Witness Saw Cassie Ventura’s ‘Purple Eye’ After Altercation (Live Updates)

Topline

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex parties and his altercation with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura dominated witness testimony on the first day of his sex trafficking trial, as prosecutors laid out allegations of a “criminal enterprise” and the defense argued Combs was merely a “swinger” with a “bad temper.” (Combs has pleaded not guilty to all five federal charges).

Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty to five federal charges. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty … More Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs)

Getty Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs

Key Facts

Israel Florez, a security guard at the Los Angeles hotel where Combs attacked ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 in an incident captured on surveillance cameras, testified first at Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial Monday.

Florez testified Combs allegedly bribed him to keep silent about the incident and said he saw Ventura with a “purple eye” after the altercation, and prosecutors played surveillance footage—including a video of the incident first published by CNN last year—and other videos captured by Florez for the jury.

Daniel Phillip, a male escort, was the second to take the stand, testifying he was paid by Ventura to have sex with her at a hotel in 2012 while Combs watched in the corner and masturbated, the New York Times reported, and then repeated the service multiple times with the couple at various hotels.V

Ventura is expected to begin what could be a days-long testimony late Monday or Tuesday, CNN reported.

Prosecutors laid out their case against Combs in opening statements Monday, accusing the hip-hop star of running a “criminal enterprise” that exploited women, including his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, by using physical force and threats to coerce them into having sex with male escorts.

In the defense’s opening statement, Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos admitted Combs was physically violent, but she argued this is “not evidence of sex trafficking” or his other charges, while defending his “swinger” lifestyle and his sexual encounters as consensual.

Florez Testifies About Cassie Ventura Altercation: Combs Had ‘devilish Stare’ And Stack Of Money

Florez testified he had responded to a call reporting a woman in distress on the hotel’s sixth floor, where Ventura was “in the corner, hood on, covered up” and appeared “scared,” NBC News reported, and Combs was sitting in a towel with a “devilish stare.” Florez said Combs approached him with a stack of money, telling him: “Don’t tell nobody,” but Florez rejected the apparent bribe, AP reported. Prosecutors showed the jury footage from the incident, including one video in which Combs is shown approaching Ventura in a hallway and knocking her to the floor before kicking her and dragging her back into their hotel room. Florez testified he did not call the police because Ventura did not answer his questions and repeatedly stated she wanted to leave, the New York Times reported. During cross-examination by Combs’ lawyer Brian Steel, Steel asked Florez why he left out some information from an incident report he filed after the attack that he mentioned in his testimony, including a description of Ventura having a “purple eye.”

Diddy’s Defense Attorneys Say He Is Violent But Not A Sex Trafficker

Geragos denied Combs’ violent behavior constitutes acts of sex trafficking or other federal crimes. “He is physical, he is a drug user, you may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No,” Geragos told the jury, NBC News reported. Geragos addressed the hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Ventura, calling his actions “indefensible,” “dehumanizing” and “virtually every bad word you can think of,” but said it is “not evidence of sex trafficking,” CNN reported. Geragos argued Ventura was a “willing participant in their sex life” while with Combs and claimed Ventura left Combs on her own terms when she realized she would “never be his wife, never be his love of his life,” CNN reported. Geragos said Ventura was “jealous” of the relationship between Combs and his late ex-girlfriend, Kim Porter, with whom Combs had three children. Geragos also portrayed Combs’ other sexual partners as consenting adults and denied they were victims of trafficking.

Prosecutors Allege Diddy Ran ‘criminal Enterprise’ With Freak-Off Parties And Violence

Attorney Emily A. Johnson delivered the opening statement for the prosecution, accusing Combs of running “a criminal enterprise.” Johnson described one night in which Combs allegedly learned Ventura was seeing another man while they were together, so he enlisted an employee to break into the man’s house, the New York Times reported, though the employee did not find the man. Instead, Combs allegedly beat Ventura “brutally.” Johnson described Combs’ “freak off” parties, which she says were also referred to as “wild king nights” or “hotel nights,” alleging Combs’ company would pay for parties and hotel rooms in which Combs would allegedly force women to take drugs and have sex with male escorts in encounters Combs sometimes recorded, the AP reported. Johnson described multiple alleged incidents of Combs committing acts of violence, including an incident in 2009 in which he allegedly stomped on Ventura’s face, and another in which Combs grabbed an unnamed woman in a chokehold and kicked her to the ground before drugging her and coercing her into participating in a freak-off, the Times reported.

What Do We Know About The Jury?

The 12 jurors are composed of eight men and four women, the New York Times reported, with six alternates composed of four men and two women. Defense attorneys representing Combs protested some of the struck jurors to the judge, alleging the prosecutors struck seven prospective Black jurors, amounting to a pattern, the AP reported. Subramanian rejected the defense’s claim, stating the prosecution gave “race neutral reasons” for why each juror was struck and that the defense did not give evidence of discrimination. The jurors range in age from their 30s to their 70s, span jobs including a scientist, massage therapist, deli clerk and investment analyst, and they hail from Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County, the Times reported. Some of the jurors said they have seen a video of Combs attacking ex-girlfriend Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel, which is expected to be shown at trial. The defense previously struck a juror who said the video made Combs look like an “angry, hostile person,” the Times reported.

How Is Combs Reacting In Court?

Combs arrived at the courthouse sporting gray hair, which is no longer black as he does not have access to hair dye in jail. He is wearing a light gray sweater and a white collared shirt with khaki pants, the Washington Post reported, and he blew kisses to his family, who are seated in the second row behind him, while walking into the courthouse. Throughout the jury selection process, Combs has donned black-framed glasses and has been actively flipping through a blue notebook and whispering with his defense attorneys, the Post reported.

What Is Sean “diddy” Combs Charged With?

Combs faces five federal charges: two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering conspiracy. The fourth and fifth charges, one additional count each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, were added by prosecutors in April in a superseding indictment concerning an alleged unnamed victim, referred to as “Victim-2.” Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

What Do We Know About Diddy’s Defense?

Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has indicated at pre-trial hearings he would portray the rap mogul as a “swinger” in his defense, which he argues is not a crime. “It’s relevant to the defendant’s intent that there’s a lifestyle called swingers, call it whatever you will, that he was in, that he might have thought was appropriate,” Agnifilo said at a hearing in April. Agnifilo also said at a hearing he would portray Combs’ relationship with Ventura, whom he dated off-and-on between 2007 and 2018, as mutually violent with “hitting on both sides,” after the court allowed a hotel surveillance video that shows Combs attacking Ventura to be played during trial as evidence.

Combs Rejected Plea Deal After String Of Allegations And Civil Suits

Combs told the judge he rejected a plea deal in court earlier this month, though details of the deal are unknown. Combs had also attempted to delay the trial by two months so his legal team could have additional time to prepare, though Subramanian rejected his legal team’s request. While awaiting trial, Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a jail known for poor conditions that has also housed disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried and currently houses Luigi Mangione, accused of the killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. Combs’ legal issues began with a lawsuit filed by Ventura in November 2023, in which she alleged he raped her and subjected her to years of physical abuse. The suit was settled the next day for an undisclosed amount, though Ventura’s lawsuit kicked off a barrage of suits filed against Combs, many of which alleged sexual assault and sex trafficking. Combs has denied all allegations made against him. Federal agents raided Combs’ homes in March 2024, and he was arrested by authorities in September 2024 after being indicted by a grand jury.