Former Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs assistant breaks down as she tells trial of alleged sexual assaults: ‘I thought I was going to die with this’
A former employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs broke down in tears as she described being sexually assaulted by the hip-hop star on several occasions – telling the court the alleged abuse was “the most traumatising, worst thing that’s ever happened to me”.
Three weeks into the trial, Mia* is the second alleged victim to testify against Combs, following his former partner Cassie’s evidence alleging years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
While Cassie waived her right to anonymity, Mia did not want to be identified and is appearing in court in Manhattan, New York, under a pseudonym.
She started by telling the court about witnessing Combs, 55, being violent towards Cassie, before moving on to talk about her own experiences.
Diddy trial day twelve – as it happened
Combs’s motherJanice Combs has been supporting him in court every day. Pic: Reuters
Mia told the court she once woke to find Combs on top of her and that he forced her to have sex against her will. Another time, he forced her to perform oral sex, she alleged.
He also once threw a bucket of ice on her head and slammed her arm into a door on another occasion, she said.
The court heard Mia had never told anyone about the alleged sexual assaults by Combs until she spoke to government investigators for this case.
“I was going to die with this,” she said, becoming tearful on the stand. “I didn’t want anyone to know ever.”
Telling the court she could not say “no” to her former boss, she said: “I knew his power. And his control. I didn’t want to lose everything that I worked so hard for.”
She also said she feared being attacked and was “always” worried about being physically hurt by Combs. “I didn’t want to die or get hurt.”
Mia said she felt “desperate”, “terrified and trapped” and described the alleged sexual assaults as “the most shameful thing of my life”, and “the most traumatising, worst thing that’s ever happened to me”.
Asked why she is speaking out now, she told the court: “Because I have to tell the truth.”
Marc Agnifilo, one of Diddy’s defence lawyers, pictured outside court. Pic: Reuters/ Eduardo Munoz
‘Chaotic and toxic’
Mia, faltering at times, said working for Combs came with extreme highs and lows.
Sometimes he would offer advice and act like her “protector”, she said. Other times, he would “humiliate” her and berate her for small mistakes, and work her so hard she had little sleep, she said.
“It was chaotic. It was toxic,” she told the court.
Combs’s employees were always on edge because his mood could “change in a split second”, causing everything to go from “happy to chaotic”, she said.
Mia told how she was barely at home once she started working for Combs. Like other employees, she often slept at his properties in LA, Miami and New York.
She told the court she was not allowed to leave without his permission and was not allowed lock her door, even though it seemed as if other members of the predominantly male security staff were able to do so.
“This is my house. No one locks the doors,” Combs allegedly said to her.
On one occasion, Mia said she worked without sleeping for five days, with prescription drugs getting her through it. It was only when she had a physical breakdown that Combs allowed her to sleep, jurors were told.
Mia’s testimony echoed that of prior prosecution witnesses, including several of Combs’s other former employees, as well as Cassie.
King Combs and Quincy Brown, two of Combs’s sons, were in court for today’s session. Pic: Reuters/ Eduardo Munoz
Cassie, an R’n’B singer and model whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, spoke for four days during the first week of the trial.
She told jurors her ex-partner subjected her to hundreds of “freak offs” – drug-fuelled marathons in which she said she engaged in sex acts with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them.
Heavily pregnant at the time, it was confirmed in court yesterday that she gave birth to her third child earlier this week.
Mia is the second of three women testifying about alleged sexual abuse by Combs. The third woman, using the pseudonym “Jane”, is also expected to testify about participating in freak offs.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
During their opening statement, his lawyers conceded he could be violent at times, but said that did not make him a sex trafficker or racketeering leader. Combs denies using threats or his music industry clout to commit or cover up abuse.
What did Mia say about Cassie?
Cassie, who was heavily pregnant when she testified, has now given birth to her third child. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In the first part of her testimony, Mia told the court she saw Combs beating Cassie on several occasions and that she sustained injuries, including black eyes, other bruises, and fat lips.
The two became friends, she said, and are still friends today.
Mia described a party at Prince’s house that she and Cassie “snuck out” to, saying Prince’s security had to intervene when Combs turned up and started to attack her.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
What we learned from Cassie’s testimony
She also described a trip to a private island in Turks and Caicos, in the Caribbean, saying she remembers Cassie being “terrified” as Combs banged on her door “screaming”.
On another occasion during that trip, they used paddle boards to go out to sea to get away from him, she said – but the weather changed and the sky turned dark.
“I was trying to weigh if it was scarier to face Mother Nature or go back to Puff,” Mia said, using the name she knew him by. “We eventually went back to Puff.”
Combs was also abusive to Cassie at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, the court was told. Mia alleged she saw him digging his nails into her as they watched a film.
Mia’s testimony will continue when the trial resumes on Friday.
US
‘We will treat them EXACTLY how we treated al Qaeda’ – US carries out another lethal strike in Caribbean
The US military has carried out a fresh strike on what it claims are drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea – as tensions with Venezuela remain high.
Secretary for War Pete Hegseth announced the strike on Saturday, claiming the vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organisation, but did not name which group was targeted.
He said three people were killed.
“This vessel – like EVERY OTHER – was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” he said.
It’s at least the 15th strike by the US in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September – operations that Venezuela has said amount to murder and whose legal justification is unclear.
At least 64 people have now been killed in the strikes.
The rhetoric coming out of the White House, coupled with the presence of American military ships in the region, has raised questions about a possible armed conflict between the US and Venezuela.
American politicians have repeatedly demanded more information from the Trump administration about the legal basis for the strikes, as well as more details about the cartels they have allegedly targeted.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home – and they will not succeed,” Mr Hegseth said on Saturday.
“The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
Read more:
Is Trump preparing to go to war with Venezuela?
Satellite images show US military edging closer to Venezuela
President Donald Trump has accused Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of leading an organised crime gang – without providing evidence – and declined to answer when questioned if the CIA has the authority to assassinate him.
In return, the Venezuelan leader has accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country, as he appealed to the American people for peace.
A number of US navy vessels are in the region and the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – is also moving closer to Venezuela as speculation persists about possible further military action.
US
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney apologises to Donald Trump over anti-tariff advert featuring Ronald Reagan
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologised to Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advert featuring a clip of Ronald Reagan.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, he also said he had reviewed the commercial and told Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to air it.
“I did apologise to the president,” Mr Carney said on Saturday, confirming earlier comments made by the US president on Friday.
“I told [Doug] Ford I did not want to go forward with the ad,” he added.
The private conversation with Mr Trump happened at a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president on Wednesday.
The commercial, commissioned by Mr Ford, included a quote from Republican former president Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.
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TV advert deepens trade rift between Trump and Canada
Mr Trump said the advert was misleading and, in response, announced that he was increasing tariffs on goods from Canada and halting trade talks with Canada.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
It prompted the Ontario premier to pull the ad.
On Friday, the US president expressed his irritation at the advert but also told reporters he had accepted Mr Carney’s apology.
“I like him [Carney] a lot but what they did was wrong,” he said.
“He apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”
But, critically, he added that the US and Canada will not restart trade talks.
Mr Ford has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies, which are hurting Ontario’s carmakers and steel industry.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump says China tariffs will be cut
How tariffs would hit UK film sector
Is Trump heading for a third term?
The ad by the Ontario government has a voiceover of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they cause job losses and trade wars.
The video uses five complete sentences from a five-minute weekly address recorded in 1987, but edited together out of order.
The ad does not mention that the former US president was explaining that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as a sadly unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.
Meanwhile, Mr Carney said his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday were a turning point in relations after years of tensions.
He also met Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the summit.
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