'ABUSE': Cassie and Diddy
Image: Jewel SAMAD AFP
THE Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial got off to an explosive start on Monday.
In one of the most-talked about Hollywood court cases, what’s unfolding is a narrative filled with abuse, control, and vieslike sex acts that prosecutors argue from the heart of a years-long pattern of exploitation
The trial, which began on Monday, 12 May, has cast a harsh spotlight on the rapper's long-term relationship with singer Cassie Ventura.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson shared harrowing news in her opening statements.
She claimed that Combs once forced a male escort to urinate in Ventura's mouth at a private party, an act that left her “feeling like she was choking.”
This incident is allegedly just one example of the coercion and humiliation she endured under Combs' control.
Witness Daniel Phillip, a male escort and performer who said he had been hired by Ventura, on Combs’ orders, to engage in sex acts, some lasting 10 hours, while the rapper watched and filmed.
In one account, Phillip said he heard Ventura screaming behind closed doors after Combs allegedly dragged her by the hair and slapped her when she did not respond quickly to his call.
He admitted that he didn’t intervene because he believed Combs was too powerful, adding that he feared for his safety.
Combs’ daughters, D’Lila, Jessie, and Chance, all 18, walked out of the courtroom alongside his mother, Janice Combs, as witness Phillip began describing a graphic sexual encounter.
His lawyer, Teny Geragos, acknowledged in court that he had committed acts of domestic violence.