Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s ex-partner has given birth two weeks after testifying against him – as his legal team failed in a bid to declare a mistrial.
Cassie Ventura gave birth to her third child with partner Alex Fine after going into labour on Tuesday, a close source told Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Wednesday.
The news was later confirmed by her friend and former stylist Deonte Nash, who told Diddy‘s trial that he last spoke to her “after she had the baby yesterday [Tuesday]”.
Combs, 55, is accused of two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and one of conspiring to racketeer. He denies all the charges.
Cassie had given evidence while she was more than eight months pregnant. The 38-year-old told the trial that Diddy subjected her to physical, sexual and mental abuse for much of their 11-year relationship.
She alleged he forced her into “hundreds” of drug-fuelled sex sessions with male escorts while he watched, which he referred to as “freak offs”.
News of the birth came on the same day Combs’s legal team tried in vain to get the judge to declare a mistrial.
Image: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs depicted in a court sketch on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Image: Diddy and Cassie at an event in 2016. Pic: zz/JMA/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
Alexandra Shapiro, one of Diddy’s attorneys, moved for the mistrial just before the court broke for lunch, during evidence by Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) arson investigator Lance Jiminez.
According to Ms Shapiro, Mr Jiminez’s claim that police destroyed fingerprint evidence collected at the scene of an alleged 2012 Molotov cocktail attack on rapper Kid Cudi’s car would lead the jury to believe Combs had something to do with it.
She accused the prosecution of “misconduct” and claimed their questioning of Mr Jiminez was “designed to play into that” narrative.
Another of Diddy’s defence lawyers Marc Agnifilo described the prosecution’s conduct as “outrageous”.
However, prosecution attorney Christy Slavik hit back by saying a mistrial was “completely unwarranted”.
She insisted questions about the destruction of evidence were asked to highlight the poor quality of the police investigation.
Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the motion and instead told jurors to disregard any reference to the fingerprints.
Earlier on Wednesday, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Chris Ignacio detailed the alleged break-in at Kid Cudi’s home in December 2011.
Image: LAPD officer Chris Igancio is questioned by Diddy’s attorney on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
He was called to the scene and noticed a Cadillac Escalade parked in front of the property, the number plate for which later transpired to be registered to Bad Boy Productions, Diddy’s record label.
During his evidence, Cudi alleged it was Diddy who was behind the break-in.
Image: Rapper Kid Cudi outside court last week. Pic: AP
Mr Jiminez then testified about an alleged Molotov cocktail attack on Cudi’s car the following month.
Having investigated the incident, he concluded it was “not a random act” and that the makeshift firebomb had been placed there deliberately, in line with Cudi’s claims.
Image: LA arson investigator Lance Jiminez is questioned in court. Pic: Reuters
When Diddy and Cassie’s former stylist Mr Nash took to the stand, he detailed several incidents of alleged violence inflicted on the singer by her then partner.
On one occasion, Diddy turned up at her LA flat, “grabbed her by the hair”, “kicked her” and “hit her pretty hard”, he claimed.
Image: A court sketch of Deonte Nash, a former stylist to Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura. Pic: Reuters
When she hit her head on a bed frame, she suffered a gash to her forehead and eyebrow, he said.
Both he and Mia, a second alleged witness, jumped on the rapper’s back to get him to stop, he told the court.
Following another incident when Diddy demanded to see Cassie, she threatened to “go over the balcony”, Mr Nash told the jury.
Diddy was violent towards him too, he said, once choking him against a car and threatening him not to go out with Cassie and without him.
Despite all this, Mr Nash said he “doesn’t hate” Diddy – and that he had been compelled to give evidence as part of a subpoena.
Mia, which is a pseudonym used to protect her identity, was due to start her evidence on Wednesday but Mr Nash’s testimony overran.
He will resume giving evidence on Thursday, with Mia’s evidence due to last until the court breaks for the weekend.
Paul Gallagher, the older brother of Oasis stars Noel and Liam, has been charged with multiple offences including rape.
The Metropolitan Police said Gallagher, 59, of East Finchley, north London, has been charged with rape, coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of making a threat to kill and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The offences are reported to have taken place between 2022 and 2024. The charges follow an investigation which began last year, the force added in a statement.
A woman is being supported by specially-trained officers, the statement continued.
Paul Gallagher, who is about one year older than Noel and seven years older than Liam, has never been involved in Oasis.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 August.
Gregg Wallace has spoken about his sacking from MasterChef after inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC – but insisted he is “not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher”.
Wallace, 60, has apologised after a report, commissioned by the cooking show’s production company Banijay UK, found 45 out of 83 allegations were substantiated.
In an interview with The Sun, he said: “I know I have said things that offended people… I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry.
“I don’t expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don’t think I am a wrong ‘un.”
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Torode, who insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident, has not had his contract for the show renewed.
Wallace has now defended Torode, saying: “I’ve known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.
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“There is no way that man is a racist. No way. And my sympathies go out to John because I don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve been through.”
Image: Gregg Wallace has defended his former MasterChef co-host John Torode (left). File pic: PA
At one point, Wallace became tearful during the interview when describing the impact of the investigation on his family.
“I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. That is just so, so horrific.”
In respect to the specific allegation of unwanted touching, Wallace denied groping a woman and said that, while he was attempting to flirt with her, he did believe the contact it was consensual.
“She gave me her phone number. I considered that to be intimacy. It was 15 years ago. Me, drunk, at a party, with my hand on a girl’s bum,” he said.
He also accepted he had briefly appeared with a sock on his private parts in front of four colleagues in MasterChef studio. But he said his is not a flasher, and people were either “amused or bemused” but not distressed.
On the broader allegations about using inappropriate language, Wallace accepted the criticism and suggested that some of his conduct could be explained by his autism and his background.
“I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a… registered disability. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
He also blamed his former career: “I’m a greengrocer from Peckham. I thrived in Covent Garden’s fruit and veg market. In that environment that is jovial and crude. It is learned behaviour.”
Wallace told the newspaper he is now scared to appear in public: “I go out now in a disguise – a baseball cap and sunglasses, I don’t want people to see me. I’m scared.”
On Wednesday, the BBC confirmed a series of MasterChef filmed last year, before allegations against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld, will still be broadcast.
The company at the centre of a viral video at a Coldplay concert has released a tongue-in-cheek clip on social media – featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson”.
Astronomer was thrust into the spotlight after two of the tech firm’s senior executives were filmed embracing on a kiss cam during a gig in Boston.
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Tech boss resigns after viral Coldplay concert video
Paltrow, who used to be married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, is seen sitting at a desk in the new video uploaded to X – and begins by thanking the public for their interest in Astronomer.
She adds: “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer.
“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days – and they wanted me to answer the most common ones.”
A question is then typed out on the screen that reads: “OMG, what the actual…”
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Before the final word appears, the video cuts back to Paltrow, who goes on to promote some of the services Astronomer offers.
In a subtle nod to the countless column inches the company has attracted, Paltrow adds: “We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation.”
Another question then pops up on screen, which begins to type out: “How is your social media team holding up?”
But before the sentence fully appears, Paltrow abruptly interrupts by declaring that Astronomer has spaces at an upcoming conference in September.
“We’ll now be returning to what we do best: delivering game-changing results for our customers,” she adds at the end of the video.
The marketing stunt is a sign that Astronomer is trying to put a positive spin on the scandal, which sparked feverish speculation online.
After Mr Byron resigned, the company had said in a statement: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Pete DeJoy, who has taken over as interim CEO, admitted on Monday that the company has faced an “unusual and surreal” amount of attention in recent days.
On LinkedIn, he wrote: “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.”