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NEW YORK — A lawyer for Sean "Diddy" Combs challenged the credibility of the hip-hop mogul's ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura at his criminal trial on Thursday by displaying messages in which Ventura said she was ready for another one of Combs' long drug-fueled sex performances known as "freak offs."
Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, is the star government witness against Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The 38-year-old Ventura had previously told jurors in Manhattan federal court that Combs coerced and blackmailed her throughout their 11-year relationship, which ended in 2018, into "freak offs" that he orchestrated.
Under questioning by prosecutors, she said she hated "freak offs" but participated because she loved Combs and wanted to make him happy.
On Thursday, a defense lawyer showed the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates a series of emails and text messages from early in Combs' and Ventura's relationship, including some that were sexually explicit.
They included communications where Ventura told Combs she was always ready for a "freak off" and was ready for sex, and where Ventura and Combs professed love for each other and she sought more attention from him.
"I wanted to spend so much time with him, at this point in 2010, because I'd fallen in love with him and I cared about him very much," Ventura told jurors.
Combs, 55, has been held since September in a Brooklyn jail when not in court. If convicted on all counts, the rapper and founder of Bad Boy Records could face a minimum of 15 years in prison and life behind bars.
Lawyers for Combs said Ventura's cross-examination may continue through the end of Friday.
They have signaled they will ask Ventura about her own alleged history of domestic violence, and whether a desire for money motivated her to get back at Combs.
Ventura married personal trainer Alex Fine in 2019 and is pregnant with her third child. Her cross-examination followed 1½ days of testimony for the prosecution.
Part of the criminal case stems from Ventura's November 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs. She testified that he agreed after 24 hours to settle for $20 million.
Asked on Wednesday why she decided to testify against Combs, Ventura said she could no longer bear the emotional burden of years of his physical and emotional abuse.
"I can't carry the shame, the guilt, the way he treated people like they were disposable," she said. "What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. I came here to do the right thing."
Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn artists like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.
The criminal trial could take up to two months.
