Sean "Diddy" Combs's former partner has told a New York court how he would allegedly threaten to release sex tapes to humiliate her and ruin her career.
Warning: This story contains details of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known by the stage name Cassie, has spent a second day testifying about the abuse and violence she said she suffered at the hands of her long-term partner.
She said Mr Combs threatened to "embarrass me and put my career in jeopardy" and warned her "he could ruin everything I'd worked for". The singer had been signed to Mr Combs's record label, Bad Boy Records, before they started dating.
Mr Combs is accused of running a criminal enterprise that committed sex trafficking, forced labour, coercion for prostitution, kidnapping and other offences.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his lawyers say the sexual acts were consensual.
Here are some of the key moments from the third day of the criminal trial.
Ventura tells court Combs raped her after they broke up
Ms Ventura said she and Mr Combs had a "closure conversation" at a restaurant in 2018, after the couple had broken up.
She said after dinner he brought her home and raped her on her living room floor.
She told the court: "I just remember crying and saying no."
When asked what Mr Combs did when she cried, she replied: "He continued. I don't even think he noticed."
She was asked why she was intimate with Mr Combs on one other occasion after the alleged rape, to which she responded: "You don't just turn feelings off … I didn't hate him."
Jury sees images from 'freak-off' videos
The prosecution said it would not show the sex tapes to the court while it was questioning Ms Ventura.
But it did show the jury five still images taken from the videos, which were shot during the days-long, drug-fuelled orgies known as "freak-offs" that Ms Ventura said she felt pressured to partake in.
One juror's eyes widened as the first image — of Ms Ventura and a male sex worker she identified as Jules — appeared on a screen in front of him. Another juror shook his head as the image was shown.
Many of the jurors took notes as Ms Ventura described what was happening in the images.
Ms Ventura had previously told the court she felt obligated to participate in the freak-offs — which involved having sex with other men while Mr Combs watched and gave instructions. "I just didn't feel like I had much of a choice," she said on Tuesday, local time.
Testimony on a freak-off threat after a fight in France
Ms Ventura said Mr Combs threatened to release explicit videos from the freak-offs when he got angry or upset with her.
Once, she said, he made the threat after they attended the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in France, where they had fought.
Ms Ventura testified Mr Combs had accused her of taking drugs from him and kicked her off the yacht where they were staying. She said she left the boat without her shoes, passport and other belongings.
She said she ended up crashing at a hotel where Mr Combs's employees were staying.
On the way back to the United States, she said, Mr Combs threatened to release videos of her having sex during freak-offs. She told jurors she "felt trapped" by Mr Combs.
The court was also shown text message exchanges in which she asked him to delete videos and he promised he had.
Ms Ventura had previously told the court she felt obligated to take part in the freak-offs — which involved having sex with other men while Mr Combs watched and gave instructions. "I just didn't feel like I had much of a choice," she said on Tuesday, local time.
Ventura details violent attacks on her and her friends
Ms Ventura told the court about multiple occasions when she said Mr Combs physically attacked her or others.
One came early in their relationship in 2007. Ms Ventura said she and Mr Combs were at a dinner when she spotted him flirting with somebody.
She said she shrugged her shoulders when somebody else who saw it looked at her. But then, she said, Mr Combs attacked her in a car after they left the venue. She fell to the floor of the car after he hit her in the head, she said.
"I was just shocked," she said. "I didn't necessarily understand what happened and why he was so angry."
She said in another instance, in 2011, Mr Combs lunged at her with a wine bottle opener and kicked her in the back of the head when he learned she had started dating rapper Kid Cudi during a low point in her relationship with Mr Combs.
He again threatened to release intimate videos of her, she said, and also said he would blow up Kid Cudi's car. The rapper's car subsequently exploded.
On another occasion, Ms Ventura said, she saw Mr Combs hit one of her close friends in the head with a hammer.
"It just ended our friendship," Ms Ventura said.
Ventura covered injuries in public, but sent a photo to Combs
The jury was shown photos of injuries Ms Ventura allegedly sustained after he assaulted her in an LA hotel in 2016. They showed her with a swollen lip and bruises on her legs and shoulders.
The incident was captured by CCTV cameras and broadcast on CNN last year.
Ms Ventura testified Mr Combs threw a vase of flowers at her during the attack. She told the court a friend called police afterwards but she refused to tell officers who attacked her.
"In that moment, I didn't want to hurt him," she said.
When asked if she wanted to protect Mr Combs, she said: "Yes, of course."
Two days later, the pair was photographed at the premiere of movie The Perfect Match. Ms Ventura said she used make-up to cover her bruises, and sneaked into a popcorn closet at the movie theatre to switch dresses for an after-party so bruises on her legs wouldn't be visible.
The court was also shown a photo of a gash on Ms Ventura's eyebrow. She said it needed stitches after Mr Combs threw her into the corner of her bed frame.
Afterward, she sent Mr Combs a photo of her injured face with a text message that said: "So you can remember."
Mr Combs replied: "You don't know when to stop. You pushed it too far. And continued to push. Sad."
IV fluids and opiates to deal with freak-off aftermath
Ms Ventura also spoke about the toll the freak-offs would take on her body.
She said she had constant gastrointestinal issues and exhaustion from taking drugs, "horrible, burning" urinary tract infections from the sexual encounters, and mouth sores from oral sex.
She said after the freak-offs, she would get IV fluids and massages to try to recover.
She also developed an addiction to opiates, she said.
"Opiates made me feel numb, which is why I relied so heavily on them," she said.
"I didn't want to feel what was going on.
"Emotionally after the freak-offs, I definitely felt just gross."
Civil lawsuit was settled for $US20m, court hears
Before the criminal trial, Ms Ventura sued Mr Combs, alleging years of rape and abuse.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2023, was resolved the next day.
Ms Ventura said she settled the lawsuit for $US20 million ($31 million).
Asked why she was testifying at Mr Combs's criminal trial, she said: "I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the shame, the guilt."
Mr Combs's lawyers are expected to cross-examine Ms Ventura when she returns to court on Thursday, local time.
ABC/wires
