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Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard continued her testimony Monday at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial, telling jurors that the rapper would “frequently” assault Cassie Ventura — including once at a restaurant in front of Usher and other celebrities.
The testimony from Richard, who rose to fame on Combs’ MTV reality show Making the Band, kicked off the second week of Combs’ criminal trial, in which the music mogul is accused of coercing Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.”
Days after she told the jury that she witnessed Combs abusing Ventura — including once trying to attack her with a skillet — Richard recounted other alleged assaults, according to CNN, The New York Times and other media reports.
In one alleged incident, she testified that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach at a Los Angeles restaurant where Usher and other celebrities were present. “She immediately bent over, he [Combs] told her to leave,” Richard testified, according to People. “No one intervened.”
A rep for Usher did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard. The New York Post reported that Richard’s testimony left it “unclear” if Usher and other A-listers present had actually witnessed the alleged attack.
Later on Monday (May 19), Richard was grilled by defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland over apparent inconsistencies in her testimony, including the infamous skillet statements. In one such exchange, defense attorney pressed Richard about changes in her recollections about Combs’ drug use.
“You would agree with me that as time progresses your story changes,” Ms. Westmoreland asked. “Yes,” Richard replied.
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.
During opening statements last week, defense attorneys told jurors that Ventura and other women had consensually taken part in the sex parties. They 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.
Ventura, the prosecution’s star witness, spent four days on the stand last week detailing how Combs allegedly controlled and physically abused her during their 11-year relationship.
After Richard wrapped up on Monday, Ventura’s longtime friend Kerry Morgan took the stand, testifying about multiple incidents in which she says she saw Combs attack Ventura. In one, she said Combs entered a bathroom and that she could hear Ventura screaming.
“It was guttural, terrifying. I heard her screaming so I went to the long hallway, they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair,” Morgan said, according to NBC News.
Later in the afternoon, jurors heard from David James, a former assistant to Combs, who testified that he once told Ventura she should leave the superstar, but that she felt she was unable to do so.
“I can’t. I can’t get out,” James said Ventura told him, citing the fact that he controlled her music career, paid for her lodgings and was her source of income: “I just didn’t think that she could easily leave.”
The trial is expected to pick up again on Tuesday (May 20) with more testimony from James. The proceedings are expected to last until early July.
President Donald Trump has accused Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and more stars of participating in an “illegal election scam” run by Kamala Harris‘ campaign during the 2024 election, with the billionaire calling for a “major investigation” into their allegedly “corrupt” endorsements of the former VP.
In two Truth Social posts from the early hours of Monday (May 19), Trump first accused the Boss — whom the POTUS also called “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock” just a few days prior — of illegally accepting an undisclosed payment to appear at one of Harris’ rallies last year before lumping the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer, as well as Oprah Winfrey and U2’s Bono, into the alleged scheme. “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” Trump began. “WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS?”
“ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO???” he continued early Monday morning. “I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds.”
“IT’S NOT LEGAL!” Trump added. “For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system.”
In a follow-up post about seven hours later, Trump doubled down on his claims. “According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG!” he wrote. “Remember, the Democrats and Kamala illegally paid her millions of Dollars for doing nothing other than giving Kamala a full throated ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!”
When that 11-million figure first surfaced last year and made the rounds on social media, fact check organizations found no evidence to support the claim. Billboard has reached out to reps for Beyoncé, Springsteen and Bono for comment.
The president’s remarks come about three days after he first targeted the “Born in the U.S.A.” rocker shortly after Springsteen slammed Trump’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” administration during a concert in Manchester. Trump called the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer a “pushy, obnoxious JERK” who “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT” on Friday (May 16). That same day, Trump also wrote that Taylor Swift is “no longer ‘HOT’” following her September endorsement of Harris and his subsequent “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” post.
Springsteen was vocal in his support of Harris throughout the 2024 election, performing at rallies in Pennsylvania and Georgia as well as appearing in an advertisement supporting the Democratic politician’s campaign. Beyoncé also appeared at a Harris rally in Houston, delivering a speech in which she asserted: “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in.”
An Irish citizen, Bono did not endorse a candidate in the 2024 U.S. election or participate in any campaign events.
The E Street band leader and Destiny’s Child alum were just two of many stars who backed Harris during the 2024 election, with Megan Thee Stallion, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Cardi B, Eminem and more throwing their support behind the former prosecutor’s campaign. Finance records do not show that any of them were paid for their endorsements — something Harris would have needed to disclose if that were the case — and Harris’ campaign has denied in the past that it ever paid artists to perform at events. “We have never paid any artist and performer,” senior spokesperson Adrienne Elrod stated to Deadline when rumors to the contrary first surfaced last year. “We have never paid a fee to that person.”
Beyoncé’s camp has also denied that she accepted payment for her endorsement of Harris, as has the 35-time Grammy winner’s mother, Tina Knowles. “The lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris,” Knowles wrote on Instagram in November. “When In Fact : Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris’s Rally in Houston. In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam . They are not only lying and disrespecting Beyonce’s name but they are trying to further discredit the power of our vice president! When does the lies and rumors stop?”
There is record of Harris paying Bey’s production company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, $165,000 after the Texas event; that payment would be in accordance with federal law, which prohibits corporations from giving directly to a candidate’s campaign and mandates that campaigns reimburse the costs of large event production, according to The Hill.
Bruce Springsteen resumed denouncing Donald Trump from the stage of his Land of Hopes and Dreams Tour Saturday night (May 17) in Manchester, England.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Boss didn’t back down from his stance on Trump this weekend, after the U.S. president called Springsteen “highly overrated,” “dumb as a rock” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!)” in a post on Truth Social. The rant was Trump’s reaction to the musician calling out the president’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” at his tour opener earlier in the week.
“Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy, and they’re too important to ignore,” Springsteen said to the crowd in a three-minute speech on Manchester’s Co-op Live stage on Saturday, as heard in a video posted by the L.A. Times.
“In my home, they’re persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. That’s happening now,” Springsteen said, echoing what he’d spoken about at his May 14 show. “In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. That’s happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
Springsteen continued, “They are removing residents off American streets without due process of law and deploying them to foreign detention centers as prisoners. That’s happening now. The majority of our elected representatives have utterly failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.”
On a note of optimism that quoted novelist and civil rights activist James Baldwin, he added, “The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its many faults, it’s a great country with a great people, and we will survive this moment. Well, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’”
On Friday, after Springsteen had shared similar thoughts from the stage on opening night of his tour, Trump responded on Truth Social, writing: “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
The “Born in the U.S.A.” singer, who’s performing across the U.K., France, Spain, Germany and Italy from now through early July, endorsed Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Aubrey O’Day has confirmed she will not be taking the stand in Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ federal sex-trafficking trial.
The former Danity Kane member made the announcement on Friday (May 16) during the premiere episode of Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast recorded in New York City.
“I’m not here to testify for the Diddy trial, that I know of,” O’Day said, according to People.
The 41-year-old singer suggested her involvement could still evolve, revealing she had been “contacted by Homeland Security” and had a meeting with the agency, which led March raids on Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Earlier in the week, O’Day — who appeared on MTV’s Making the Band under Diddy’s mentorship — sparked speculation about a possible court appearance after sharing a cryptic Instagram post from New York City.
“Hey New York!!! Where y’all think I should head first?” she wrote on May 14, including a scale emoji. Us Weekly also reported that a source claimed O’Day was subpoenaed to testify at the trial.
During the podcast episode, O’Day clarified the post’s intent. “I posted on my Instagram that I was here in New York and enjoying myself because I wanted to make it clear to everyone that I am not here testifying,” she said.
Diddy is currently facing multiple federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. His trial is set to resume Monday (May 19). If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison.
O’Day previously spoke out after Diddy’s September 2024 arrest. “The purpose of Justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just me. Things are finally changing,” she wrote on X at the time.
Danity Kane, the girl group formed in 2005 on Making the Band, was signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. O’Day was removed from the group in 2008 and later claimed on the Call Her Daddy podcast in 2022 that her exit stemmed from her refusal to comply with non-music-related requests from the music mogul.
Cassie’s husband, Alex Fine, has spoken out in defense of his wife’s harrowing testimony recounting her alleged abuse at the hands of Diddy during the Bad Boy mogul’s trial.
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Fine released a statement on Friday (May 16) as Cassie’s four-day stint on the stand came to a close via his wife’s attorney, Doug Wigdor.
“I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love for Cass,” he said. “I have felt profound anger that she has been subjected to sitting in front of a person who tried to break her. You did not break her spirit nor her smile.”
Fine continued: “I did not save Cassie, as some have said. To say that is an insult to the years of painful work my wife has done to save herself. Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free from abuse, coercion, violence, and threats. She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her.”
Alex Fine was present in court for all four days his wife was on the stand this week, as day five of the trial wrapped up on Friday.
“All I have done is love her as she has loved me. Her life is now surrounded by love, laughter and our family,” he added. “This horrific chapter is forever put behind us, and we will not be making additional statements. We appreciate all of the love and support we have received, and we ask that you respect our privacy as we welcome our son into a world that is now safer because of his mom.”
The first week of Diddy’s trial finished on Friday as Cassie was cross-examined by Combs’ attorneys and grilled about various horrifying events and alleged abuse she recalled throughout her four-day testimony.
Looking to put this chapter of her life behind her once and for all, Cassie also released a statement via her attorney about the “challenging” yet “empowering and healing” week she experienced on the stand while digging up painful memories.
“This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from abuse and fear,” she said via Wigdor. “For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember. And the more I can remember, the more I will never forget.”
Cassie continued: “I want to thank my family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and am grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received. I am glad to put this chapter of my life to rest as I turn to focus on the conclusion of my pregnancy, I ask for privacy for me and for my growing family.”
The “Me & U” singer’s testimony ended with Cassie sobbing as she thought about how life would be if she never participated in the alleged days-long “freak-offs” allegedly orchestrated by Diddy.
Cassie and Diddy started dating on and off in 2007 and broke up for good in 2018, bringing the tumultuous relationship to a close. Cassie married Alex Fine in 2019, and the couple is expecting their third child together in the coming weeks.
Diddy is facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs’ trial will resume in court on Monday (May 19). If found guilty on all counts, he potentially faces life in prison.
Donald Trump recently launched into online rants targeting not one, but two of the world’s biggest musicians, and the American Federation of Musicians International isn’t letting it slide.
Hours after Trump wrote that Taylor Swift isn’t “hot” anymore while calling Bruce Springsteen “dumb as a rock” in posts Friday (May 16) on Truth Social, AFM International President Tino Gagliardi issued a statement condemning the “attacks” on two of the labor union’s members.
“The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada will not remain silent as two of our members — Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift — are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States,” Gagliardi began.
“Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift are not just brilliant musicians; they are role models and inspirations to millions of people in the United States and across the world,” the statement continued. “Whether it’s Born in the U.S.A. or the Eras Tour, their music is timeless, impactful, and has deep cultural meaning. Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members.”
The “Anti-Hero” singer and E Street Band leader are just two of tens of thousands of musicians who are part of the AFM, which “negotiates fair agreements, protects ownership of recorded music, secures benefits such as health care and pension, and lobbies for musicians and the rights of workers,” according to the union’s website. Swift is a member of her local Nashville branch, while Springsteen is part of chapters in both Los Angeles and his home state of New Jersey, per the AFM’s statement.
The organization’s defense of the two stars counters Trump’s tirade against both of them earlier on Friday. Starting with Swift, the politician had written, “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”
The remark comes eight months after he first posted that he hated the 14-time Grammy winner on Truth Social following her endorsement of his opponent, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election. Trump has a long history of directing barbed comments at Swift, previously making fun of her for getting booed by Philadelphia Eagles fans at the Super Bowl in February.
Shortly after name-dropping the Eras headliner, Trump turned his attention to The Boss. In response to Springsteen slamming the billionaire’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” at a concert in Manchester, England, two days prior, Trump wrote, “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden … Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock.’”
At press time, neither Swift nor Springsteen had addressed Trump’s latest comments, but both have been vocal in their opposition to the Republican Party leader. In addition to backing his opponents in both of the past two elections, the “Karma” artist has criticized his policies on a number of occasions. And in 2020, the “Dancing in the Dark” rock star called Trump a “threat” to democracy, telling The Atlantic, “He simply makes any kind of reform that much harder … These are all existential threats to our democracy and our American way of life.”
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The politician has also taken aim at Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen over the years.
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Halle Bailey was awarded temporary sole physical and legal custody of her son amid the ongoing abuse allegations against her ex-boyfriend DDG. According to a Friday (May 16) report by People, court documents obtained by the publication indicate that Bailey sought out the custody order for the safety of both herself and 16-month-old Halo, alleging […]
Chris Brown was denied bail during a court hearing for his assault charge in Manchester, England, on Friday (May 16), according to Reuters. The singer was taken into custody on Thursday (May 15) after being arrested at his Manchester hotel and charged with “inflicting grievous bodily harm,” which has been tied to a February 2023 […]
Donald Trump is not too happy with Bruce Springsteen, whom the president called “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock” in a heated post on Truth Social after the musician slammed his administration during a concert in Manchester, England.
On Friday morning (May 16) — two days after Springsteen voiced his disdain for the United States government’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” leadership at the kickoff show of his 2025 European tour — Trump began by writing, “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.”
“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump continued. “Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)?”
“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare,’” Trump added. “Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Billboard has reached out to Springsteen’s reps for comment.
The twice-impeached president’s comments come after The Boss greeted his Manchester crowd Wednesday (May 14) by saying, “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times.”
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” he continued before launching into 2001’s “Land of Hopes and Dreams.” “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”
Springsteen — who also posted the speech on his Instagram — has long been open about his stance on American politics, endorsing Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Four years prior, he called the POTUS — who in May 2024 was convicted of all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial — a “threat to our democracy” in an interview with The Atlantic.
The “Born in the U.S.A.” singer is just one of many major music stars who has made their stance against Trump clear — and Springsteen also isn’t the only one of them whom the former reality star has put on blast recently. Also on Friday, Trump insulted Taylor Swift, writing that the 14-time Grammy winner is “no longer ‘HOT?’”