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Kid Cudi took the witness stand Thursday (May 22) in the sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, telling jurors that he believes Combs broke into his Los Angeles house and later torched his Porsche with a Molotov cocktail out of anger over his relationship with Cassie Ventura.

The “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper (Scott Mescudi) was a much-anticipated witness in the criminal trial of Combs, who’s accused of coercing Ventura and other women into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.” The trial closed out its second week on Thursday (May 22) and is expected to continue for at least another month.  

Mescudi was photographed arriving at the Manhattan federal courthouse in a leather jacket and smoking a cigarette. According to reporting from CNN and the Associated Press, he began testifying in the morning and told jurors he briefly dated Ventura in 2011.

From the stand, Mescudi said Ventura, an R&B singer who dated Combs for 11 years, became very scared when the music mogul learned about her new relationship in December 2011. He then claimed Combs broke into his L.A. house while he was at a hotel with Ventura, and that items were moved and his dog was locked in a bathroom when he returned.

Combs allegedly tried to talk to Mescudi after this incident, but the rapper said he ignored the mogul’s texts: “You broke into my house, you messed with my dog, I don’t want to talk to you,” Mescudi testified.

Ventura claimed during her marathon testimony last week that Combs had threatened to blow up Mescudi’s car out of anger about their relationship, and, in her 2023 civil lawsuit against Combs, said that shortly after Combs issued these threats, Mescudi’s car was blown up. Mescudi seemed to confirm this, saying his Porsche 911 was torched in his driveway in early 2012.

At one point, the jury was shown a photo of Mescudi’s burnt-up luxury car. “It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open, and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in,” Mescudi testified of the photo.

Mescudi later said he met up with Combs to discuss their differences after the incident, and that Combs acted “like a Marvel supervillain” during their meeting. He added that Combs promised he wasn’t responsible for the car explosion, but Mescudi said he believed Combs was lying.

Combs has not been officially linked to the car explosion — a point that Combs’ attorneys emphasized when cross-examining Mescudi. Defense attorney Brian Steel suggested that DNA collected from the car was identified as belonging to a woman, though Mescudi responded that he never heard from authorities about this.

Steel did get Mescudi to confirm on cross-examination that Ventura confided in him about physical abuse from Combs, but never mentioned sexual abuse. This supports the defense’s argument that while Combs committed domestic violence, he never engaged in trafficking and that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.

Mescudi posted a video on X thanking fans for support after departing the courthouse.

Also on Thursday, the jury heard additional testimony from Combs’ former assistant George Kaplan, who said he quit in 2015 after witnessing the rapper’s violent treatment of Ventura and other girlfriends.  

“The central reason that I left my job as Mr. Combs’ assistant was that I was not comfortable or aligned with the physical behavior that had been going on,” said Kaplan, who began his testimony on Wednesday (May 21). Notably, Kaplan was granted immunity after initially being reluctant to testify.  

A parade of other witnesses also briefly took the stand on Thursday. This included Ventura’s former makeup artist, Mylah Morales, who said she saw Ventura with extensive injuries after an argument with Combs in 2010, plus a hotel employee and a computer forensics agent.

The trial is off for the next few days and slated to resume on Tuesday (May 27).

Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs and using violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control. (Read Billboard‘s full explainer of the case against Diddy here.)

Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.

Jurors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial heard testimony Wednesday (May 21) from a psychologist about abusive relationships and from one of the hip-hop mogul’s former assistants, who was granted legal immunity before he took the stand.

Midway through the second week of Diddy’s trial, prosecutors called Dawn Hughes, a clinical psychologist who also testified at the sex abuse trials of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly and NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere, as well as in Johnny Depp’s civil defamation case against Amber Heard.

Hughes is one of many witnesses already called by prosecutors, who claim Combs coerced longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.” Defense attorneys have said the events were consensual.

On the stand, Hughes said it’s common for victims of abusive relationships to stay for years because they feel trapped: “They experience a tremendous amount of shame, humiliation, degradation,” Hughes told the jury, as reported by CNN, before later adding that victims often use substances to “numb” themselves.

Later in the day, the jury heard from George Kaplan, a former assistant to Diddy who was subpoenaed to testify, according to NBC News. After concerns that Kaplan might invoke his Fifth Amendment right to not testify, prosecutors granted him immunity so that he could do so without concern of prosecution.

Kaplan testified that part of his job was setting up and cleaning up rooms for freak-offs, after which he would often find liquor bottles and baby oil strewn around the hotel rooms. He said he understood that Diddy’s reputation had to be closely safeguarded: “Protecting him and protecting his public image was very important and that was something I was very keen on doing,” Kaplan said.

Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly pressured Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control. (Read Billboard‘s full explainer of the case against Diddy here.)

Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.

During the first week of the trial, Ventura herself spent four days on the stand detailing how Combs allegedly controlled and physically abused her during their 11-year relationship. She said the sex parties left her feeling “humiliated” but that she felt she had no choice but to participate.

Defense attorneys maintain that Ventura and other women consensually took part in the sex parties. They’ve admitted that Combs had committed domestic violence during his and Ventura’s “toxic” relationship and had unusual sexual preferences, but that he had never coerced her into participating in his “swinger” lifestyle.

While cross-examining Ventura, Combs’ attorneys showed jurors huge numbers of text messages and emails between the couple — some romantic, others graphically sexual — in an effort to show that Ventura was a willing and, at times enthusiastic, participant in the freak-offs.

The trial will continue Thursday (May 22), first with more testimony from Kaplan and then from rapper Kid Cudi, who will likely be asked about an infamous incident in which Combs allegedly set Cudi’s car on fire as payback for dating Ventura. Cudi, a surprise witness, was originally going to take the stand on Wednesday, but his testimony was postponed.

Several new witnesses took the stand Tuesday at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial, including a male escort named “The Punisher” and Cassie Ventura’s mother, who testified that she was “scared for my daughter’s safety.”

Regina Ventura told jurors that she documented the physical abuse Cassie suffered from Combs, who prosecutors claim coerced the younger Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.”

The elder Ventura later testified that she once wired $20,000 to Combs’ company in 2011 after Cassie told her that the rapper was threatening to release a sex tape of her, according to the New York Post and other media outlets — allegedly because he was enraged at her romantic relationship with Kid Cudi: “I was physically sick,” she testified, before adding, “I was scared for my daughter’s safety.”

She later said the money, which she obtained by taking out a home-equity loan, was returned days later and she had no contact with Combs about it.

Later in the morning, jurors heard testimony from Sharay Hayes, a male exotic dancer who goes by the nickname “The Punisher.” He testified that he attended as many as 12 freak-offs, and that Combs often closely directed how he and Ventura were to have sex.

Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly pressured Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control.

Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.

Defense attorneys maintain that Ventura and other women consensually took part in the sex parties. They’ve admitted that Combs had committed domestic violence during his and Ventura’s “toxic” relationship and had unusual sexual preferences, but that he had never coerced her into participating in his “swinger” lifestyle.

Tuesday also saw testimony from David James, Combs’ former personal assistant, continuing his testimony from Monday; and Gerard Gannon, a federal law enforcement agent who led the headline-grabbing raid of Combs’ house in Miami last spring that turned up guns and huge amounts of baby oil.

Cudi himself is expected to take the witness stand later this week, where he will potentially be asked about an infamous incident in which Combs allegedly set his car on fire as payback for his brief relationship with Ventura.