Prosecutors leading the criminal case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have ensured plenty of shocking testimony at the start of his trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
On day one they showed the jury footage of Combs violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in an LA hotel in 2016. Yesterday Ventura herself took the witness stand and was questioned about the ‘freak offs’ that Combs orchestrated and forced her to take part in.
Those freak offs, in which women, including Ventura, were allegedly drugged and forced into unwanted sex acts, form a key part of the prosecution's case against Combs.
Prosecutors argue that they demonstrate the control Combs exercised over those around him and how he used that control to abuse others for his own pleasure. But they also show how Combs allegedly used his business and employees to organise and conduct this abuse - a key fact that must be demonstrated in court to prove the racketeering charge.
Early in her testimony Ventura was asked to describe the freak offs in her own words. According to The Guardian, she told the court, “It basically entailed the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean”. Combs would direct what happened, and “control the whole situation”, she explained, adding “it was his fantasy".
Taking part in these freak offs “eventually became a job for me”, she went on, adding “I was an object, I was heavily objectified”. Ventura confirmed she would take drugs before each freak off, which were provided to her by Combs, and which had a “numbing” effect, allowing her to “dissociate” from the experience.
Combs’ control over Ventura went well beyond the freak offs, Ventura also testified. He would seek to control many other aspects of her life and would sometimes physically assault her if she failed to act in a certain way.
Elsewhere in her testimony she discussed how she first met and subsequently began a relationship with Combs, and how, over time, she began to experience his “abusive side” and his “controlling side”, which would vary day to day depending on his mood.
She also discussed how Combs relied on his employees, again playing into the prosecution’s core allegation that the musician headed up a criminal enterprise. “He had assistants at his beck and call”, Ventura told the court, adding, “he could get anything done quickly, he had respect from everyone”.
Ventura’s testimony is continuing today. The defence will be keen to portray her as a willing participant in the freak-offs and that will likely be central to the questions they ask.