Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys confronted his rape-alleging former private assistant on Friday along with her social media posts praising the hip-hop mogul as a mentor, “my brother” and “friend for life” for years after she says he assaulted her.
Protection lawyer Brian Metal quizzed the lady about a few of the dozens of posts she made about Combs within the wake of the alleged rape, portraying the nice and cozy messages as contradictory to her claims that working for him was usually poisonous and terrifying.
The lady, testifying beneath the pseudonym “Mia” for a second day at Combs’ federal intercourse trafficking trial, learn a few of the messages aloud as they have been displayed for jurors.
Mia instructed the jury that the posts have been a facade: “Instagram was a place to show how great your life was, even if it was not true.”
Protection group takes on assistant’s rape allegation
Metal highlighted a submit from 2013 celebrating Combs’ forty fourth birthday, displaying a nonetheless picture from a comedy video that includes Combs as a health care provider serving to Mia give delivery to a faux child. Under it, Mia wrote: “Shout out to my mentor. Thank you for always letting me give birth to my dreams.”
“Here, you have posted on your personal account your rapist delivering the baby,” Metal stated.
Mia testified Thursday that, simply months after Combs forcibly kissed her at his fortieth celebration in 2009, he woke her up then raped her in a bunk mattress in his Los Angeles house.
The ex-assistant stated sexual assault continued sporadically sufficient that she thought it would not occur once more. She is the second of three ladies anticipated to testify on the federal trial in Manhattan that they have been sexually abused by Combs.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not responsible to intercourse trafficking and racketeering conspiracy prices that might put him in jail for all times if he’s convicted.
President Donald Trump on Friday did not rule out pardoning him, if requested.
In different posts Metal introduced, Mia praised Combs for “continuing to inspire me every day.” She wrote “love you” and joked concerning the rapper and entrepreneur shopping for her a vanilla latte at Starbucks after he was named to a high spot on a Forbes listing of rich people.
Metal additionally confirmed jurors a handwritten letter Mia gave Combs with the phrases “Happy 45th Birthday Puff Daddy” in giant, crimson letters, alongside along with her present to him: a scrapbook of journal articles that chronicled the early years of his rise to fame.
All through his cross-examination, the lawyer struck an incredulous chorus, asking: “Why would you promote the person who has stolen your happiness in life?”
Mia stated it was solely pure to submit concerning the good instances, and has beforehand testified that the “highs were really high and the lows were really low.”
She acknowledged Friday that she referred to co-workers as “family” and used the phrase “love” in correspondence with Combs — even after she alleges he sexually assaulted her.
“That’s how we all talked to each other,” Mia stated.
Former assistant says she will be able to’t work due to Combs trauma
Mia labored for Combs from 2009 to 2017, together with a stretch as an government at his movie studio. Nonetheless, she stated she hasn’t held a job since then due to post-traumatic stress.
She recalled throwing her cellphone throughout a room in terror when Combs’ quantity popped up as an incoming name days after his former girlfriend, the singer Cassie, sued him in November 2023.
“It was just so triggering,” Mia stated.
After leaving Combs’ employment, Mia stated, she obtained a bit greater than $200,000 of a $400,000 settlement to reimburse her for bonuses and additional time that weren’t paid. The remainder, she stated, went to her attorneys, whom she by no means instructed concerning the alleged sexual assaults.
One cellphone name from Combs left a witness ‘terrified’
Mia stated one among Combs’ former bodyguards additionally reached out to her within the days after Cassie filed her lawsuit.
At first, she stated, she was elated to listen to from D-Roc, whose actual title is Damion Butler, till she realized he was at Combs’ home and making an attempt to reconnect her along with her former boss.
Mia testified that she felt “terrified, threatened, scared, nervous” that Combs was using an intermediary to reach her. She said she “wanted to play dumb” and wanted a gameplan to guard herself.
“I didn’t want my life to be in danger,” Mia stated.
Combs settled with Cassie, whose actual title is Casandra Ventura, inside a day for $20 million. Nonetheless, a federal agent testified earlier within the trial that Cassie’s lawsuit prompted a prison investigation that ultimately led to Combs’ indictment.
Mia’s testimony echoed considerations that prompted judges to disclaim Combs bail, conserving him jailed since his arrest final September. Prosecutors stated Combs and his allies have been contacting potential victims or witnesses to forestall them from cooperating or to get them to change their recollection of occasions.
At a bail listening to final September, Assistant U.S. Legal professional Emily Johnson stated Combs contacted a minimum of one sufferer in November 2023 and was in fixed contact with witnesses, together with as late as final July.
Child Cudi took the stand on Thursday, blaming Sean “Diddy” Combs for lighting his Porsche on hearth as a result of the music mogul was indignant his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was courting the rapper. And that is not all Child Cudi needed to say throughout his testimony. NBC New York’s Erica Byfield experiences.
