Sean 'Diddy' Combs tries to warm himself up as he shivers during a break in his sex trafficking trial in New York City on May 20. Photo: Reuters
Sean "Diddy" Combs once took an ecstasy pill shaped like President Barack Obama's face, the hip-hop mogul's former personal assistant testified on Tuesday at Combs' racketeering and sex trafficking trial.
David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 to 2009, told jurors during the second week of the trial in Manhattan federal court that he frequently saw Combs take drugs, including opiates during the day and ecstasy at night. James said he sometimes picked up drugs for Combs and his friends, and often brought narcotics and other personal items like lubricant and condoms to Combs' hotel rooms.
He said he once saw Combs take an ecstasy pill shaped like a "former president's face." When prosecutor Christy Slavik asked him which president, James responded, "President Obama."
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances known as "Freak Offs" from 2004 to 2024. They say his employees helped by buying drugs, booking and stocking hotel rooms, and giving Combs cash to pay male sex workers to take part in the parties.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have acknowledged that Combs had substance abuse issues and was an abusive romantic partner, but say the sex acts described by prosecutors were consensual.
Last week, jurors heard testimony from prosecutors' star witness: Combs' former longtime girlfriend Casandra Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie. Ventura said she took part in Combs' Freak Offs for about a decade, first to please him and later because he blackmailed her with videos of the encounters.
Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura, testified on Tuesday that Combs in December 2011 demanded US$20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Ventura after discovering she had a relationship with another man.
Jurors saw photographs Regina Ventura took around that time of her daughter with bruises on her legs and back, as well as an email in which Casandra Ventura told her mother that Combs had threatened to release sex tapes of her and have someone hurt her.
"I was scared for my daughter's safety," Regina Ventura said.
Regina Ventura said she took out a loan against her home to pay Combs, but that the money was returned days later. Combs' defense did not cross-examine her.
Combs' legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated. Last week, the defense showed jurors e-mails and text messages in which Ventura said she was always ready for a Freak Off or sex.
On Tuesday, a male exotic dancer named Sharay Hayes testified that he engaged in sexual activity with Ventura while Combs watched in hotel rooms in Manhattan several times between 2012 and 2016. He said Ventura would pay him between US$1,200 and US$2,000 in cash.
Hayes, who performs under the stage name "The Punisher," said Ventura would sometimes sigh as Combs directed her what to do with her body. But he also said Ventura at times appeared to enjoy the encounters.
"It seemed like there was consent there as far as I was concerned," Hayes said under cross-examination by defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson.
Known also during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs helped turn artistes like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars. In the process, he elevated the role of hip-hop in American culture, and became a billionaire.
He has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest. – Reuters
