Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura’s Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds

After several possible delays, the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs began this week.

Mid-April, the defense asked Judge Arun Subramanian to push back the May 12 start date by two weeks. That request did not hold up, evidently. Two days later, it was requested the start date be moved back 60 days, or two months. The rapper wrote a letter asking for the adjournment, but the start date remained on course.

The jury selection took over a week, and a key witness brought the start down to the wire hours before opening statements were set to take place by remaining unreachable by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The trial could last up to eight weeks.

The Bad Boy Records founder, who is currently incarcerated, faces numerous charges, lawsuits and allegations for sex trafficking and more. The rapper did have a 1995 rape allegation at a party for Biggie Smalls, aka The Notorious B.I.G. thrown out six weeks ahead of the trial’s beginning.

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Judge Lewis J. Liman, the judge who is overseeing the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni case, dismissed the rape case after the Jane Doe that brought the allegations against Diddy failed to file under her own name by the deadline of March 20. With celebrities from Jay-Z Carter, in a since-dismissed rape case, to Usher implicated in the context of Diddy’s parties from living situations or association with the musician, the trial has infiltrated pop culture as the connections are endless.

For a complete timeline of the trial — and updates as to who testifies and the outcome, read on below. We will be updating:

May 12 – Trial Starts, Opening Statements

Former male stripper service manager Daniel Phillips opened the trial with graphic detail about approximately two years during which he was paid thousands of dollars to have sex with Cassie Ventura in front of Combs, who became increasingly violent.

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“He started directing us after the second session,”Phillips said of Combs and the Gramercy Park Hotel in 2012. Former hotel security guard and now LAPD officer Israel Florez also testified Monday.

May 13 & 14 – Cassie Ventura’s Trial Testimony

American singer and dancer Cassie Ventura next took the stand to testify in the trial as a witness for the prosecution. Ventura dated Diddy for over a decade, and in Nov. 2023, she accused him of rape and abuse in a quickly settled civil lawsuit.

RELATED: Cassie Ventura Lawyer Slams Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs For “Disingenuous” Apology Video

She testified Tuesday, May 13. She agreed to drop her own lawsuit 24 hours after she filed it in late 2023 for an undisclosed (rumored to be $30 million) sum. In fact, it was for $20 mullion, she confirmed the afternoon of Wednesday, May 14. The former longtime girlfriend of Combs described how he had controlled every aspect of her life when repeatedly questioned about the “freak off” sex sessions in which she participated.

“I wanted to be compensated for the time, the pain … to fix my life,” the ‘Me & U’ singer said.

May 15: Diddy OD’d, Cassie Ventura Cross-Examination

Thursday shifted to the topic of drugs used during Diddy’s and Cassie Ventura’s toxic relationship, from Ecstasy, MDMA, opiates and GBH to more, in the defense’s cross-examination of Ventura.

Much of the material that was resurfaced Thursday was already known.

One revelation was that, in 2012, Diddy overdosed during a party at the previously Hugh Hefner-owned Playboy Mansion.

RELATED: Sean “Diddy” Combs OD’d In 2012, Sex-Trafficking Trial Learns As Defense Tries To Shift Narrative To Drug Abuse & Jealousy In Cassie Ventura Cross-Examination

“From what he told me, he took a very strong opiate that night, but we didn’t know what was happening, so we took him to the hospital,” Ventura explained Thursday with Combs nearby.

May 16: Ventura Reveals $10M Settlement From Hotel In 2016 Beating By Diddy

Friday closed out the first week of Diddy’s trial.

In an unexpected testimony, Ventura revealed that she has a $10 million settlement coming from the InterContinenatl Hotel in Century City for Diddy beating her, footage of which he hotel’s security cameras captured.

RELATED: Sean Combs Won’t Face Charges For 2016 L.A. Beating Of Cassie, DA Says, Despite Video Evidence; “Cover-Up” Could Warrant Possible Probe

“I did not save Cassie, as some have said, the former personal trainer and possible defense witness stated. “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,” Ventura’s husband Alex Fine said in a statement Friday. “She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her. All I have done is love her as she has loved me. Her life is now surrounded by love, laughter and our family. This horrific chapter is forever put behind us, and we will not be making additional statements.”

Dawn Richard, the former Making the Band contestant and Diddy’s collaborator, also took the stand for 20 minutes at the end of the day though the defense objected to her testimony. She also described witnessing Ventura “being attacked by Combs” in 2009. Ricard, who has a civil suit of her own against Diddy, will be back on the stand on May 19 – though she may be limited in what she can discuss.

Most of the rest of the prosecution’s witnesses are not being revealed to far ahead of time because of worries for their safety. Having said that, we know that Ventura’s mother is set to testify nest week, as is a former close friend of the singer.

RELATED: Diddy Denied Bail: Sean Combs To Remain In Custody Until Trial On Sex Trafficking, Racketeering & Other Charges; Faces Up To Life In Prison If Convicted – Update