless pursuit of excellence regardless of personal costs (108:00).

Notable Quote:
David James: "He would have to kill me." (63:00)

These testimonies collectively build a comprehensive picture of the alleged toxic workplace culture fostered by Combs.

Courtroom Dynamics and Juror Reactions

Stephanie observes a noticeable shift in juror engagement during Capricorn Clark's testimony compared to earlier testimonies. While earlier accounts like Cassie Ventura's remained more detached and matter-of-fact, Capricorn's emotional delivery captivated the jurors, eliciting empathy and concern.

Notable Quote:
Stephanie Soo: "It's so hard to not resonate with her emotions." (123:05)

The hosts note that jurors were actively taking notes and displaying engaged body language, suggesting that Capricorn's testimony had a significant impact on the trial's proceedings.

Defense’s Strategy and Challenges

Mark Agnifolo, representing the defense, employs aggressive cross-examination tactics aimed at discrediting witnesses like Capricorn Clark. He attempts to highlight inconsistencies and improbable scenarios to sow doubt about the veracity of their testimonies.

Notable Quote:
Mark Agnifolo: "Weird stuff they have to reveal in this case is blown out of proportion for them." (152:08)

Despite these efforts, the emotional authenticity of the witnesses poses a challenge for the defense, making it difficult to undermine their credibility effectively.

Conclusion

Stephanie Soo wraps up the episode reflecting on the intense and sometimes unsettling experiences surrounding Diddy’s trial. She emphasizes the importance of staying alert and maintaining safety amidst the chaos, while also expressing hope that the team can resume regular episodes soon.

Closing Thought:
Stephanie Soo: "Capricorn's honesty makes it so hard not to resonate with her emotions." (151:28)

This episode of Rotten Mango not only explores the dark underbelly of a celebrity trial but also highlights the psychological toll on those involved, offering listeners a deeply engaging and thought-provoking narrative.

Key Takeaways

The trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs is fraught with chaos both inside and outside the courtroom.
Witness testimonies, especially that of Capricorn Clark, reveal alleged abusive and manipulative behavior by Combs.
The defense faces challenges in discrediting emotionally charged and authentic testimony.
Juror reactions suggest significant impact from the emotional depth of the testimonies.

For more detailed insights and updates on this and other true crime stories, subscribe to Rotten Mango on SiriusXM Podcasts+.

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Transcript

Stephanie (0:00)

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A smooth look or stopping your shirt buttons from pulling with over 60 sizes, including half cups you won't find anywhere else, you'll never be stuck in between two sizes that don't fit stuff. Stop settling for bad bras. Now's the time to treat yourself and get your Problem solved. Save $15 on your first order with code podcast15@thirdlove.com Bada Bing. Bada boo. I know our episodes have been later than we wanted them to be, and there have just been a lot of things that have been happening at the court behind the scenes. The first 20 minutes of this video are going to have no relation to the actual trial and the actual happenings of the trial with all the testimonies of the witnesses. So the first 20 minutes are honestly some behind the scenes information on things that we've been kind of working with. So if that is no interest to you, just skip ahead. I will say, though, it has been a rough few weeks. This is our fourth time moving locations. One of them was completely unrelated to the case and the rest of the times that we've moved to different places to stay, it's just been getting weird and we're taking all the necessary precautions to keep the entire team safe. And I feel like I haven't really spoken about any of the things that have been happening behind the scenes. So. So I just want to fill you guys in. There has been so much happening inside the courthouse or right after the court or the entire team, like right before we go into the courthouse, and it's just things that we can't really put our finger on and it just feels Off. And at the risk of sounding like we're overly paranoid, I'm just going to try and tell you and explain why I think that we've been on edge recently. Before I get into the things that have been happening that are actually a little bit creepy, I'm just going to paint the picture for you. This is not creepy. It's just pure chaos outside the courthouse. It is a literal zoo. Every single day I see tiktoks here and there of people capturing this chaotic tornado that's happening. And it is wild how desensitized everybody is getting to, just how incredibly messy everything is. A few days ago, there was a man who came to the courthouse with this giant two by four plank of wood and he was in a rather menacing way, slamming it against the street poles. He swung it at a reporter. Thankfully she did not get hit, but it was still terrifying nevertheless. And this is actually the second time within the span of like a few business days that the police have been called on this specific person. He has been around the line for a while. He has been consistently standing in the line to get into the courthouse. And then in the morning he tries to sell his spot. I will say that this man is very intense. Our only interactions with him personally is that he is very aggressive and he will aggressively scream nihow at us and expect us to say it back. And so we do because we're terrified. His friend is also very intense. There was one morning where I was going over transcripts before the courthouse opened. So I'm like sitting on the ledge of the sidewalk and I'm going over the transcripts. He's standing towering over me and he's just ask. He's like demanding to know what I thought about Cassie's testimony. I told him I'm busy, I have work to do. I'm like going over the transcripts and he keeps insisting me in a pretty threatening way. He's like towering over me. Why can't I help you? You don't think I can help you? You don't think I'm capable of helping you? I'm telling you I can help you right now. And it just took so long to get him to finally walk away. He was definitely erratic, unpredictable. It felt like he wanted me to answer his persistent questions about what I felt about Cassie's testimony so that he would have a reason to start freaking out. That was a feeling. There was another incident where a man was believed to be holding a pool ball inside of a sock. So he's like threatening to swing it around and hit people with it. We didn't see it. We were warned about it. So we like stayed in the courthouse a longer before exiting that day. And it's the same guy that allegedly, we heard again that he spat at a reporter. He was screaming homophobic slurs at people in the line. And the nypd, they will just take the people harassing the public and the press outside waiting to get into the courthouse, will lead them across the street and then send them off. They literally just cross the street with them. We've seen this happen almost every other day. I mean, I think they can't really do anything unless someone demands to press charges or, I don't know, actually, God forbid, gets injured. So that's great. There is heavy police presence there. The U.S. marshals are out there every single day. But there are just nonstop people, unwarranted, unprompted, just spawning out of thin air, screaming at everybody. I honestly feel like some of these people are coming to the courthouse to get a fight out of their system. That's the feeling. That's the only way I can describe it. People are trying to argue about pretty much everything outside of this courthouse. I am told that this is very New York, which we have spent some time in New York and had a place here for a while. And it feels like every interaction, like every bad interaction I've had in New York, amplify it times 1000 and then add it all up, and then I have to relive that experience every single day. I don't know if it feels New York. It just feels horrendous. So we try our best to just remain respectful. We're trying to keep to ourselves. We're really just trying to mind our own business. But even so, just a few days ago, one of our team members was waiting in the line super early, gets harassed to the point of tears. A passerby is cursing at her, screaming belligerently at her, tries to snatch her phone from her hand. We've been told that she's been starting quite a few fights outside the courthouse. This is completely unprompted. She's screaming racist slurs at our team members face. Nobody cares. Nobody helps. Like, people are just standing around livestreaming it, filming it, watching it. And then afterwards, after the crazy lady leaves, the same people that we're filming, that did nothing to help our team member are now filming her as they comfort her and they're like trying to rub her back and tell her it's okay. It is so dystopian. We were inside the courthouse. So we didn't even know until after the fact. But it's just been kind of stressful for, I think, everybody, not even just the RM team, like, everyone that's in that line. There were briefly a group of protesters wearing free Diddy shirts across the street from the courthouse. They were allegedly getting paid $20 an hour to stand outside and wear free Diddy T shirts to promote the Diddy coin, which we've also received an email about. It's like a crypto coin for Diddy. So there's that. There are people seemingly thirsting after Sean Combs his sons when they arrive and leave for court, with one supporter, supporter of the sun, not Diddy's supporter, kissing Justin Combs on the cheek. Which, speaking of, I will say there has been an uptick of Diddy supporters coming into the courthouse through the public side. One supporter even tries to hand Sean Combs a stack of papers, which Officer Riz promptly put an end to. But there was a futile attempt, though the supporters staying outside the courthouse, they've been slightly confrontational with the press and confrontational with a lot of others that are just livestreaming right outside. So that's just setting the scene of what's been happening outside the courthouse. Also, why is fresh infant Myron in the courtroom? Like he was in the main courtroom for, I think, at least a few days last week? I haven't seen him the past few days, but he could be in the overflow rooms. I did see him outside while he was. When he first started coming around. He's recording outside while a woman is undressing down into her underwear. This is like right outside the federal courthouse. This is how chaotic it's been. Which, if you're not familiar, Myron is the fresh and fit guy. If you're luckily unfamiliar with his podcast, which I don't even think is around anymore, he would have this format where he would bring a bunch of women onto the podcast, many of them being onlyfans models, and he just essentially berates them for being alive. I mean, that's factually incorrect, but emotionally, that's what you're gonna feel from the podcast. There are at least five times I wrote in my notebook, why is Myron here? Like, I don't know why he's here, but what's interesting about him is he's actually quite meek in real life. Not that I think he should carry himself as he does on his podcast in the courthouse, but he's rather like, he has a very soft demeanor, softer than other content Creators that I run into in the elevators, which is not what I expected of him. Like, we were in the elevator with him once, and everybody's shuffling out, and we were waiting for him to leave, and he's just like, oh, yeah, please, go ahead. But, like, very softly nevertheless, that's just like, painting the picture of the chaos. There have been a lot of incidents, though, that have us feeling just weird. I mean, we've been encountering a lot more people in the first few weeks. We're running into a lot of people outside the courthouse, and things are like. They feel a little more normal the first few weeks. But as of recently, there's just been random whispers and speculations amongst the press pews that there might be people recording and listening to the press line. So in order for any of this to make sense, I gotta give you an idea of how things are set up. So right outside the federal courthouse, there is this one gigantic line that is filled with press and public. You got members of the press, you got members of the public all in one singular line. The only way that you can kind of differentiate is, like, maybe they have on their press badge at the time. Now, this line typically starts the day before. The line sometimes starts before we get out of court sometimes. So the line starts while we're inside the courthouse. Clearly, nobody can be at two places at once. So a lot of the press members, they will hire line waiters. And just to give you an idea, a lot of the press pews. Yes, there's a few independent journalists in there. A good number of them are all with legacy media, and legacy media has a lot of money. We're a small team. And just to keep up, we're having to spend about $1,000 a day to have line sitters, Actually more to just make sure we get into that main courtroom to be able to give you all the details that we really want to provide for you guys. So there's this giant line outside press, in public, all in one line. And then right before the security line into the courthouse, the U.S. marshals will come out and divvy up the line. So they'll make a press line, and they'll make a public line. So it's in order. So if you're like the fifth in line, you might be the second member of the press, or you might be the third member of the public, and they'll just kind of sort you one by one, depending on the order. Now, I will say that a good chunk of the public line are content creators. So it's Kind of like a mini press line. Also these days, though, lots of supporters of Sean Combs that are not part of his friends and family that are going in through the public side as well. So right outside the courthouse, giant line, mixture of press and public. And then right before the courthouse opens, the line gets separated by the U.S. marshals. And then once you get inside the courtroom, the press pews are on the right side and the public pews are on the left side. Now, this is just painting the picture, but recently there have been so many whisperings and just confusion because there have been people, different people each time that will lurk around this gigantic main line outside before it's separated. And you'll see that in the beginning, I think the legacy media, they're a lot more intense about getting spots in the main courtroom. So a good chunk of the first half of the gigantic line are pressed. There will be random people that will walk up and down this line, primarily focusing on the press members at the very front. And they'll act like they're just walking up and down for exercise. And they will be secretly recording everyone on their phones. Now, mind you, there are a lot of people live streaming outside. So it's not like they're live streaming. It's like they're trying to be discreet, like they're recording, but they don't want the press members to know that they're recording. So it's becoming incredibly uncomfortable. And all the press members are trying to warn each other once they spend spot someone like this. And it feels like it's every other day that they spot someone secretly recording members of the press. And it's confusing because, you know, a lot of the members of the press, these people are very impressive producers, reporters, journalists that have been in the industry for years. They work with legacy media. They're not the type of people that are just going to say unhinged stuff in broad daylight in a public setting, or air out confidential information on the side of the street. So it's not like you're recording the press members saying anything salacious or juicy or even worth capturing on camera. It feels like they're recording to get a general vibe of the members of the press, because right before we go in, we might have small, small talk about maybe yesterday's testimony or like, what's to be expected when we walk in today, who's testifying today. Like, there's little conversations like that where maybe you could see each members of the press. Maybe you'll see a little bit of their feelings about how it's going. Maybe you'll see like tiny bits of their opinions. Nothing salacious. Maybe it's more like, I almost cried when she was testifying. Like, those are the types of comments you hear. It's really not worth recording. And I say that it's been weird because those same people that are trying to discreetly record, they will often approach members of the press asking questions about how they feel about the case thus far. And they'll try to do it in a very casual manner. But again, we're all warning each other that they're recording us. So it's just been. It's not particularly alarming, it's just weird. It just makes everybody feel very watched. In any event, that has been happening. It's strange, but it's not the creepiest thing. I think this is where it starts getting very uncomfortable. I think it's been pretty easy for my researchers and I to tell if someone that we meet near or outside, or even sometimes inside the courthouse is a genuinely curious person or if they're asking a lot of strange questions. And that's why it's so hard to explain any of this in a way that doesn't make us seem super dramatic, because we'll get similar questions asked by people who we feel are genuinely just supporters of the podcast or just intrigued because maybe they themselves are trying to start social media. So the past two weeks we have had almost, I wanna say it's like more than a handful. I think it's been like eight or nine times in the past, like week. Not people that we see in the courtroom every single day. Completely new faces that will come up to us, tell us that they love our show Rotten Mango. And then they keep asking us where we're staying, which hotel we're staying at, which part of the city we're staying at. And of course, we give them very non committal answers because that's a very invasive question to ask. And I will say, obviously, if it's someone that I've seen in the courtroom every single day and they're like a fellow content creator or not only that.

Stephanie (16:04)

Because now our researchers do this thing where they will try to have conversations about the show. And most of them have no clue what the show is even about, is the feeling. And then this person will just vanish. That'll be like the first conversation we have with them, and then we'll never see them in court again. So it's weird. It's like, what's happening? I mean, this is not a member of the press, it's not a content creator. It's just like a random interrogation that does not feel normal. Nonstop pressing for answers. It's so clear that we do not want to have this conversation. And it's happened so frequently that now that when we catch someone asking these types of questions, we're very alert to it. So one specific time, there was a man, an older guy, who's asking us where we're staying, just pressing. And he's in the main courtroom in the public section. He's asking us all these invasive questions. And then he's waiting for us in the hallway during each break, just casually lingering near us the entire day, and then just rerouting every conversation back to which hotel you're staying at, pressing details. My researcher passes me a note later in the day saying, look at him right now. He doesn't even have a notebook. So usually because you can't bring your phone and you're not just like staring, I Mean, even members of the public, they're all taking notes, even if they're not content creators. Sure enough, I look, no notebook, no notes are being taken, nothing. And then he never shows up to court again. It's just so odd because even if you can't make it into the main courtroom, there's overflow rooms and that giant line, you can still see everyone that's gonna get into the overflow rooms. Another odd instance, this is a completely separate person that's asking nonstop where we're staying. We give a non committal answer to him. He keeps asking, and again, it's not giving that, hey, I'm genuinely curious because I'm also staying at a hotel. It's just so unsettling. We refuse to answer. We keep laughing it off. He keeps pressing. Later, during a break, he approaches my researcher outside while I'm in the bathroom. And then he asks her where I'm staying. And she again, does not respond because he just asked us while we were together. It was just weird. He literally just asked us. We didn't respond. So now why is he just targeting the researcher, my researcher, and asking her while I'm in the restroom? It feels like he thought that she would tell him it was odd. She was very on edge. So these instances have just been very unsettling because, I mean, it's not really something that has ever happened to us before. Usually people only ask these types of questions after some sort of general foundation is established or they know after the first non an or we give them that maybe they should stop asking. But it's been so consistent. This has been happening, like, every other day. There are other odd questions that are asked by people that don't necessarily look like they even care about the show in the slightest. So one person in particular asked a series of questions, trying to gauge how much, quote, power I have over my audience. Like, they kept asking, like, can you make them do anything? And I was like, do you think I, like, run a cult? I think half of them don't even like me that much. Like, what do you mean? What do you mean? I can't make them anything, period. But they kept asking like, well, you don't think if you say something they would listen to you? And I'm like, I don't think so. I think they would do their own research. It just was nonstop and it did not seem like this person cared at all about this show. Now, this could be completely unrelated in addition to everything else that I've just talked about. And everybody's already pretty Intense. There was one instance where we were walking out of the courthouse. We run into someone who's like, hey, I love your show. That's it. And then they, like, come in for a hug. It was kind of abrupt. I was a little bit taken off guard because I love hugging you guys. But it usually is like two sentences, three sentences in. It's like, wait, what's your name? And then we get to know each other. And then it's like, okay, let's take a picture. Let's hug. But it was like, I love your show. Pulling me in for a hug. And my researcher snatches my arm, pulls me back, and is like, we gotta go. Our car is here. And I thought it was kind of strange. So we get into the car, and she's telling me their hand was, like, elbow deep into your tote bag. It's clear that they're looking for something. Now, I will say that my tote bag opening is quite large, but it's right under my armpit. So you would have to attempt to stick your arm in there. It would not be an accident, like, oh, I'm hugging you. And my hand just ended up in this side. It's like, elbow deep. So, I mean, I guess they could have been trying to steal my wallet, but it was weird. There's a lot of other small incidents that have taken place over the past week, week and a half. It feels like the weirdness and the influx of all these odd questions of, where are you staying? How much influence do you have have increased, especially the where are you staying? Ones. I mean, I've never had that many people ask me where I'm staying. But I think that these are the main consistent, weird happenings that have us on edge. And maybe it's coupled with all the chaos outside with the people, like, threatening to hurt people with a pool ball in a sock outside. Maybe it has to do with the intensity of the case itself, and it's just all accumulated into this very stressful situation. But we have been just taking a bit more time to worry about our surroundings. Honestly, nothing really happened. It's just, you know, when you have a gut feeling like something's not right, it's kind of a lot of those that have been creeping us out, and we're just trying to stay on top of it before it escalates to anything. We could definitely just be paranoid, but I wanted to keep you guys updated on everything that's going on behind. But as of right now, nothing has really happened. Don't be worried. Nobody here is terrified. It's just been weird and we're trying to be alert. We've been moving around to different places where we stay a bit more, been more mindful to just not come straight back to where we stay after court. Just taking all these, like, necessary small steps. And it just takes time because it's not just me, it's my researchers, it's my whole team. We're all just trying to make sure everybody feels safe and comfortable, and that's what we've been dealing with more in the past week. But I think that we should be able to get episodes up more quickly. I think we have a really good plan in place for all of us to feel safe, and hopefully it works. So with that being said, let's get into the actual episode. We would like to thank today's sponsors who have made it possible for Rotten Mango to support Achievement Centers for Children. They're a nonprofit organization helping children and adults with disabilities to achieve their greatest potential. This episode's partnerships have also made it possible to support Rotten Mango's growing team and also her constant moving around in the city, bringing the team to the city. And we'd also like to thank you guys for your continued support as we work on our mission to be worthy advocates. As always, full show notes available@ron manglepodcast.com Few disclaimers. There are mentions of physical assault, kidnapping, firearms. Many of the quotes and statements included have been shortened and condensed for brevity. And you guys know the drill. Sean Combs is presumed innocent until proven guilty. That burden of proof is the responsibility of the government. Any descriptions or observations regarding Mr. Combs, his legal team, anybody inside that courtroom are personally noted by myself or my other researchers who are, who are present in the courtroom. They should not be used as, like, a definitive source on how you should feel about anybody. So with that being said, let's get started. In other news, I think Diddy might know us again. Kidding. I don't know if I'm kidding. I don't know. Maybe. So I'm just going to explain the first time it happened, I didn't even say it in an episode because my researcher and I are like, it was weird, but, like, we could be dramatic. The second time it happens, I'm like, wait, maybe I'm not being dramatic. Not that it means anything. Regardless. But here's what happened. And you tell me because what is going on? Usually, Sean Combs will do this thing where he does a sweep of the press pews. When he first walks into the courtroom, he's like hugging his attorneys. He'll look to the public side, which is on his right, and then we're kind of diagonal from him. And he oftentimes, since more of his supporters are coming to the courtroom these days, he'll shoot them little hand hearts. He'll put his hand to his chest, he'll mouth thank you. And then the press pews, we get a simple glance over and sometimes a nod, like a quick head down nod. Now clearly this stands out to both my researcher and I really strongly because on Thursday we even write the time down at 8:50am Jurors are not in the courtroom. Attorneys are doing their thing, they're going through their documents, they're conversing about certain aspects of the day. Sean Combs sits down at his chair and he turns in his chair to the right. This is Rihanna direction. Like we can see him now. He makes eye contact with the press pews. We're at the very first row of the press pews, so there's two rows behind us. Now he glances over the press pews, he starts staring in what felt like in our general direction or perhaps right behind us. And it's a pretty lengthy stare. And then he starts nodding while mouthing the words dramatically. I know you, you don't hear it.

Stephanie (26:31)

Yes. And it was a pretty long time. Like usually when he. You know how in the beginning I'm like, this guy loves to stare. He kind of dropped a lot of the staring, at least towards the press. But when he did stare, it was still a little more brief. It feels like eternity, but it's more brief. This one was quite lengthy. So my researcher and I, we both felt it was weird. We both wrote it down independently in our notes in the courtroom. We talked about it after and we're like, you know what, we can't be sure, we don't want to be dramatic. Then it happens again on Friday, a week later. So not the following Friday, but a week later. And this one felt more like, okay, are we crazy? It feels a little more real. I don't know, I could be wrong still. But. So Friday we're sitting in the same exact seats, first row of the press pews. However, there is a row of counsel in front of us. Now a lot of the witnesses, they'll have their attorneys, family and friends. Like that's why we were sitting behind Cassie's attorney and Cassie's husband. They'll sit right in the pew in front of us. Mia, she was testifying, her friends and family and her attorneys are in the pew right in front of us. And it's packed, it's jam packed. And the whole day on Friday, all the press members are complaining about how they can't see anything. And we're in the first row of the press. And it was difficult for me to see sitting like this. Like I couldn't see the witness and the defendant. Like I could see the witness, I could see Mia, but I can't see the defendant that well. So my entire neck was crooked the entire time. So my researcher is focusing on the witness and her body language. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna focus on the defendant then because I gotta turn my neck. We can't just keep moving our heads cuz we don't wanna bother the press behind us. So my head is poked out like this. I had to put pus on my neck. I'm trying to describe how much my neck was turned. So on Friday, there's this moment where there's a sidebar. Sean Combs attorneys are near the front of the courtroom with the judge. And. And regardless, the jurors are still sitting on the side. Sean Combs turns around, but he turns to his right, so his mom is right behind him. It might have been easier for him to turn left, maybe not, because maybe he's right handed, but he does, like a full turn. So he turns right. He glances over at our side of the courtroom, not like our side, but where we're sitting. And then he talks to his mom. And then he's smiling, nodding at her. He's like, mouthing, I love you. And then my neck is tilted to still because I'm observing him and I'm taking notes about him talking to his mom during this sidebar. And as he's making his turn back to the front, it felt like we make awkward eye contact. And I say awkward to the point where I'm like, you know when it's so awkward, you almost like instinctively smile or look down because you're like, oh, I just got caught staring at someone. That was the feeling. It was like, oh, I literally just got caught staring him down. And he started starts rubbing his chin with his left hand and mouths what appears to seem like, I know you. I know you. And this time it seemed more pronounced because as he's rubbing his chin with his left hand, he does like, a slight index point. It's not like a point. He's not pointing his finger, but it's kind of like a hand gesture. Like, I know you, like, kind of like you. You like, almost pointing at you, whoever you is. Then he turns to the front, and it was just so odd because I'm like, okay. And then it was different people behind us in the press pews. And again, it could have been directed at someone behind us, but it was just a very intense stare. And regardless, to us, not to us, it was intense. It was odd. Maybe he's talking about the whole press as a whole. I don't know. Weird.

Stephanie (30:54)

Yeah, I think if they don't know every single person in the press Pew, the attorneys are not doing their jobs. Right. Especially if he's paying that much money. I think that they should probably know every single person in that courtroom. Maybe not the public, but everybody else. Yeah. I mean, you're having a lot of the same familiar faces over and over again. And these are the people that are going outside and telling the world what is happening. That's maybe not on the transcript. And so it makes sense that he would know every single member of the press. Right. But it was just like. I think the intensity of the stare was a lot. It just is an intense moment. And I think the first time it happened, my researcher was a bit more firm in the sense of, like, no, he was saying, I know you, because I thought, well, maybe he was saying, how are you? To somebody who knows. Right. But then the second time, he does, like, the finger point. So it was just weird. And again, he knows us. He doesn't know us. Does it really matter? I don't think so, but I did almost pee myself. Like, that's all I'm trying to say. Just very intense. So things have just gotten everybody on edge, I think, recently. Now, with that being said, Sean Combs walks into the courtroom. Black sweater. This is a different day. And the attorneys. It's so interesting. I feel like as the trial progresses, he can't even hide it. His real mannerisms are starting to show because every single thing just reminds me of a commanding businessman. And I'm just gonna give you, like, a scale of his businessman poses. Anytime he sits and he listens to a witness testimony, he will have a default businessman pose that he sits in. And sometimes it's a lot more pronounced than others. But right when he walks into the courtroom, he looks like the president of the board meeting. All the attorneys are standing, waiting to hug him, waiting to greet him. Meanwhile, the prosecution, they look like they're not here to play games. Combs sits down on his chair on either side. He's got Nicole Westmoreland standing behind him on his right side, on his left side, he's got Brian Steele. And they're both standing behind him with one hand on the back of Diddy's chair. And they're crouched over and talking to him. They're both whispering spring to both sides of his face. And it's like two consultants going over a business deal with the CEO. And Sean Combs is just staring straight ahead. Meanwhile, Tenny Garagos and Mark Agnifolo walk in. Combs stands up. He pulls out Tenney's chair for her, even helps her scoot in, which apparently she's four months pregnant with her second child. Mark Agniflo, also very busy. He is the type of student that I feel even before a test, everybody else in the classroom is like, you know what? If I fail, I fail. He's the one that still knows in his textbook until the very last moment. He's not talking to anybody. He's just studying his notes. And to give you an idea, Judge Arun. The judge, very firm, but he's also kind of sick of everyone right now. For example, in a sidebar, both sides are only allowed to have two lawyers from each side at the sidebar. But the defense team, because they have practically a whole football team of lawyers, they always consistently have more than two lawyers that go to the sidebar. And maybe Mark Agnifolo can see that the judge is getting annoyed because he mentions to him, I know you have a two lawyer rule at the sidebar, and I know we've been breaking it, so I'm guilty. And the judge just says, well, it's like who Wants to be a Millionaire? You get a few lifelines, but you're running out. So everybody is getting sick of everybody's shit. And it's gonna be a very intense day. The next witness on the stand is Capricorn Clark. Everybody has been anticipating her testimony, considering she's the one that has claimed she was kidnapped by Sean Cohen. I mean, that's a lot to unpack. Capricorn Clark, she walks in looking so casual like a lot of the other witnesses. They've come in very well dressed, very well refreshed. They don't look happy, but they look like they're ready for a fight. They look like they're ready for battle. They look like they're ready for testimony. They look like they're prepared. Capricorn Clark walks in and she looks like this doesn't even look like Monday at her work. This feels like a Wednesday after a crazy taco Tuesday. Like, that's the vibe. Her hair is Tied back. She has on these giant eyeglasses that cover half of her face. She doesn't look like she has much makeup on. She's wearing a white shirt, super thin, and a pinstripe skirt. What's interesting is if you actually look at photos of her leaving the courthouse, she's not wearing that same outfit. She's actually wearing a pinstripe vest and nothing underneath. So it's like a tank vest. And you can see her belly button. It's cropped. You can see the tattoos on her arm, and it's a perfect match with her skirt. I don't think the prosecutors liked that. So someone gave her a long sleeve white T shirt. Oh, yeah. I don't know.

Stephanie (35:41)

Because you could see tattoos. You could see a lot of shoulder, which, I mean, it's court, right? I guess no shoulders. And you could see her belly button. So I don't know whose shirt it is. She walks in, and you can just. I think the minute she walks in, you can kind of tell that she's already gonna have a very interesting testimony because she just looks like she is not very prepared for the testimony. And it seems like everybody else is very prepared for the testimony. They've talked it over with counsel. Like, this is something that they knew and they were anticipating was going to happen. Capricorn Clark looks like she's already crying on the way to the witness stand. Like, she looks very relatable in the sense of like. Because same. I would also be a wreck. That's what it feels like. Now Combs is doing the same thing where everyone, everyone in the pews, they're turning with Capricorn Clark as she's walking like she's a bride down the aisle. We're all, like, watching and turning, our bodies facing the front with her. Sean Combs does not look back until she's in his view. And then he'll just watch her go to the window stand. And with that, she takes the stand. Now, we did a quick sweep of some old gossip blogs just to get an idea of how this was going to go. Capricorn Clark, if you knew about the music industry, well, if you knew some of, like, the more figures in the music industry. So not just, oh, this celebrity, this artist, this musician, but Their managers, their assistants, their staff, their personnel. You would probably know Capricorn Clark. She was Combs assistant and manager of his clothing brand. But she's also friends with celebrities like Rihanna and ASAP Rocky. She seems a bit like a socialite in her own right. That's how people talk about her in these gossip blogs. But out of nowhere, someone that has always been with Sean Combs, she suddenly gets fired. And so all these gossip blogs, like 10 years ago, they start speculating, why did she get fired? Why did she get fired? There's rumors that she was fired for stealing from Diddy. He shut those rumors down. There were rumors that she was having intimate relations with Diddy, and then Cassie found out. Those are later shot down. It's just so much is happening with one post from 2014 on a gossip website reading Old Tea. But I heard Diddy brought Cassie into the bedroom with Capricorn. One gossip blog Enthusiast writes, in 2015, she and Cassie developed a very close bond, like sisters. And Capricorn started noticing that Diddy was rejecting Cassie's music to keep her under his thumb. This is in 2015. So Cap would tell Cassie that she could do better, and Diddy didn't like that. So he would start telling Cass that Cap was the one leaking bad stories about her and that whenever Cas wasn't around, CAP would belittle her. And eventually Capricorn quit. So that's what they're hypothesizing is why Capricorn is no longer in Diddy's circle. But now Capricorn's Instagram is private. Her bio just reads, nothing to see here. Everything not saved will be lost. Tell the truth, shame the devil. With a lot of people thinking that Sean Combs is the devil. Because even around the time of Cassie's lawsuit, there was a tweet that has since been removed and her ex has gone in private. But Capricorn Clark allegedly tweeted, don't take the path of the wicked. Don't follow those who do evil. Stay away from that path. Don't even go near it. Turn around and go the other way. Another one. She adds, doors be unlocked. You gotta be willing to walk away from the money. Full stop. 2011 was hell. Tragic kingdom. She also does another one that's more clearly aligned with Sean Combs. Black women end up being the sacrifice. For the last 11 years of my life, I had to deal with everyone's nonsensical allegiance to the devil. They will skin you and wear you, baby girl. And then pretend that they never wanted your skin. Kim was the only person who didn't switch up. The only one. Dark times. I'm personally very triggered. I pray it's over. I never deserved this. Stop. Hashtag Protect Black WomanIRL hashtag RIP Kim and it's a picture of her and Kim Porter.

Stephanie (41:40)

So clearly she has very strong feelings and she starts off the direct by giving Some background. She says that she's always been in the music industry. She interned at Def Jam Records, which is a massive music label. Then she was with Death Row Records with Suge Knight, which is Bad Boy Records. Constant nemesis. This is the origins of the Tupac and Biggie rivalry. She also mentions that quote, my mother died, and then shortly thereafter, my father died. And this is like, two seconds of her taking the stand. She's already about to cry, and she sounds like she's crying already. And some of the defense attorneys look at each other like, what the fuck? I guess that they don't like the instant. Going into sympathetic territory. I will say that Capricorn Clark is probably the most. Okay, well, second top three most captivating witnesses. I mean, she just talks in a way where I feel like you just know everything she's saying. She's probably oversharing. That's the feeling. You feel like she's gonna get very messy on the stand. But maybe it's good because it makes her feel very transparent. Even when she's asked to identify Combs, she closes her eyes dramatically. And she's like, blue sweater. It was like a nearly black, very dark, navy blue sweater. So everyone did kind of look at each other like, wait, are we sure? But yes. Now, she's very intriguing. She sounds like a smoker, has a very raspy voice, and she sounds like she is two seconds away from sobbing with every question. It's not like she's two seconds away from being emotional, so she's getting choked up. It sounds more like, you know, when people sob and it's more of, like, audible. Like, it sounds like she's two seconds away from that. She mentions that she works with Death Row. Then her very next job is Bad Boy Entertainment with Sean Combs in 2004 as his personal assistant. And it's a bit of a switch, considering she didn't just work for Sean Combs, nemesis and competitor Suge Knight. They're actually very close in some respects. Capricorn's best friend has children with Suge Knight. So it's very complicated. And right off the bat, Prosecutor Steiner is coming in, asking all the questions. And Ms. Clark, I want to direct your attention to December of 2011. Were you working for Mr. Combs at that time? Yes. So I'm trying to. And again, like, because you only get the transcript, and I feel like it's very hard to understand why the jurors might have different receptions to different testimonies. And a lot of it is so much in the delivery and the voice and the tone. And because I think a lot of the times it conveys whether or not you believe this person. So if I'm just like, reading the transcript, it's like she says, yes, right? But in reality, it's more like yes. Like, it's very, like, raw. What occurred at that time. I was kidnapped. So the jurors, they immediately start taking notes, which, if it were me, I would also be taking notes. Okay. They look back up and Combs is very still, statuesque, generally. What were your duties as a personal assistant? To shadow him from before he wakes up until he releases me at night. Which even just the way she words things is very interesting. Like, what do you mean he releases you at night? She explains that after working as his personal assistant, she quits and then comes back a little while later to work as the director of marketing for Sean John Women's and then the global of Shan John Women's. And then later she comes back as Cassie's manager or like the creative director for Cassie. And so when she's asked about Sean John, she says, it's a new tentacle from the master brand of Sean John's that I was in charge of. And again, everyone's just taking notes. And meanwhile, Combs is still just staring right ahead. His mom walks in late during the direct testimony. He doesn't even notice. Everybody is so absorbed in Capricorn Clark's testimony. Capricorn is shown pictures of a few of the security guards for Combs. And it's interesting because even when she's looking at the pictures on the evidence screen, she looks like these security guards are about to jump up and attack her out of the screen. Like, she looks scared to look at the screen. She's like, wincing and kind of glancing at the screen. And she is very descriptive. She likes to give her, like, put her arms out to describe people's statures. She says Drock is a bit more. He's about 6, 3, 6, 4, more slender, very solid, I would say quarterback, running back type of body. And Paul Offert that everybody calls Uncle Paulie. He's the head of security. First, Sean Combs. Can you please describe his general appearance? Quiet, stoic, a bit menacing. Physically, he looks like a linebacker. There's a picture admitted into evidence. And is this picture how Mr. Offert typically looked? No. What's different? He doesn't have his glasses on, his blacked out sunglasses that he wears 100% of the time. So Capricorn Clark testifies that on the very first day of the Job working as Combs personal assistant. At like 9pm it's dark outside in New York City. Sean Combs and Uncle Paulie take her to Central Park. Capricorn says, Sean Combs tells her, I had no clue that you had anything to do with Suge Knight when I hired you. This is her first day on the job. And he basically says to her, according to her, if anything happens, if you do anything to, I guess, mess Sean Combs up or give information or intel to Suge Knight, quote, he would have to kill me. Mark Agniflo, during this entire direct testimony is a whack, a mole. He's constantly standing up. Objection, Judge. Sustained. Ms. Clark, what was Mr. Combs demeanor when he threatened that if anything happened he would have to kill you? Calm. How did you perceive his threats? Very serious. Why is that? I felt like there was some gravitas to the fact that he might have had issues with Shug. How did you react when Mr. Combs threatened you? And she starts sobbing and her voice gets very high pitched. She's like, I said, we'll just have to see. That's the tone. And it seems very emotional.

Stephanie (51:58)

Yeah, but it does not get better from here. Capricorn Clark says within a few months of working for Combs, she gets accused of theft. She's had the job for a few months and she gets accused of stealing very expensive high end jewelry that was on loan from Jacob the Jeweler. So this isn't even Sean Combs jewelry. A lot of celebrities will get loaned big pieces for events. She says it was a diamond necklace with a cross diamond bracelet and a diamond watch. Ms. Clark, had you stolen the jewelry? I did not. But it was in her possession at one point. Combs gave it to her for safekeeping because she's the assistant. They're traveling to Miami. She's to keep it safe. And on this travel like before they even get on the plane to go to Miami, she realizes the jewelry is missing. What did you do when you realized that the jewelry was missing? I told the driver to stop the car and I called security and I told them to lock everybody in and search them. She tells Combs that the jewelry is missing and he's telling her, okay, well, I'm gonna head to Miami for the event. You go back home to your place with Uncle Paulie, the head of security with the blackout sunglasses. She goes back to her house in Queens where Uncle Paulie Starts questioning her about the events leading up to the jewelry being missing. And then he starts searching through her entire house. She says, quote, he went through my belongings, he went through my common areas. I had a roommate. And he just searched. He didn't find anything. But he tells her he's going to be back tomorrow. Like, we need to figure this out. The next day, Capricorn says, Uncle Paulie comes to pick her up and he takes her to 1710 Broadway, which at this time was being converted into the new Bad Boy Entertainment headquarters. But she did not know that at this point. She just knew that when she walks in there, the whole place looks like it's under construction and abandoned. They walk in through the glass doors, her and Uncle Paulie. She says that someone she doesn't know comes and locks the front door behind them from outside the building. Like you would lock your house from the outside.

Stephanie (53:46)

They walk in, she says the building is just, quote, dilapidated. She says, post move out. Post pre move in. The floors weren't even really done on the levels we were on. The floor wasn't done. There was like old pieces of, like, you know, permanent fixtures around that were sort of taken out. Just pretty much a gutted building. They go up to the sixth floor and it looks similar. Dilapidated floor isn't done. Nothing built yet. Some old built ins. And quote, there was a six foot folding table with some chairs in the middle of the room. And there's another person there. So now it's Uncle Paulie, Capricorn Clark and this gentleman who's sitting there waiting for them, which Capricorn describes as heavyset gentleman who was chain smoking cigarettes. And she'll like do hand motions and drinking black coffee. Can you describe the individual's appearance? Very wide, very heavy. Looked like the size of two linebackers. He wasn't tall. He didn't stand very much either. So Uncle Paulie is a linebacker. This man has two linebackers. When you say size and width, he was very large. Yes. Can you describe this man's size relative to your own? Capricorn looks at the prosecutor, then she turns to the jury and it looks like she's trying to think in her mind, like, how do I describe someone's size to a whole group of people? And she just goes for it. Five of me across. I mean, he was very wide. Some of the jurors, they're doing like full teeth, smiles and giggles because the way she's delivering the information is so again, she's like looking at the jurors and she's like, five of me. Like, very wide. Like, very descriptive. It's a pretty goofy moment in light of how serious everything's been and depressing in this courtroom. I mean, just the way that she, like, stands with her arms out. It's a lot. We're not used to that. The only person not amused, naturally, is Sean Combs, who just cocks his head to the right. Nevertheless, capricorn Clark and Mr. Two linebackers are left alone. Uncle Paulie leaves, and Mr. Two linebackers, whom she states. She never learns his name. He tells her that she has been brought to this building so that she could take a lie detector test to find out what happened to the jewelry. What, if anything, did he say would happen if you did not pass the test? He said, if you fail these tests, they're gonna throw you in the East River. And she starts sobbing the minute those words come out of Capricorn Clark's mouth. The jurors are jotting down notes. Combs looks around like. He's looking at, like, hello. Why is someone not saying anything? Hello. What's happening? And then finally, Agniphilo stands up. Your Honor, I'm gonna object. Move to strike the last dancer. Can we approach for a second? During the sidebar, Combs is leaning his elbows on his armrest, using his right hand to touch his chin. He seems very pensive just sitting there. Meanwhile, Capricorn is up there. She's kind of reminiscent of, like, a loud, mousy cartoon character. And I'm trying to paint the picture. That's the best way we could come up with how to describe her. And I don't mean that in a way to diminish the severity of what's happening, but because cameras aren't allowed, I'm trying to find the right words to convey the exact vibe, because, of course, I can just use vague words of, like, she seems anxious and exhausted and unfiltered. But, like, what does that even mean, Right? So during the sidebar, she's like. She's got these giant aviator eyeglasses, and she'll, like, lift them up and wipe her tears and then. And push them back down, and she's, like, fidgeting with them. And then she'll do this very animated sigh where her shoulders go all the way up, and then she slumps it down, and then she uses the tissue to wipe her nose. I feel like if anybody else had done that, it would come off performative and fake. But I don't know why. When Capricorn Clark does it, you're just like, I don't even know her. But it feels genuine. Like, that's the message and image that I think the jurors are getting. And you feel for her like I think everyone did. Everyone in the press pews was like, she might be one of the more gripping testimonies because of how you can relate to her. She just feels like a normal girl that just got thrown up on the witness stand, just way in over her head, and she's kind of a wreck. Meanwhile, at the sidebar, Mr. Agnipolo is very stressed. There's no indication that any of this is coming from the defendant. We don't even know who this man is. Which, even if it is to be believed, I'm not here to quarrel with that. At this point, there's Nothing saying that Mr. Combs wanted any of this to happen. So it's unduly prejudicial. So I think for that reason, we object to it and we move to strike it. She's with this unknown man who is giving her a lie detector test. And that connection between that man and Mr. Combs is just non existent at this point. The judge does not agree. He rules. I don't think that's a fair characterization of the testimony, but I understand your argument. Objection is overruled. After the objection, Prosecutor Steiner goes back to asking Capricorn about what it was like to take this lie detector test in this dilapidated building after being told that she's been thrown in the East River. If the results are bad, Capricorn says, they strapped her up to some, quote, stuff to your chest and then strapped some stuff to your arms. And then they ask you a series of questions over and over and over again. What types of questions were you asked? Did I steal the jewelry? Did I come up with an idea to steal the jewelry? Did I plan with somebody to steal the jewelry? Had I ever stolen from him? Just a lot of stealing centric questions from him. Was that Mr. Combs? Yes. Did this man tell you the results of the test? They said that they were inconclusive. What, if anything, did the man tell you about the results being inconclusive? It's like, I'm not getting a good reading. You need to calm down. You're gonna be in the east river if I can't get a good reading on this. And she kind of sounds again, like the drunk panicked voice. And again, I'm not insinuating that she's drunk. She's, like, completely sober. And I think the reason that her testimony resonated a Lot with the jurors, at least from the perception that I saw. And, like, even the people in the pews is that, like, the words she's saying are sad. And you can, like, resonate with the sadness of, like, yes, if I were in that situation, I, too, would be panicked. Right? You can resonate on that level. But on a secondary level, she's incredibly likable in a sense of, like, it's not just overwhelming sadness. It's like you almost, like, want to give her a hug because it's like, oh, my gosh, what is happening right now? Like, it just feels very relatable. I don't know how to put it in a way that doesn't sound like I'm minimizing her testimony, because I'm not at all. It's just in the sense of, like, you feel like she's your friend. The way that she communicates feels like she's a friend. And now your friend is telling you some of the worst stuff that's ever happened to her. So you almost resonate on a deeper level. She feels like she's just telling you, like, exactly what's happened and how it made her feel. There's no intentional, like, let me tell you in a sophisticated manner. Let me tell you in a way where I think you'll understand. She's just, like, saying as she's feeling, it is what it's perceived as. When he told you to calm down, how had you been reacting in that moment? I couldn't calm down. I wasn't doing a good job at calming down. So she's very passionate. She has a way of sounding incredibly honest, and she sounds just honestly relatable. I hate that word, but I don't know how else to describe it. The whole time she's sniffling, wiping her tears, mind you, she keeps pushing those giant glasses up. She's lifting them to wipe her tears. Meanwhile, Combs is just stoically looking ahead with very little movement. The jurors are rapidly taking notes. And here's the interesting thing to note. All the jurors notes are naturally kept in the courthouse. They're collected every single day and given back at the start of each court day. But at the very end, after the verdict, notes are permanently destroyed. So they're writing in their notes. Capricorn is telling them as they're taking their notes that she was there for a full workday that Monday, there intermittently all day, taking the lie detector test, taking it. We weren't allowed to leave. The door was locked from the Outside. She did not attempt to leave the building because she says, I was there to prove my innocence. At the end of the day, Uncle Paulie takes her home and he tells her that they're gonna do this all over again the next morning. And they do. For the next five days, she said she's doing a nine to five. Getting a lie detector test all week long. Why did you continue to go with Mr. Offered Uncle Paulie to the building? I wanted to prove my innocence. I didn't like the threats. I felt like it was the only way to prove that I had nothing to do with it. I was in a different headspace. I was just trying to survive it. She says that she never tried to reach out to law enforcement for her five day lie detector marathon because she worked under an NDA. She didn't even think about calling the cops. And after those five days, Uncle Paulie just tells her, yeah, you're gonna go home next Monday. She just goes back to work. Sean Combs acts like nothing ever happened. Nobody ever did find the jewelry. It didn't make sense for Capricorn to quit because she's saying, I mean, I felt like if I had left, it would have been written off as I had stolen it anyway. And then likely she would never be able to work in the industry now. Side note, during the entirety of the lie detector testimony, one of Combs closest friends, who's known him for decades, he's been inside the courtroom every single day, sitting in the friends and family pew, and he's falling asleep. And I really try to focus mainly on jotting down notes on everyone's reactions to things rather than getting absorbed in my own personal reaction. But that was kind of interesting to me because, sir, is that like a normal Tuesday? Like, have we just all gone through lie detector test, like the way that he was? Because I'm thinking, if I'm sitting there and there's a woman on the stand spewing lies about my childhood best friend, would I not be like, awaken? This is crazy. But he was falling asleep. He was like fully in rem. Now, Capricorn has asked generally what hours were you required to work as Mr. Combs personal assistant? Probably start the day at his townhouse at 74th and park at 9 o' clock in the morning and finish at Daddy's house or wherever we were sometime around 4am Daddy's house is the studio. Not like Daddy's house. She says that she would get no breaks throughout the day for basic needs, like eating on a good night, getting four Hours of sleep on a bad night. Two hours of sleep. And this is probably putting it very lightly. Two of Sean Combs, other former assistants testified. And this is how David James, he was another former assistant, he describes it. And side note, there is a really weird skit of David James and Diddy that I'm gonna put in the video because maybe it gives you an idea of, like his tone of voice and stuff, but it's about Diddy being allergic to bitch ass disease. These, which don't be a bitch ass is, I guess, the end statement of the video. David James walks into the courtroom.

Stephanie (64:33)

Yeah. Days before Capricorn. He seems less prepared in the sense of like, not the answering of the questions, but he walks in and it's like a restaurant. He's kind of waiting for the hostess to guide him to the witness seat. Is like, what it feels like. He's just awkwardly staring and it's just uncomfortable. And in court, he's asked, generally speaking, Mr. James, what were your responsibilities as a personal assistant for Mr. Combs? How long do we have? He just starts listing everything he needed to do. Make every environment for him comfortable so he could perform his duties. There was a lot of organization of his personal items. Traveling around the world with him. Basically be at his right hand side, wherever he was. So what you want to do is you have to arrive at his house before he waits, wakes up in the morning. It's important that you set the environment up as soon as he wakes up so he's able to have a successful day. So that would be to compile different documents. One of those documents, we have a folder on the table that would be everything that he needs to approve from a business perspective. If there is a certain artwork for an album he's doing, certain advertisements he has to approve. There would be a file of business documents, and next to that would be his business schedule for the day that he would have laid out. We'd also have a folder for all the press clippings for any News mentions of Mr. Combs in the last 24 hours. So, like, this man knows everyone in the press pews. Like, you can't tell me he doesn't know everyone in the press pews. He just seems like he's intrigued by the press on him. Okay. Which I'm just saying. But more on that later. Continuing on, I would turn on the TV for him to his preferred channel, and I would work with a chef to make sure breakfast was getting started. And then I would knock on the Door to get the day going and get his feedback if he was ready to wake up, if we needed to make adjustments to his schedule. From there, he would wake up and we would wait for him to be done with his breakfast. We would call down the security to let them know that Mr. Combs is getting ready to move out for the day. And we would travel around the city, especially New York City. Then it's dinner, which he later notes, it's pretty standard for Combs to have a three hour dinner. Then it's studio for work on an album quote, that would take us to about 3, 4 o' clock in the morning. And then from there we would either go back to his personal residence or to a destination of his request and we would get a call time at the end of the night. It was important that I didn't leave his side until I got the call time to know what time to be back tomorrow. I would text the executive team, his security staff, and let them know what time I'd be back for tomorrow. Once I got that call time at.

Stephanie (69:50)

Anything or, like, they'll give him a nod. And then sometimes, like, I think he wants them to pass it to the person doing the cross. So then he'll like, kind of motion for them to like, hello. Mm. It's very interesting. Yeah, he's definitely heavily involved. Like, these attorneys are not running their own defense and he's just their client. Like, he's calling a lot of shots. Oftentimes Even during cross examinations, they'll say, one moment, your honor. And then the attorney that's doing the cross examination will go talk to Diddy, come back and say, no further questions. So it's interesting. Now, David says that he took two lie detector tests during his time working for Combs. He says, I was invited to what almost looked like a government building. It was kind of a tall skyscraper. And I met with a gentleman who said he was a former FBI lie detector detector. And at this point, the whole courtroom laughs. Is it funny? No. Are we just, like, full of tension? Yeah. He's like, lie detector detector, I guess you could call it. And he was like, the most, you know, special specialist lie detector agent in America. Who told you that the gentleman did the lie detector detector? Yeah. And again, everyone giggles again. It was very intimidating. I don't know if you've ever taken a lie detector test before, but you basically sit in a chair where they monitor your movements. They put a heartbeat monitor on your chest. I believe they put something on my head and something in my hand. The lie detector detector tells him, you know, Mr. Combs does not like people who steal. That's like, one of his big things. And he basically told me we had to get rid of the rat on the team. He takes the first for the missing Cartier bracelet, the second one for a Jacob & Co. Watch. Also, Combs seems super paranoid, if not already evident by the copious amounts of polygraphs he allegedly forced everyone to take. But David James states, every time they're in the car, if Mr. Combs had a Maybach, he would want to have a second car to his right. That way, someone could. Couldn't pull up on him, for example, and try to assassinate him or shoot him, which is how big he died. So he would always follow him around, like security detail who would.

Stephanie (76:31)

Yeah. And we both wrote it down. And I thought maybe I'm, like, paying too much attention to random stuff. But my researcher and I were cross referencing notes and we're like, oh, yeah, that was kind of intense. I don't think it means anything. I mean, it seems like his mom really does love him. He blows kisses, she smooches the air. Meanwhile, Mark Agnefolo is very busy at the sidebar, this is becoming just a wholesale character assassination. I'm not sure what many of these things have to do with the charges. The judge tells the prosecutor to move on with the line of questioning, but I think the effect on the jury is already kind of done. I've never seen the jurors more engaged in Capricorn's testimony. She just has this way about herself. Again, the best way I described it to my husband when I got home after the testimony was, if you don't already believe what she's saying, you want to believe what she's saying because she's just so emotionally transparent that you cannot fathom someone could make this up. Like, for example, even listening to her is just fascinating. When she's asked about what Mr. Combs did when he received €100,000 for a club appearance in Europe, she just responds, like, crinkling her eyebrows. She looks at the prosecutor like, what kind of dumb question is that? And she goes, keep it. And they're, like, trying to ask, where did he keep it? But she's like, keep it. I don't know. So it's just very real. Capricorn goes on to detail that Sean Combs likes to throw phones at people when he's upset. He would do that often. That's, like, his thing. And he was not just violent with Cassie, he was also violent with his staff, including Capricorn Clark. She says there was this one time in his mansion on Two Star island in Miami where he sends Capricorn on an errand. Pharrell Williams, who was a music producer, now the. He's Louis Vuitton, who? He is. Yeah, his manager came over and was dropped off by boat because this is an island. Everybody has, like, a boat driveway on Two Star island or on Star Island. And so he's dropped off by boat, but then he has to go to another island where Pharrell Williams is shooting a music video. So Mr. Combs is like, hey, Capricorn. And I say, Mr. Combs, sorry, because the prosecutors call her Mr. Combs. Sean Combs is like, hey, Capricorn, go drop him off at the other island. She hops in the boat with him, dropping. But then she decides to stay on that island for, like, about an hour, hanging out. An hour into it, she gets a phone call from Sean Combs. He's like, where the fuck are you? And again, when she is doing Sean Combs, like, quotes, it's very intense. And, like, all the jurors, they're engaged. What did you do after you got that call, I went back to Star Island. What, if anything, did Mr. Combs tell you when you returned to Star Island? He said, see, your problem is you want a life, and you can't have that here. And then she's just, like, wiping tears, you know? So the next morning, Capricorn wakes up. She goes to the kitchen to get some breakfast. I was making my plate. The chef was there. She was tired. I asked her where the turkey bacon was, and she said, there is no more fucking turkey bacon. She's very upset from a long night. And I just said, I hate it here. And then the chef walks outside, quote, to where Puff was standing on the back deck, and told him what I said. It exacerbated her. He immediately looked at me and he said, you hated here. And then he charged at me. At this point, she's holding herself in a hug while she's telling this story. When you say he charged at you, can you describe what he physically did to you? He ran towards me with his hands open and, like, pushed me by my shoulders. And she's using her hands to, like, motion. He started pushing me back. In what direction was he pushing you? Out. Out towards the front entrance of the kitchen, through the butler's pantry. Approximately how far did he push you? About 25, 30 yards. The jurors are incredibly engaged. Even Sean Combs is taking down notes. And how was he pushing you? Just to make sure the record is reflecting the witness. With open hands. Open hands. Like, right on my shoulder. Like, you know. And she shows again the top of your shoulder. What, if anything, was Mr. Combs telling you while he was pushing you in this way? He said you hated here. Get the fuck out of my house. You hate it here. Get the fuck out of my house. Yeah. And he repeated it until we were outside. Can you describe the amount of force that Mr. Combs was using when he was pushing you? I would say like, 75%. I never fell. I kept catching myself. Eventually, Uncle Polly comes to tell her to pack her things, and she does, and then she leaves. But she comes back to work for Mr. Combs again, and this time she says she only came back because her role was not his personal assistant. It was as his global brand director for Sean John. So he told her specifically he's not going to interact with her as much, and that's the only reason she came back. He was very impressed with her new work when she was gone. So at this point, she signed with a record label. She was managing Sierra's newest album and R. Kelly's newest album. At that point, she says, puff was very impressed with my work and was like, I'm starting a woman's line. You wouldn't have to work directly with me, but you can work for me, and it'll be something right up your alley. And it was paying more than Samba Records was. She also worked closely with Cassie. I was her creative director and manager. And in 2011, she became more close with Cassie. She starts learning that she's dating kid Cudi. Scott Ms. Cuddy, which she kind of admits put her in a tricky situation because she can't tell Combs about the relationship, obviously. But one day in particular, Cassie sends Capricorn a text. And this is where it all started, kind of making sense. Remember, I was like, why is Brian Steele asking Kid Cudi about exercising? She says, quote, I was picking Cassie up one day. We were going to Runyon Canyon, which is a place in Los Angeles where you hike. And she asked if Kid Cudi could join us. Cassie texted Capricorn, how did you react when you received that text message? Not well. It was a bad idea. I responded, I don't think we should go to Runyon. There's too many people there. If he comes, we need to go to Fryman Canyon. Delete this text. Combs lizard licks his lips a little and then slightly shakes his head whilst kind of turning to the jurors. Like, you see that? Like, they're all plotting to cheat. Like, it. It felt very like, I've been wronged type of head shake. Why did you direct Ms. Ventura to delete the text? Because that's the second everything got so tricky. When she texted me, Mr. Combs paid for my phone. She's texting me on the phone he pays for. On a phone he pays for. It's not a good idea. After what happened, did Ms. Ventura change the way that she communicated with Mr. Muscati? Yes. I took her to Best Buy to buy a burner phone. So she's saying she's the one that bought the burner phone. Why did you take her to Best Buy to buy a burner phone? The way she was moving, she was gonna get us all killed. Mark Agniflo stands up. I'm sorry. Sustained. Before he even says objections. Sustained. The jury should disregard the witness's last answer. At this point, there's kind of an awkward laugh in the courtroom because it's like we all expected him to jump up with an objection.

Stephanie (83:25)

Like Capricorn really just be saying things I'm not saying. Like, saying things as in, they're not true. I'm just saying, like, no filter. Truly saying everything on her mind. Everybody knew that these objections were coming. Now, the day that Capricorn Clark is kidnapped is the same day that kid Cudi's house is broken into. And it's all connected. So remember the same day Scott Muscutti, kid Cudi, gets a call from Cassie that Combs found out about them and she gave him his address. So he picks her up and they go to the Sunset Marquee with Capricorn. At the same time, she hears banging on her apartment door. She wakes up, runs to the peephole, and she sees, quote, a very upset puff. He was pacing and she, like, does the motions. He was moving around a little bit. He was just anxious, I could tell. But he was furious. That was evident. Can you describe the movement of his body outside your door? He's pacing and the body language looked like he had something in his hand. Why do you say that? Can you describe what you observed? Just like the body language, I could see his shoulder. It was like something in his hand. He was moving in his hand. I mean, I couldn't really see the people all the way down in his hand, but the body language was giving me, like, he's holding something. The way that Capricorn is acting it out again, adds a lot to her credibility, in my opinion. And it's just very descriptive. Like, you really see everything that's happening. Meanwhile, Sean Combs is sitting in the courtroom, absolutely still. Why did you open the door for Mr. Combs? He was upset. Part of my job is to make sure that the name and liking likeness is okay. And he's outside my door. Just, you know, I gotta be like, what is this? Can you describe Mr. Combs at the time? His pants were gray and they were split open from knee to knee through the crotch. So I could see his underwear kind of like, you know, like assless chaps. But it seems not to have been on purpose. So, like, it's cut at the inseam.

Stephanie (87:02)

Did you make any attempt to escape your apartment? I did not. Why not? The way he was acting, I just felt like anything could happen. I'm gonna object, Judge. Okay, let's move on. Ms. Steiner. Capricorn says she's forced to get dressed. They leave her apartment. So it's Rube. Who is Ruben, another security detail. He's actually Drock's little brother. But anyway, he's in the driver's seat of the black Escalade. Combs hops in the back with Capricorn and she's back there. And he now has his gun on his lap as they're driving through the Hollywood Hills to get to Kid Cudi's house. What, if anything, did Mr. Combs and Rube do after he arrived at Kid Cudi's home? Home? They enter the house. Capricorn says that she stayed in the Car, but she couldn't leave. Why were you not able to leave? I probably could have left, but I didn't. What were you afraid of if you left? Mark Agnifolo whack a mole. Hughes backup. Objection to the leading. Sustained. What did you observe Mr. Combs and Rube do on the property? Fidget around trying to gain access. And then they gained access. What, if anything, did you do while Mr. Combs and Rube were on the property? Out of the car. I called Cassie. Capricorn says that she was just waiting to call Cassie on her burner phone to warn her because she didn't know if Kid Cudi was in the house. She has no clue that he's already with Cassie by this point and she's freaking out. And what did you tell Cassie when you called her? Cassie, what the fuck? And I asked her, like, where she was at. What, if anything else, did you tell her? I told her that Puff came, got me with a gun and brought me to Kid Cudi's house to kill him. When she says, brought me to Cudi's house to kill him, Combs looks over at Mark, waiting for him to pop up with an objection. Mark looks at him and does a small shake of the head and does not object. Yeah. When you were speaking with Ms. Ventura on the phone, did you hear anyone else on the phone? Yes. Who did you hear? I could hear yelling in the background. What did you hear? I heard someone say, he's in my house. Like, she literally does it like that. And I said, who is that? She said, scott. And I could hear him running out. And I said, cassie, stop him. He's gonna come get himself killed. And she was like, I can't. After they hang up the phone, Combs comes out and wants to see her phone because he saw her hanging up. Capricorn, being smart, had put Cassie's burner phone number as another friend of hers. Stormy, who is also, I think, shares children with Suge Knight, but besides the point, Stormy. But that's not good enough because now Combs is asking to see her phone. He calls back the last number I was speaking to. And what did he say when he called that number back? Bitch, what the fuck number is this? And how, if at all, did Mr. Combs react to Cassie having or Ms. Ventura having a new number?

Stephanie (89:33)

And Capricorn says he's livid, more so than already. What, if anything, happened after Mr. Combs spoke with Ms. Ventura on your phone. We heard a very fast moving engine coming up the hill. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that it was Cudi. Puff looked at my face. I guess I gave him a visual cue that it was him. And he goes, there's that right there. What happened next? Cudi pulled up next to the Cadillac Escalade, came to a complete stop, looked, and then took off and sped up the hill. Puff and Rube jumped in the car and we started chasing him. How long was the chase? It felt like forever, but it couldn't have been longer than a minute. Cudi lost us. We turned south down Laurel Canyon. We heard sirens and we passed the police. They were headed north on Laurel Canyon. We were headed south on Laurel Canyon. Were the police headed in the direction of Mr. Muscati's residence? They were. Capricorn says this is when Combs finally starts to calm down. They drive to the Key Club, which is at the bottom of the Hollywood Hills. For people who lived in la, it was formerly known as One Oak. I think it's the Key Club now. I think that's what she also said. But One Oak was a big thing. Yeah. And they're in the parking lot of One Oak or Key Club. And they don't get out. They're just in the parking lot because she's saying, like, there's no service in the Hollywood Hills. Which also valid. So they come down and they're just using the phone. And it's just Rube, the security, Combs and Capricorn. And Combs is telling Capricorn to get Cassie on the phone and quote, he told me to tell Cassie that he has me and he's not gonna let me go until I get her. He has me. He won't let me go until I come to you. To which Cassie said, okay, come get me. They get back to Combs house and Combs tells Capricorn, once you get Cassie, you guys need to go tell Cudi and convince him not to tell the police that it was me. Did he tell you anything else? He says, if you guys don't convince him of that, I'll kill all you motherfuckers. In the courtroom, Combs visibly starts shaking his head back and forth. Capricorn explains that after they get to his place, she gets into the work car, picks Cassie up from the Sunset marquee, where Cassie and Capricorn head to Kid Cudi's house and convince him not to tell the police that this was Sean Combs. And then they get back to Sean Combs residence. Now it's maybe 11:00am like, this all started out like 6:00am what happened after you and Ms. Ventura entered the home? Puff was standing there in a robe in his underwear, and he immediately began kicking Cassie 100% full force in her legs to begin with. She was facing him to start, and he kicked her in her. In her thigh and in her leg. He kept kicking her. He never used his hands. Combs starts taking notes. In the courtroom, the jurors are also taking intense notes. And you said he kept kicking her. Was he kicking her more than once? Yes, he repeatedly kicked her. And she just kept. With each kick, she was. She would crouch into a. More of a fetal position. And as Ms. Ventura was crouching more and more into a fetal position, can you describe where she was physically located? Outside. By now, we were in the courtyard of his home, just like outside the vestibule. Every time he kicked, she moved back. And every time she got kicked, she moved back. And approximately how far did Ms. Ventura get moved back from the kicks? Couple steps each time. And in total, all the way to the street, maybe 20ft. And by the time she reached the street, can you describe what her body looked like? She was all the way on the ground in a full fetal position and crying silently. What was Mr. Combs doing to Ms. Ventura in the street when she was on the ground and in a full fetal position? Kicking her where it was. Her back, her backside. She was on the ground. He was kicking her. Capricorn says she and Rube, the security were both there, and she's freaking out and Rube is calm. And Combs tells Capricorn, he said if I jump in, he was going to fuck me up too. And she's like, sobbing at this point. She said she didn't intervene because I'd never seen and do anything like that. And I was in shock. And in my heart, I was. My heart was breaking seeing her get hit like that. And like the way I'm delivering it is not the way she delivered. Like, she's full sobbing like she's a wreck. I'm going to object, your honor. Objection is sustained. The jury should disregard the last sentence of the witness's answer. What, if anything, did Rube do to intervene? Absolutely nothing. Who, if anyone, did you contact after you observed that Rube was not intervening? I called Drock. So Drock is Rube's older brother and he was on the security team longer. I said, tell your brother to stop him. What did you explain to Drock what was happening? That he was kicking the shit out of Cassie. Capricorn reaches for a tissue and starts rubbing both her eyes. Like she's not rubbing them. Like they're. So she's sobbing. Like, you could see. It's, like, just streaming down her face. Did you contact anyone else aside from Drock? I did. Uncle Paulie. Did you contact anyone? I didn't. Why? Did you contact anyone aside from Drock? I didn't see Rube's phone ringing. Meaning, like, Drock is not calling his little brother. What did you inform Mr. Offert? Same thing I said, Paul. He's kicking the shit out of her and help her. And she starts, like, fully choking. Combs is completely still. What, if anything, did Mr. Combs tell you after you made these calls? He said, matter of fact, you get the fuck out of my house. Did you leave his house on foot? Yes, I walked. She takes off her glasses now, like, her face is completely soaked in tears. Who, if anyone else, did you call when you left the property? Regina Ventura, Cassie's mom. And what, did you. What, if anything, did you inform Ms. Ventura? I told her mom, I said, he's being the shit out of your daughter. I'm in over my head. And she starts, like, really choking up. Please help her. Like, it's like a whining sob. Like, please help her. Like, that's the best way I can try to. I can't call the police. And then she does it again, like, but you can, like, please help her. It was. It was really rough to listen to. I think everyone was having a hard time because I think it was just. I think a lot of the testimony so far in the courtroom, the emotions don't sink in as quickly because even Cassie's testimony, aside from the few times she was very emotional, everything she says is matter of fact. And then, like, you're so busy trying to understand where we are in the timeline, and then it's like, once you get home, it soaks in and. And then you, like, you feel a little heavier, right? But in this, it's like all you hear are her sobs, like, echoing in the courtroom. And it's so hard not to, like, ugh. Like, a lot of people are, like, wincing after that call. Ms. Clark, did you call the police? I did not. Meanwhile, Combs head is cocked to the left. Why didn't you call the police? The mission of the day was not to get Cudi to involve the police. So that was certainly counterintuitive. The prosecutor pulls up an email. We went over during Cassie's test testimony, the one from December 23rd. And the prosecutor asks her to read it out loud. And it sounds like she's being held hostage to read it. She's just constantly wiping her tears. It's the one that Cassie writes to her mom and Capricorn Clark about all the threats and that the sex videos might be released. She says later the arson investigator would reach out to her about Kid Cudi's car and she just did not want to talk to him either. She said, I just wanted this whole thing to be over and that was just gonna make it worse. She's sobbing out loud. It sounds like she's almost underwater. Following the incident In December of 2011, what, if any, questions did Mr. Combs ask you about Ms. Ventura's relationship with Mr. Muscutti? He asked the same thing. When did I know about it, why I didn't tell him. She says that he was very, very angry. And he said, quote, I should kill you, bitches, and I should cut her face. In the courtroom, Combs slowly closes his eyes and shakes his head no towards the jurors. Almost giving like this is absurd. How frequently after this incident in December of 2011 was Mr. Combs making threats to you? Approximately how many times? I'd say once we got to December of 2011 and to that summer, I would say 50. She does mention that she told the CEO of Bad Boy Harve Pierre about it. To which she says, he just says, that's crazy, but it's going to be okay. Capricorn says he also tells her that she, Capricorn and Cassie can't really be friends anymore, that they can only interact for work. Now. There are other parts of her testimony that were cross referenced with other testimonies. And it seems like Cassie was not the only one that was participating in freak offs. I know that in our Part four part series that we did before the trial even started, this was in 2024. There were allegations online and rumors circulating that Kim Porter was also part of the freak offs. David James, the other assistant, says that he was part of the hotel setups. He called it advancing the hotel. So you go in advance and you make sure it's ready for Combs, he says. In New York City, for example, if he asked me to advance a hotel room, I'd go back to his apartment. I'd get like a Jordan sweatsuit, fresh pair of underwear, some socks, some slides. I'd also bring a toiletry bag and I would bring the ipod speaker base. And then next to the Trump Hotel, which he loves, there's A Duane Reade there and I'd go get there like a few different food items. Applesauce, jello, Fiji water, and then we'd always have some Ciroc vodka and simply lemonade it as well. Side note, while David is listing out everything Combs likes, Combs is sitting there like nodding ever so slightly like yes, okay, checking off the list. Like if someone is recounting your grocery list to them, that's the vibe. David James just continues basically everything that he may need. He didn't always use these items, but I was always taught to to provide everything just in case he needed something. That way he wouldn't need to call you later on. He also needs his infamous Louis Vuitton med bag and that he always carries, according to David. Also $10,000 in cash, sometimes more. When describing the med bag, David says there are probably 25 to 30 different pillboxes or pill bottles. Some of them are unmarked, so I was not familiar with what they were. Some were just like Advil, Tylenol. He had water pills to make him lose weight. He had a Viagra in there. He had some pills that helped helped increase his sperm count, for example. He had Ecstasy and Percocets in there as well. Side note, about those ecstasy pills, he says there were various kinds, but one in particular that stands out is quote, it was in the shape of a former president's face. Which former president? President Obama. Yeah.

Stephanie (99:21)

The prosecutor asks David, when you set up these hotel rooms, did Mr. Combs stay in these hotel rooms alone or with others? I don't think Mr. Combs are over stays alone. Who did he stay with? His girlfriend at the time, mostly Cassie, but other women as well. There is an odd moment in David James's cross where Mark Agniflo starts asking him about all of the traveling and all of the advancing of the hotel rooms. And he, David James goes into a whole ketchup monologue when they travel to London to the United Kingdom. Ketchup. Heinz 57 Ketchup, like they needed that. I don't know if this is what he's saying. I don't know if you guys have ever been to London before. But the ketchup and the in the UK is not similar to the ketchup in America. He would not be happy. I mean ketchup was a big item that he always needed for his food. So it's just a consistency to create a consistent environment. So during this ketchup rant, Combs is just like smiling and happily nodding along and Everybody's in a lighter mood. But then it goes from ketchup to applesauce. Side note, he eats applesauce on his cheeseburgers. Like he eats applesauce with a lot of things. Then the conversation goes from ketchup to applesauce to astroglide and baby oil. And at this point, I think Combs is uncomfortable with the sudden emotional shift because he raises his hands at the mention of baby oil. He rubs them in his lap like he's putting lotion on. But then he, like, realizes it's weird because he's not putting lotion on. So then he puts them in prayer hands, and then he leans his head forward, presses his forehead into his fingers, and then moves on. It was just like a very odd set of movements. It felt like he was instinctively rubbing his hands but thought it would be perceived weird. So he carries out the rest of the this awkward set of movements. Now, Capricorn Clark also testifies that she advanced many hotel rooms, but she said mainly it was for Combs and Kim Porter. How frequently would he stay at a hotel with Ms. Porter? Once a week. And what, if anything, was your role with respect to hotels when Mr. Combs would travel to pack and bring and unpack his personal effects? And what did those belongings include? Clothes, toiletry bag and camera bag. Camera bag, actually, camera box. It was a silver, like, at the time, it was a silver like, 45 record carrier repurposed. And it had three click in like three point and shoot cameras and one small mini DV camera. Was there anything else in the camera bag? A small bottle of baby oil and a small bottle of lube. What, if any lighting was used in the hotel? No lighting. We brought his diptyque candles. That was that. She says on every single hotel trip with Kim Porter, they would have to bring that camera bag. A home of the time. What, if any, responsibilities did you have after one of Mr. Combs's hotel stays to pack up his belongings and sweep the room for anything that might be left behind. What, if any, damage did you observe in the hotel rooms after his stays? Just baby oil. At the Intercontinental, I would see, like handprints in oil on the ultra suede walls. Yeah. How frequently did you observe damage from baby oil in the rooms? Frequently, but it was a lot like, it was just a lot of baby oil. It was just everywhere. It wasn't necessarily only on the wall. And if he would. Which women would he bring to hotels most frequently at the time? Kim Porter, Cassie Ventura. This entire part when Capricorn is talking about freak offs with Kim Porter. The kids are not there. Sean Combs mother is there, and she's just frozen, just listening. Later, Capricorn says she was ultimately fired for not applying properly for vacation time. But she thinks it's probably because she kept mentioning all the threats and what do you recall, Mr. Combs, in these discussions following your termination? That I would never work again. That he would show me that all these people weren't my friends. That he would make me kill myself. In the courtroom, Combs scratches his left cheek with his left hand. Just like, scratches his face. This is the interesting part. Later, Capricorn is asked if she reached out to Combs attorneys. And she says yes, in which a settlement is reached. But this was in her previous termination, wrongful termination. So she quit, got terminated and rehired so many times. But on one of the occasions, she did get paid. So she's asked by the prosecution, under the terms of the agreement, approximately how much were you paid for? I'm gonna object, Judge, which is so fascinating, because if anything, the defense has been so passionate about women who receive money from Sean Combs. They've been very passionate about the figures and passionate about the demands that were made. And suddenly they do not want Capricorn to release how much she settled for. There's probably a few reasons for it. Probably one, because it was such a low amount that it would probably make the jurors go, wow, that's actually crazy. And two, there was a rumor that Suge Knight was on a podcast and he said the money to pay Capricorn Clark, that settlement money was done by Interscope Records. So that would add to RICO racketeering. Like, it would make it very messy if a settlement for this type of behavior is paid by a company. So it depends. Now, there's a quick sidebar in which Combs puts his chest in the air. And this is really awkward. So he, like, stretches his chest up as he's sitting, and then his arms are reached bent at the elbows, like he's doing a bench press, right? It looks like he's just stretching, but he has this very awkward moment where he just, like, kind of pumps, bumps his fist twice, and then he stops. And I think, like, the. I think he felt awkward doing it just felt weird. Maybe he wanted to do a bigger movement or maybe he realized this is not a movement he wants the jurors to see. He stops himself. It's just weird. Meanwhile, Capricorn Clark is sitting there, super emotional. Sean Combs sister and the person next to her are Giggling, perhaps about something unrelated. I don't know. They're just in the pews, giggling during the sidebar. Mark argues during the sidebar. So the objection. I don't know the amount. I don't know that the amount is relevant. And I mean, I would say it's unduly prejudicial. I mean, I don't intend to get into it. I don't know how it advances the relevant issues in this case, what the settlement was for. Again, interesting. But they get back and the prosecutor makes sure that Capricorn states she has no pending civil litigation against Combs. She has received no other compensation aside from that. But she's also asked, why did she keep going back to work for Sean Combination Combs? I wanted to try and give my life back. She says that she was unable to obtain any other work. She says she did get civil attorneys in 2023, after Cassie filed a lawsuit and she was upset about it. Did her complaint reference you? Not at all. I was traumatized because it did not reference you. Is that what you're referring to? She did not mention me at all. Did there come a time when you met with Mr. Combs attorneys in April of 2024? I did. Now, side note, the attorneys that she met with are Mark Agnifolo and Tenny Garagos.

Stephanie (105:50)

And during that meeting, did you inform Mr. Well, what did you inform Mr. Combs attorneys? That I wanted my life back. And did you discuss what had occurred during December of 2011? I did. What did you inform his attorneys? I told them that he kidnapped me and I went through the events of the day. Your Honor, I'm going to object this as hearsay, which is actually interesting because they were the ones at the meeting. The prosecutor asks Ms. Clark, were there any discussions about you working in some capacity again for Mr. Combs companies? There was. And just generally, what was discussed, like, what would it. What would it look like? Like, if I came in as chief of staff, got him up out of there, put him in rehab so that somebody that was around in the inception of a lot of this business deals would be back in place. Did you hear from Mr. Combs attorneys again? No. The direct is finished soon after, and the judge starts to speak. All right, so this is a good time for us to. Mr. Agniphilo stands up like he's wound up like a spring. Can I start? And then can we have a break? Unless we all want to stop now. Whatever you want to do. Well, we're taking a break, which is what I was Doing. And then we'll come back. Oh, okay. I'll take a break too. Thank you. Members of the jury, we will take a short break. It's 11:14. We'll come back at 11:40. All rise for the jury. As everyone is leaving the courtroom, Brian Steele starts rubbing Sean Combs back. During that break, Combs and his mom are just, like, having full mouthing conversations. Everybody is ushered back in. Capricorn is ushered back in. At the end of the break, Combs has his right elbow on his armrest, and he's got his fist up in the air, and he kind of hammers it into the air three times. It's weird. It's like, I didn't know what that was. That's the feeling. And then the cross examination begins. Mark Agnifolo takes the stand, and immediately he starts talking about the setup of the conference table when they all met in 2024. Because Capricorn met with him. And all of the, you know, Mr. Combs was there. Sean Combs was there. He's drawing the picture. Even Combs is looking at him, mouth slightly agape, just blinking his eyes. And Mark's whole point is how during the meeting in 2024, Capricorn asked Combs to come back to work as his chief of staff. Which Capricorn states, yes, she did. Bring that up and tell me if this is right. What you said was, you've always been able to take care of him. I don't recall saying that. Okay. Do you remember saying, he wouldn't be. He wouldn't be in this mess had he kept me around? And then she looks at the jury and said, I probably said something like that. Yeah. So I think Mark is, again, trying to prove a point, but she's just so honest. She's like, yeah, I probably did say something like that during cross examination, especially when they're working in his favor. Combs loves looking towards the jurors, so he's doing that a lot. And you said, tell me if this is right. You said you didn't think that Ms. Ventura was good for Mr. Combs. Correct. And you believe that? Correct. Okay, do me a favor. Tell the jury in your words why you think that's true. I just felt like they were toxic as a couple. At one point, Mark says he's gonna call Sean Combs Puff. Because that's what Capricorn is comfortable with. And the judge is constantly like, this has happened multiple times. The judge keeps saying, no, we're gonna call him Mr. Combs. Okay, Judge. That ends that we're gonna call him Mr. Combs.

Stephanie (113:34)

The vet bill for whatever your pet swallowed after you yelled, drop it. Another time, he's telling her quote, tell the jury that story of how she starts working for Combs again. She turns her chair completely. So I was. I was working in Advertisement, and then September 11 happened, and then I went to a film company called Crossroads. Awesome people. They paid off my student loans. They were great. And then I put my resume on Monster. It was like a new website at the time where you could upload your resume. You know, similar to, I guess, whatever the ones are now. So, like, she's a very. Like, she's talking to the Ders, like, best friends. Mark also tries to ask her if Combs was doing drugs when Capricorn met him. Meaning was he using drugs at that time in his life? But Capricorn hears, was he doing ecstasy when you met him? Not when I met him. No, I don't mean at the time. I mean in that time period. Yeah. Yeah, in that time period. And I'm trying to. Do you remember telling Mr. Combs that you had a crush on him, even going back to when you were friends? No. All right, I'm gonna just ask to show the witness defense exhibit 946. This is just for the witness and the parties, and if we can blow it up. Can you read that? Is that big enough for you? Yes, I can see it. And she looks at it, and it looks like Capricorn is looking at a picture of a UFO that landed on the tippy top of the Eiffel Tower. She looks flabbergasted. Even Sean Combs is glasses on, booty scooched to, like, the edge of his chair. Looking at the screen like, where's Waldo? It's a text message thread between Capricorn, Clark and Combs, with Capricorn texting Sean Combs. Totally unrelated to our current conversation, but did you ever know that I had the biggest crush on you before I started working for you? We hung out all the time. I played it super cool. Jeanette might be the only one that knew. I don't think you knew. I couldn't tell if it was mutual. I just knew for sure that you liked to have me around. We called you Chalk, short for chocolate. I was just thinking about them nights before I first everything. So nice. Great memories. 20 years ago. Time is wild. Do you have any memory of that? At all. I really don't. No, no. So before, you worked for him, am I right? You liked him. Forget about crushes for the time being. You liked him. I liked him as a friend. You liked him as a friend, right? Yes, as a friend. Yeah. I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to keep doing that to you. And after this, like, it's so interesting because I feel like in any other witness cross examination, this might be like an aha moment. But for some. Yeah, but it doesn't feel like that at all. Like, even the email reads like Capricorn Clark. Like, she just seems like the type that says a bunch of things when she feels it and then doesn't feel it anymore. Like, she seems like that personality, so it doesn't feel damning even in the slightest.

Stephanie (116:23)

No, not at all. Okay. Yeah. After this slightly embarrassing perhaps moment, instead of letting Capricorn put her guard up, Mark Agniflo is doing the best he can. He's pretty good at crosses other than his filibustering. It seems like he talks to her about working at Def Jam and he references, like, back when, like, Run DMC type thing. Like, all back that far or not that far? Not that far. I'm not that old, sir. So, like, everyone giggles and Mark is giggling and he says, well, I am. And he's just making her comfortable again. She states, I'm more Foxy Brown, Red Man, Method Man, Jay Z days. Got it. Got it. Even during the cross, Capricorn is a likable witness in the sense that nothing feels like a reveal. Nothing feels like an aha moment. Even though there were so many times where it could have been. Even when answering another question, she's like, whispering and counting months. She's like, if I started in, I think it was April. So April, May, June, July. Like, she's just so. It feels like such a normal person just counting out the months. Eventually, Mark Agniphilo leads the conversation back to the missing jewelry, in which he asks if Capricorn knows anyone else in the company that had a lie detector test administered. So we actually do know that. David James. Remember, he had the lie detector, but Capricorn states, Mike B. Who is Mike B? Mike B. Was his stylist. Now, side note, I did not think that this part was that important because I'm like, if he testifies later or if his name comes up more frequently, because, like, Uncle Paulie D. Rock bonds, like, these people's names come up non Stop. Gina. Like Vashta, Christina, Coram. These are all people that are coming up repeatedly. This is like my second time hearing Mike B. Until I see Combs's best friend in the picture. He had his notebook closed on his side with his pen inside, and he was falling asleep. Like, he's fully falling asleep. His eyes are closed. He hears Mike B. He startles awake, grabs his notebook and starts writing. So then I start writing in my notebook. Who is Mike B? Exclamation, exclamation, exclamation.

Stephanie (118:32)

Yeah. I don't know why. Eventually, Mark goes into the actual lie detector test. He's trying to question the credibility of the story. Because I guess to some people, it could sound crazy. He's trying to lean into that. But Capricorn is firm. And you were all hooked up to the lie detector test equipment all day for five days. Not all day. He would unhook me to review the test. Okay. And this man, you had no idea who this man was? Other than the description you gave us, you have no idea who he is? No, I do not. And you were hooked up the whole time? I wasn't hooked up the whole time. I would take the test, he would unhook me, we would review it, we would do it again. Okay, so how many individual lie detector tests did you get? I didn't count, but I kept doing it. Every day. He starts trying to ask, why didn't you tell hr? Which I thought was kind of a goofy line of questioning. Did you call Vashta and say, I've been locked up in New York in a New York City building that locked walks from the outside for five days? I didn't. You know, I don't. I feel like this is some kind of violation. I did not. Vashta was approachable. Right. Futile conversation, but yet she was approachable. Okay. And you never called Vashta to say, you should know. An employee of this company is being kidnapped, locked in a building in New York City that locks from the outside on the sixth floor, being given lie detector test after lie detector test every day for five days straight? You never had that conversation? I did not. And you said that Paul brought you to the Five Times As Wide as yous Man. Right. Again, trying to poke holes in her story, pointing out things that maybe some jurors would find too crazy to be true. But Capricorn is looking at him like, oh, my God, finally, someone who gets it. Yes. She's like, yes, he's the one that brought me to the five times as white as me, man. So it's like, it just. It's not working in the way that it would work maybe with any other witness. It just doesn't really work. And then Mark goes on to point out that Capricorn was fired multiple times. Times. She just keeps coming back to work for Sean Combs, sometimes even taking a pay cut. Capricorn emotionally states, I worked for him in many roles over a long period of time. I think I was a really good employee for him. And she starts kind of crying. And he would tell you that. He would. Combs is just nodding along, which I don't know. I feel like a lot of this is getting into slightly culty territory. I'm not alleging that anything is a cult. I'm not getting conspiratorial. But it does feel really icky, Like, I get what the defense is trying to do. But also, it just feels like everyone worked really hard for him, gave up their lives for him, and he's just like, yeah, nodding like, don't forget my toiletries. He just shows no sympathetic emotions. He's just sitting there like, okay, cool. Mark Agniflo says, and from what you could see, a lot of the people in this orbit worked hard for him. Right? I don't think they worked as hard as me, but, yes, people were working hard, separate from all this stuff, you know, I did learn a lot of stuff from puff. I mean, Mr. Combs. So she. Remember, the judge told Mark Agnipolo to call him Mr. Combs. So she says Puff by accident. She, like, startles herself, looks at the judge and is panicked and is like. I mean, Mr. Combs. Like, she looks genuinely scared that she said puff instead of Mr. Combs. Like, this is what I mean by saying she feels very genuine on the. The stand. He. He has ideas. He knows how to execute. He's tenacious. He wanted to break the glass ceiling as it related to what we were allowed to do as black people in the business world. And it was. It helped when you work so hard to be working with somebody who would match wits with you on the fervor to be successful. And she's sobbing at this point. Mark asks her if she needs a minute. No, I'm fine, sir. Sorry. I mean, this is just. Just very complicated. Combs again, is just lean back in his chair, looking like a bored businessman. He will frequently glance over at Mark with his mouth slightly agape, just blinking and staring. But I feel like the crazy thing is he Looks at the jury to. Kind of the feeling that I get is he's looking at them like, you see, they love me. But I feel like if I were on the jury, the feeling I would get is like, wow, you don't even care. Like, this girl that you've known and like worked with for that many years, is this falling apart on the sand. Like, there is nothing in him that showed any sort of like, oh, I didn't know she felt that way. Or like, damn, what a shitty situation that I put her in. Nothing. It's just like, you hear that? She said I was amazing. She said I was breaking a glass ceiling. Did you hear that? Like, that's the feeling. And if I were on the jury, I'd be like, I'm getting the ick. I don't know if it relates to the charges, but I'm getting the ick.

Stephanie (123:53)

Yeah. And it was just so, like, I don't know, it just felt so sad. It may. It pushed me so much more towards Capricorn Clark than I already was in feeling for her testimony. I will say she's so honest. Eventually Mark is like, I want to talk about Cassie Ventura for a bit. Okay. Capricorn says that she got along with Cassie really well until they didn't. I would say our issues developed after she started dating him. I would say she got a little more and she starts kind of moving her head around in 2008. I would say, perhaps. And so just so the record reflects, you said she got a little more and Then you moved your shoulders. Oh, sorry. Yeah. No, it's all right. What were you conveying? What are you telling the joy? She got a little more bravado as being his girlfriend the longer it lasted. When you say she got more bravado, how did that manifest itself to what you could see? Sometimes she thought that I was being paid to help her, just that her expectation level was increasing. She went from more being a sweet model to, like, a feisty girlfriend. Okay, and did you think she was very talented? Okay, this is the part where literally the next day, everyone in the press was like, why is everybody catching strays nonstop in testimonies? I think she had talent, and I think she was very. A very beautiful girl. Okay, so I asked if she was very talented, and you said she was not very talented, but she had talent as far as you're concerned. True. You said she had talent. Why do you think that she has talent as opposed to being very talented? Talented to me is Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey very talented. Is that level of performer, entertainer? Cassie was more of a studio artist, a little more comfortable in the vocal booth to have a little bit of things equalized for you and, you know, engineered properly. Less of a life performer. She states that Cassie is a hard worker, but also not a hard worker. And in what ways was she not a hard worker? Oh, well, I would say that most the time, she preferred to be with her boyfriend. But she does mention that Cassie's hard work decreases once Kim Porter has her twins, the Combs twins. After that, you saw that she wasn't working as hard. Not as hard. And it doesn't come off as Capricorn is trying to talk badly about Cassie on the stand. It just seems like she's very unfiltered and just says everything that's on her mind. At another point, she's talking about a hairstyle that she worked on Cassie with. And she describes it like she liked it. She loved the hair. She was like, yeah, let's do it. I said, we could cheat it with a weave, but it would be cooler if you dye your hair. And she was like, ooh, I love that. So it was cool. Like, it's just. She's just so expressive. Meanwhile, Combs is rustling through his little notes like he's looking for something. And later, Mark Agniphilo asks Capricorn, okay, now at what point do you and she go to Best Buy and get her a burner phone? So remember, because she's the one that recommended Cassie, get the burner phone after we went Hiking with Cudi that day. Capricorn is explaining that she told Cassie she needs a burner phone. And where did you get that idea from? I mean, I know it sounds naive, but where did you get that idea from? Capricorn looks at him like he's growing three heads. Like. Like, my parents died when I was 17. I'm from Los Angeles. I don't know how to answer this question. I'm smart. And then everyone's just giggling because it's just two of Capricorn's attorneys. They even look at each other and they smile. Yeah, they're right in front of us. But Mark is not done. He's never done. This is filibuster Mark Agnifolo. So he's able to sneak in a question. Telling and asking Capricorn where Sean Combs was, was in December of 19th, 2011. So mind you, all of the Kid Cudi stuff is happening right before Christmas in 2011, but he's, like, honing in. Do you recall if he was on December 19, 2011, at an orphanage in Kazakhstan? I just remember he was in Russia. I don't remember exactly, but I just remember he was in Russia or something like that. Okay. Do you remember seeing photos, graphs of him on the Internet at an orphanage in Kazakhstan in December? And it just felt so random. It felt like he was throwing it in there to be like, hey, by the way, my client is a philanthropist. Hey, my client saves dying puppies. Is anybody listening? Brian Steele's not listening. He's falling asleep. He's over this. Meanwhile, Sean Combs full smiles. I'm seeing so much teeth. Sean Combs smiles, and then he leans over to Tenny Garagos and mentions something. And it's like, super quick. And then Tenney nods. But then after nodding, she leans in towards him, whispers something super quick. And then suddenly, his full smile, gone. It was giving, like, hey, maybe don't smile when they're talking nicely about you. And it was just, like, so goofy. Brian Steele fully asleep. Mike goes on moving on to the next thing. And he goes on to debate whether or not the day of the alleged kidnapping, Combs pointed the gun at Capricorn or if he was just waving it around. Capricorn states that he was waving it around, but Mark says, according to the government meeting notes, it says that previously she said he was pointing it at her. Which. The feeling being pointing it around, waving it around. I mean, still kind of a gun, right?

Stephanie (128:52)

At one point during this very intense line of questioning, we hear a scream from the other side of the gallery, my heart dropped completely because it was like a very intense moment. Even my researcher was, like, grabbing my arm because she was startled, but. But it was actually just somebody sneezing on the other side. But it genuinely sounded, like full on scream. And there's this brief moment before Mark continues about the night of the alleged kidnapping where he wants to know the location of the car and all the pertinent questions. There's a lot of back and forth. And then Mark establishes that Reuben Combs and Capricorn get into the Escalade. They drive to Kid Cudi's house. They park on the side of the street. The car is on a hill, so it's going up the hill when they're parked. Meanwhile, Capricorn is, like, sneaking a call to Cassie when they leave. And they break into Kid Cudi's house. And he's like, you saw them go through this door? This is like the outside door into the courtyard? Yes, sir. Okay. Did it seem like anyone had a key? No. Did it seem like they pulled the door hard and it opened? Like, what did you see that allowed them to get through the door? They were. Whatever they were doing, their backs were to me. I don't know. But I was not really engaged in how they were getting in. I was very. I was waiting for them to get away from me so I could use the phone. But wouldn't you be watching them to see if they're actually going to be getting away from you? I mean, the key thing here is they don't get through this door. This ends right here. No. Objection. Let me ask a different question. Why wouldn't you be staring right at the door to see if they can get in through the door? Objection. Argumentative. Rephrase. Were you looking at the door to see if they could get through the door? I was looking at their backs. Okay, as you're looking at their backs, what on the other side of them is this door, right? Yes. But I would say at this point I was kind of sort of not really paying attention. I was so in my head trying to think about the next step. And I was praying that Cudi wasn't inside of there. Okay, so what you're telling us is you haven't the vaguest idea how they got through this door. Is that about right? I don't. She says after they get past the door, they run into the courtyard towards Kid Cudi's actual front door and. And presumably break into his actual house. She grabs her phone and calls Cassie. Could you tell from your side of the call, if Cassie was on the phone with speaker with Scott Muscati present with her when you called? Yes. And they're asking her what she said, which is interesting because Kid Cudi testified he didn't know that Sean Combs had a gun. Capricorn is testifying she specifically told them on the phone call that Combs had a gun, but she didn't know that Kid Cudi was there. She's at. What exactly did you say about the gun? I said, puff came to my house with a gun. We came to Cudi's house to kill him. He's in there right now. And then I heard they're in my house. Okay, so you said it quickly. I said it very quickly. I didn't want him to see me on the phone. My question is, you would want to make it absolutely clear that Combs had a gun. Right? It wasn't about being clear. I was furious at her now, and I was like, what the hell? And I'm just letting her know as fast as I can without him knowing I'm on the phone. What the hell is going on. On with me? I'm asking about the gun part. I said yes. He came to my house with a gun and he took me to Cudi's house. And we're here to kill him, sir. At this point, Combs starts shaking his head rather intensely like, no, we're not to them. Did anyone say anything back? A gun. He has a gun. Was there any acknowledgment on the. Of the fact that you said gun? No, I heard he's in my house. And everyone just kind of started giggling because it's like, how many times is she gonna have to say that in that voice? Now, when you were on. When you called Cuddy and Cassie, were you on a three way call with Lauren London? This is a friend. No. Do you remember telling the government that you were. She was on the phone, but not the whole time. Okay. When did you call Lauren London? Right before I called Cassie. Let's break this down for a second. I want to understand this. You're in front of the house, house. Combs has a gun. Right? Combs and his gun and Rube somehow get through that door and are now in Cudi's house. Right.

Stephanie (134:24)

Did you wake Lauren London up? I don't remember her status. Okay. How long did you talk to Lauren London? Seconds. Maybe 30 seconds. It was fast. I had to get off the phone because Puff kept popping out into the walkway and. And in the courtyard. I really don't remember, but I do remember making a call to Lauren and I do remember making a phone call to Cassie. Are you aware that Lauren London and Combs were friends for years after this? I am. You are right? They're still friends. I mean, not at the moment, but they were friends until a couple years ago. Right. Which I felt like. I get his point, that Lauren London is still friends with Combs after her best friend Capricorn is allegedly kidnapped by him by gunpoint. But the last part, I mean, they're not friends now. Definitely. Also doesn't help the defendant. I just find it interesting, you know, it's just very hard to destroy Capricorn's credibility, even when geographically, sometimes Capricorn's story does not make sense. She says after calling Cassie, she hears Kid Cudi coming to the house. Soon enough, she sees him pull up in the Porsche. And what happens next? He stops next to us, next to the Escalade. Puff and rub, look at him, see if he's going to get out of the car or what's going to happen. And then he speeds off and they jump in the car and we chase him up the hill. Up the hill. And are you aware of the fact that when you go up the hill, the only way to get back down to the main roads is to come exactly the way you came? That's not true. Mark and the defense team pull up a map of where Kid Cudi's house is. And he is explaining more so to the jury that Capricorn said that this is where they went. But all of this leads to a dead end. That doesn't make sense. And then he's confirming with the map, but they all seem to be dead ends. Do you see that, Capricorn, Ms. Clark? I mean, I would imagine that this is a big aha moment. But Capricorn is firm, but they're not to the point where Mark Agniphilo is so taken aback. He says, do you know something we don't know? I mean, you can ask somebody that's a technical person, but. But skyline. If you go from Hollywood Hills Road to Skyline, you can get yourself back on Mulholland, and then you can get yourself back to Laurel Canyon, and then you can go towards Beverly Hills on Mulholland or go back down Laurel Canyon. She says this with so much confidence that I had to go home and research whether or not Mark Egnaflo used older maps to try and confuse Capricorn. I'm looking up if maybe the maps of the Hollywood Hills are not as accurate. It's not. It seems like it's quite the accurate map. However, this is how convincing Capricorn is in her story. I feel like maybe there's some sort of misunderstanding. Maybe like she meant they went a different way. Because if you go the different way, you do see skyline, you do see Laurel Canyon. And Then she said she was going south on Laurel Canyon when the police were going up Laurel Canyon. So I'm like, I feel like this. But that's crazy because that's how she came. Yes. She came across, like, not convincing in the sense of, like, we don't think she's telling the truth, but in the sense of, like, she's so firm with her answers. She's been so transparent. But the whole time, Combs is just shaking his head in disagreement, like, I can't believe how crazy that this story is. Which, honestly, there have been a lot more of these. Like, I'm so confused. However, everybody is giggling to release some tension in the courtroom. So I guess we will all giggle. And a lot of those moments come from previous employees of Combs, like Capricorn, but also David James. David James, another former personal assistant, he talks about the time that he took ecstasy. He says, it was a New Year's eve party, and Mr. Combs gave me the night off, but he invited me to the house, to the party, and to celebrate New Year's Eve. So I went to Mr. Combs's bag, and I took a pill of ecstasy that night. So he's doing this without Sean Combs's knowledge. And then he is asked, what happened after you took the ecstasy? I was feeling pretty good. Can you describe the feeling of taking ecstasy? I would say it's ecstatic. So I was also drinking Ciroc that night. So I was drinking and on ecstasy. Normally, I'm very straight edge, don't normally have too much emotion. But this night, I was, like, dancing. Said I was. I was diddy boppin all over the party. And the gallery starts giggling. A few of the jurors are sharing glances. What happened after you started diddy bopping, as you describe it? I was just vibing. And even Combs is smiling. But he explains that afterwards, after diddy bopping, he gets called into Combs's office, where Combs tells him, yo, Playboy, is that you dancing around the party? And I said, yeah, that was me dancing around the party. He said, you were on ecstasy that night? And I said, yeah, yes, sir, I was. And he kind of nodded his head and said, okay, well, I'm gonna keep this footage in case I ever need it. What footage of him Diddy bopping to embarrass him. Later in the Cross, Mark Agnifolo is asking David James about his title. And he's like, but your title was personal assistant, just so I know what to call you. And David is like, call me David. And there's just so many of these moments where it's like, what is happening? Other times, David James is asked by Mark Agnifolo, this is one that's doing Capricorn's Cross, that whenever Combs ran into fans at McDonald's, let's say, you know, Mark says, in your opinion, did he intend to be gracious around these sort of things? I don't think gracious is a word I would use to describe Mr. Combs. Okay. But he keeps doubling down. Did he ever sign autographs for fans? He did not, actually. Sometimes I would sign autographs, or his executive staff would sign autographs. He would send those out if we got fan mail, for example. He did not sign many autographs. He also tries to make David James feel good, saying things like, long days were never a problem for David James, though, because he never gets tired. To which David James responds, that's not true. One day I was actually driving home from the studio in la, and I was actually driving the car this night, and I blew through a red light, and Mr. Combs got very upset with me, and he was like, what are you doing, man? We can't be blowing red lights. We'll be pulled over by the cops. I just turned around and I said, I. I'm tired, man. Like, I'm exhausted. So then Mark is like, okay, let's move on. And the whole time, Sean Combs is sitting there, and he's kind of making these very specific expressions, which he does for all of his personal assistants when they're. When they share stories like this, which is, I've never heard this story before. Like, he is, in my opinion, trying to appear very confused. Like, where is this story coming from? There's another part where David James admits during the cross examination that one of the security staff members, Roger Bonds, had picked up two women that were sex workers. And he says, I wasn't familiar at the time that they were prostitutes. That's how he words it. Tell us what happened. Roger Bonds and I went out to eat. We went out to have drinks. One night. We were off. We went to the hotel lobby. We met two women, and we brought these two women back to Mr. Combs residence. Combs was not there at the time. He was at a hotel. Did you ask anyone if you could bring these women back to the house? I mean, Roger Bonds, it was his idea to do it. Okay. Roger Bonds made you do it. It was often that security detail would actually invite women over to the house without Mr. Combs knowledge. And it turns out that these weren't just women. They were what? Well, after we had intercourse, they asked me for $200. I was very surprised. I was like, what do you mean? And I called Bonds and I said, why is this woman asking me for money? I had no idea she was, you know, a person to ask for money after that. And I was against paying her. So I told Bond Bonds, I don't want to pay her for this. I don't understand why. He said, you better pay her because we don't want any problems here at the house. So pay her. And you paid her? I did. And then she wanted to take a shower, so I asked her to pay me $200 to take a shower. How did that turn out? I got my money back. You got your money back. Congratulations. And everyone in the courtroom is giggling because we don't really know what else to do. Even Sean Combs is glancing around to check, like, am I allowed to giggle? And he, like, glances around, and then he gets a little chuckles in. I will say, though, to offset these lighter moments, there is this odd feeling that whenever a former personal assistant talks about Sean Combs, and I say this so that you understand the vibe, a lot of them sound like they were in a cult. They will get so emotional talking about the trauma of working for Combs. They will be so firm in their insistence on seeing violence, violence between amongst themselves or with Cassie and others, like whether they are receiving the violence or whether Sean Combs is putting that violence on Cassie. But the second they're asked to talk about Sean Combs as a boss, it gets strange. George Kaplan is another assistant who was subpoenaed by the government to testify. And I feel like most of his testimony helped the defense. He does state that some parts of his job were hard. It was my first week on the job. He asked me to go to Whole Foods and get a BPA gallon water bottle. And they didn't have it like a BPA free gallon water bottle. And I didn't want to be coming back late, so I got two half gallon water bottles to make up the whole gallon, and that was insufficient. How did Mr. Combs respond when you brought him two half gallon water bottles instead of one gallon water bottle? He was angry. He told me that I did not bring him what he asked for. Meanwhile, when he talks to Mark, the entire cross is just making Sean Combs looks good. He says everything that Mr. Combs diversity is a very important part of it, especially for the African American people. When you work with him, Mr. Combs part of the job. No matter if you're close to him or not, he has an extremely infectious vibration. I mean, you are around him and you feel his excitement. You feel what he feels. And he's very adept at projecting that. I have never worked harder in my life. Mark Agnifolo asks George Kaplan, you've never worked harder in your life? And they always say, don't ask a question you don't know the answer to. But. But here I go, looking back at it. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I can't answer that question. It's proven to be one of the most complicated pieces of my life.

Stephanie (146:50)

No. Then another email is brought into evidence. Then a text thread between Capricorn and Combs and it reads with Capricorn asking, are you okay? Is your mom okay? Hope all is well. Xx Sean responds, yes, we're great. How are you? Hopefully you'll forgive me soon. It's been long enough. I feel like you forgave everyone but me. Anyways, be well. Xx she's like sobbing while Mark Ignipolo is reading this out loud. Then another email chain from Capricorn to Sean Combs where she writes to him, hope you're well. Your grace period to be mad at me has long exceeded the agreed upon time, man. Lol. Mark has her read out the second paragraph and she's just crying nonstop. My hope for this year is to for you to make good on your promise to get other things and actually be my friend again. Hopefully retrospect has taught you that I just minded my own Business and grown people did what they wanted to. She was clearly never my real friend because she didn't clarify that to you. So many of your other so called friends knew things too and you still with them. She just must have wanted me in particular gone. So she's talking about Cassie, she's talking about the kid Cudi. And she's talking about how there are other people in in Combs's life that have done worse and he's still friends with them. And she's upset. So much so that Mark is telling her, take your time, take your time. Take a second if you need. Take as much time as you need. Sorry. There's nothing to be sorry about. And she's explaining, I felt again, I told you, this is just so complicated for me. I felt that I was somewhat of a protector for Puff if and if you could get me away from him, he wouldn't have someone looking after his back that actually would was looking out for him. So that email is me pleading like, dude, just let it go. And she starts sobbing. She apologizes again for being emotional. That's all right. That's okay. Take all the time you need. There's no rush. And yeah, it's just sad. Diddy's just nodding. He has no reaction in the courtroom. And the judge is very sweet with Capricorn. He tells her, Ms. Clark, it is it okay if we go on? I'm sorry. Don't be sorry, please. Even Mark Agniphila chimes in, you're okay. Capricorn looks at the judge. I apologize for my language today. The judge looks at her. Do not apologize, Mr. Agniflo. When you're ready. You ended up coming back and working with him again, right? Yes. From your perspective, he heard you. I don't think that was the case. I think that he did what Cassie wanted and Cassie wanted me back. All right, can I ask you a question? Did that hurt that he would only take you back because that's what Cassie wanted? Yes, absolutely. And she starts breaking down again. This is my whole life and their shenanigans. I have no parents, my son has autism, he's non verbal and my stakes are higher. Sir, this is the part where I said a lot of people were tearing up. I think it's like, because with everyone, you just keep hearing, if you were so scared for your life, why did you keep going back? Which I think is already like, like not the best question to ask anyone. But I think with her, it's the way she says it puts it so much in perspective. Like, sometimes not everybody has hundreds of millions of dollars and choices, so. Yeah, you know, and it. You just feel okay. So you reached out to him consistently, Right? And I'm sorry, through the year 2018, 19. 2021, 22. You wanted him to forgive you, am I right? I wanted my life back, sir. And your life. When you say, I want my life back. You wanted to work with him again? I wanted to work with the music industry and use my core competency. During the redirect, Capricorn mentions that part of her settlement agreement was that Combs would give her a positive recommendation to get a job, which he doesn't even do that. How long were you looking for work? I was looking for work until I pretty much got pregnant. And what year was that? 2015. Were you able to obtain work? No. Why not? I was blacklisted. Did you return to work for Mr. Combs? I did. Why did you do that? I wanted to take the opportunity so that other people could see that I was a valuable person and that I wasn't disposable. Why did you need Mr. Combs approval for that? At this level of business? He held all the power as it related to me. During the re cross, Mark Agniphila focuses mainly on Cassie with asking. Do you remember saying at our meeting in 2024 that Cassie said to you that if she. You told Cassie, you have to, you should move away from him and date other people, Right? Yes. And she said to you that Jay Z was taken. Who would she date? True. She said that she did nothing else. Thanks, Judge. And that is the end of Capricorn's entire testimony. Me.