Richard sued Combs in September 2024 in New York federal court, accusing the music mogul of sexually harassing her on multiple occasions, overworking her and verbally abusing her. In her lawsuit, Richard said Combs “manipulated” her for nearly a decade while Danity Kane was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records and while a member of the musical trio, Diddy – Dirty Money, with Combs. Richard said Combs had sexually harassed her multiple times by entering her dressing room while she was changing and groping her bare butt and chest. Richard said Combs would regularly force her and her bandmates to record music and rehearse for 36 to 48 hours at a time, stating she lost a significant amount of weight, prompting Combs to call her “too skinny,” even though she said he denied her requests for food. Richard said Combs had an “uncontrollable anger,” stating she had witnessed Combs be violent toward Ventura. Whenever Richard would try to intervene between Combs and Ventura, Combs would threaten her life and tell her he makes people go “missing,” Richard alleged. Richard’s lawyer Lisa Bloom told the BBC Combs had a “vicious temper and [Richard] was absolutely terrified of him.” Combs’ lawyer denied Richard’s allegations, as well as all other allegations made in the dozens of lawsuits filed against him.

Ventura, considered the government’s key witness in its case against Combs, testified from Tuesday through Friday last week. While on the stand, she said Combs would “too frequently” subject her to physical abuse: “He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” Ventura said. She described “freak-offs,” highly choreographed sexual encounters in which Combs watched Ventura have sex with a male escort, as drug-fueled nightmares that took large physical and emotional tolls. “I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated,” Ventura said. Defense lawyers tried to paint Ventura as consenting to freak-offs, citing messages she had sent Combs, including one from 2009 that read, “I’m always ready for a freak-off lolol.” Ventura pushed back on some of the messages as “just words at that point,” while stating she viewed Combs as “sweet” and “attentive” early in their relationship. Ventura also testified Combs raped her in 2018, an allegation she made in her 2023 lawsuit against the music mogul. Defense lawyers questioned the credibility of the allegation, pointing out inconsistencies Ventura had given about the timeline of the alleged rape, as well as pointing to messages indicating she and Combs had consensual sex after the alleged incident. Ventura testified while nearly nine months pregnant, and judge Arun Subramanian sparred with Combs’ lawyers after they told him they may have needed her testimony to stretch into a second week. Subramanian urged both sides to wrap up Ventura’s testimony by Friday, as prosecutors voiced fears she could give birth before finishing testimony, risking a mistrial.

Combs faces five federal charges: two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all allegations made against him. Combs also faces dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial: Cassie Testifies About Alleged 2018 Rape As Cross-Examination Wraps Up (Forbes)