Another ex-girlfriend who claims Sean “Diddy” Combs abused her has given evidence about allegedly being subjected to drug-fuelled sex marathons orchestrated by the hip-hop mogul.
Combs was warned by the judge in his sex trafficking trial that he would be kicked out of the courtroom in New York if he kept “nodding vigorously” at the jury.
The woman, using the pseudonym “Jane”, is among several witnesses who accuse Combs of violence towards them, including his former girlfriend, R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
Cassie has given evidence alleging that Combs assaulted her numerous times and made her endure “hundreds” of encounters with male sex workers called “freak-offs” that he allegedly watched and filmed.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of running his business empire as a racketeering enterprise that enabled and concealed the abuse of women over two decades.
He faces 15 years to life if convicted.
Jane, a single mother, gave evidence that she told Combs repeatedly, in person and in writing, that she did not want to keep having those freak-offs with other men.
But Combs kept pushing her into them and she felt “obligated” to go along with it, she said.
He also had control over her life in other ways, she said, including by paying the rent on her home.
A single mother, Jane said she got to know Combs while on a “girls’ trip” to Miami in 2020 with a friend who was dating him at the time.
Jane said she dated him from 2021 to 2024 in what began as a loving and passionate relationship.
While giving evidence, she dropped her head and appeared to get emotional, wiping away tears, as a prosecutor asked her about a turning point in their relationship: May 2021, when she said Combs started talking to her about his sexual fantasies involving other men and role playing.
One night, she acquiesced because it “seemed like he wanted that, and it was turning him on”, and she wanted to make him happy.
Within hours, she said, she was in a Miami hotel room watching Combs’ personal assistants setting the space up for a freak-off.
Jane said she was dating Combs at the time of his arrest last September.
Before Jane gave evidence, while jurors were at lunch, Judge Arun Subramanian told lawyers that any more energetic nodding from Combs to the jury “could result in the exclusion of your client from the courtroom”.
The judge said he saw the display while Combs’ defence team cross-examined Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a friend of Cassie.
Defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said he understood.
The judge added sternly: “There should be no efforts whatsoever to have an interaction with this jury.”
Combs has been active in his defence throughout the trial, regularly writing notes to his lawyers, and they have consulted with him as they questioned witnesses.
Judge Subramanian took steps to protect Jane’s anonymity, including warning observers not to describe or sketch her in a way that would reveal her identity.
Evidence resumed on Thursday morning with the defence continuing to cross-examine Ms Bongolan, a graphic designer who has a pending lawsuit against Combs.
She gave evidence the previous day alleging that Combs once dangled her over a balcony of a high-rise Los Angeles apartment for 10 to 15 seconds.
She says the 2016 episode traumatised her and left her with lasting nightmares.
For a time afterwards, she said she would wake up screaming.
Defence lawyer Nicole Westmoreland pressed Ms Bongolan on inconsistencies on Thursday, suggesting she lied or exaggerated some of her claims.
The lawyer said Combs might not even have been in Los Angeles when Ms Bongolan alleges he dangled her from the balcony.
Combs was performing on tour for most of September 2016, including dates on the East Coast around the time mobile phone metadata shows she took pictures of her alleged injuries.
“You agree that one person can’t be in two places at the same time?” Ms Westmoreland asked.
Ms Bongolan responded: “In like theory, yeah. It’s hard to answer that one.”
Questioned again by prosecutors, Ms Bongolan said that while she does not recall the exact date, she has no doubt that the balcony episode happened.
Ms Bongolan also acknowledged she smoked marijuana with Combs not long after the balcony episode, then went to one of his concerts a week later and a private party he held around the same time.
“You weren’t too fearful enough to not go to Mr Combs’ event, were you?” Ms Westmoreland asked.
“I always had a feeling inside, but yes, I went,” Ms Bongolan said.
