Sean "Diddy" Combs used violence and threats of reputational ruin to control women he abused for years, federal prosecutors told a New York jury Monday during opening statements in the hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial.
The 12 jurors and six alternates heard allegations of the 55-year-old artist’s violent outbursts and efforts to maintain his celebrity image through bribery and intimidation. Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, faces multiple charges, including racketeering and leading a sex crime ring that allegedly involved drug-fueled sex parties and abuse.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said Combs “brutally” beat former girlfriend and singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and threatened to release explicit videos if she defied him.
“Let me be clear,” Johnson said. “This case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual preferences. It’s coercive and criminal.”
Johnson also alleged Combs set a man’s car on fire, dangled a woman from a balcony, and made unreasonable demands of both partners and employees.
Ventura is expected to take the witness stand as early as Tuesday. Her testimony is central to the prosecution’s case.
Defense attorney Teny Geragos pushed back on the charges, framing the case as one driven by “love, jealousy and infidelity and money.”
Geragos acknowledged instances of domestic abuse but said they did not rise to the level of the crimes Combs is charged with.
“Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking,” Geragos told jurors. She also referred to Combs's relationship with Ventura as a “toxic relationship” between “two people who loved each other.”
Combs, appearing older with gray hair, stood and looked directly at the jury as Geragos introduced him. He was accompanied at the courthouse by his mother, Janice, and several children, including his 18-year-old twin daughters.
The prosecution’s first witness, Los Angeles police officer Israel Florez, testified about responding to a “woman in distress” call on March 5, 2016, at the InterContinental Hotel near Los Angeles.
Florez recounted seeing Combs chasing Ventura through the hallways in a towel, striking her at times—a scene captured in now-infamous security footage published by CNN last year. The jury was shown the video repeatedly, including a cellphone recording that Florez had taken.
Florez said Combs attempted to bribe him. “He was telling me, ‘Don’t tell nobody,’” Florez testified, describing how Combs handed him a wad of cash.
Later, dancer Daniel Phillip testified that he engaged in a sexual relationship with Combs and Ventura between 2012 and 2013, often in exchange for money. He described watching Combs physically abuse Ventura and said he warned her that she was “in real danger.”
“Why is she doing this, why is she staying with this guy?” Phillip said. “I tried to explain to her that she was in real danger if she stayed with him.”
The first day of testimony drew heavy crowds of journalists, influencers, and members of the public to the Manhattan courthouse. Jurors will remain anonymous but are not sequestered, and have been instructed to avoid media coverage and social media commentary related to the case.
If convicted, Combs—credited with helping bring hip-hop into the mainstream—could face life in prison. The trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.