Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Podcast host, Diddy on Trial

The BBC's Diddy on Trial podcast has followed every twist and turn in Diddy’s case since November 2024.

From bombshell balcony dangling allegations, to featuring in a Kanye West track behind bars, and Diddy accusing the federal government of racism - there have been headline-making moments every week... and that's before the trial even started.

Now we're bringing you all the updates straight from court in New York.

You can listen to the podcast on BBC Sounds or watch on our YouTube channel, external.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

While Kid Cudi was definitely the most anticipated witness of the day, there were a few other interesting bits to come out of the afternoon’s testimony.

Frederic Zemmour, the general manager of a hotel that Combs often booked, spoke about the hip-hop mogul’s .

In it, notes indicated that an extra $1,000 should be authorised to cover any room damages.

The front desk noted that the guest "always spills candle wax on everything" and uses excessive amounts of oil.

Because of that, the room would have to be placed out of order for deep cleaning.

One time, housekeeping noted large deposits of candle wax on carpets and nightstands. The defence didn’t have any questions for that witness.

Combs is facing charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If he’s convicted, he could face life in prison.

Some of the most severe allegations fall under the racketeering charge, which includes accusations of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sex, and threatening them with firearms or violence.

He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian has dismissed the jury and court has wrapped up for the week.

There's a long weekend for Memorial Day, so the jury won't be back until next Tuesday.

Image source, US Federal Court

Earlier today the court heard from rapper Kid Cudi, who testified that his Porsche was destroyed by a Molotov cocktail in 2012.

Molotov cocktails are homemade incendiary weapons, usually thrown by hand.

We can now share the images of that fire-damaged car, which were shown to the jury today.

Kid Cudi told the court the incident happened after Combs had allegedly made threats over a relationship between Cassie Ventura and Kid Cudi.

In a meeting after the car was set alight, Kid Cudi said he confronted Combs about his vehicle, but Combs responded that he didn't know what he was talking about.

The court also heard that Combs allegedly broke into Kid Cudi's Los Angeles home during the few months that he dated Ventura.

Image source, US Federal Court

Image source, US Federal Court

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

As court winds down for the day, we’re hearing from Beverly Hills hotel worker Frederic Zemmour.

His testimony will likely take us through the rest of the day and will possibly pick up Tuesday when court resumes after a long weekend for the Memorial Day holiday.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

We just hard from Mylah Morales, who was Cassie Ventura’s makeup artist and friend for decades.

She recalled an incident after a photoshoot when she went to Ventura’s hotel room and fell asleep on the couch.

She tells the court that she woke up to an angry Sean Combs looking for Ventura, and then he heard screaming coming from Ventura’s room.

Morales tells the court that when Combs left, Ventura emerged with a swollen eye, bloody lip and knots on her head.

Morales took Ventura back to her home and had her seen by a doctor friend who recommended they go to the emergency room.

Ventura said no and Morales said she didn’t urge her because of her fear of Combs.

"I feared for my life," she said.

Neither Ventura or Combs approached her about the incident again, but she’s given interviews to major news organisations and appeared in two documentaries about Combs.

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

We have a new court sketch from artist Jane Rosenberg. It shows rapper Kid Cudi on the witness stand as Sean Combs watches.

On the bottom right you can see a sketch of one of the photos the jury was shown as evidence.

As a reminder, there are no cameras in federal court.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

While we wait to hear testimony from the trial's new witness, let's revisit what happened earlier today when Combs' ex-personal assistant George Kaplan was on the stand.

Kaplan testified that he bought items for Combs’ hotel bag, including baby oil, with his company credit card.

Defence lawyer Agnifilo asked him whether Combs was keeping track of baby oil purchases, to which Kaplan said "his world was the size of the Earth" and that it was unrealistic to think he knew where things were coming from.

He was also asked why he cleaned up the hotel rooms, and about his distrust of hotel staff who might want a "payday" by releasing pictures or videos to embarrass Combs.

The defence might have been trying to minimise Combs’ motives for paying a large sum to obtain security footage of him beating Cassie in 2016 in a hotel hallway, by suggesting it was all about his image and not to cover up crimes.

As we’ve mentioned before, no matter how small the detail, the defence will continue to try to reshape the narrative in their favour.

Before he left the stand, the government had him reestablish that he left his "dream" job because he was unwilling to stand by Combs’ behaviour toward Ventura and another girlfriend named Gina. He said those moments had scared him.

Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Podcast host, Diddy on Trial

The BBC's Diddy on Trial podcast has followed every twist and turn in Diddy’s case since November 2024.

From bombshell balcony dangling allegations, to featuring in a Kanye West track behind bars, and Diddy accusing the federal government of racism - there have been headline-making moments every week... and that's before the trial even started.

Now we're bringing you all the updates straight from court in New York.

You can listen to the podcast on BBC Sounds or watch on our YouTube channel, external.

We are back after the lunch break and there is a new witness.

We'll be hearing from Mylah Morales, who was a makeup artist for both Sean "Diddy" Combs and his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

Kid Cudi is now off the stand after under two hours of testimony.

After the court's lunch break, we're expecting to hear from a hotel employee.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

After cross-examination finished, the government got its chance for redirect. Prosecutors returned to questions about what Ventura said to Kid Cudi about Combs' physical abuse.

He told the court Ventura had told him Combs hit her, sometimes kicked her. He also described Ventura as "shook" when Combs found out about their relationship.

They stopped dating, he told the court, because "the drama was getting out of hand" and he wanted to give her space for both of their safety. At the mention of safety, there were objections from the defence and side bar discussions with the judge.

Kid Cudi testified that he knew Sean Combs was violent. He also accused Combs of lying when he didn't acknowledge his role in the car bombing.

In connection to the racketeering charge against Combs, prosecutors also asked Kid Cudi about his conversation with Combs' employee Capricorn Clark.

He told the court Clark had told him that Combs physically forced her to get in the car to go to Kid Cudi's house with him.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

As cross-examination continued, Kid Cudi confirmed to the court that Ventura told him Combs had hit and kicked her, but didn't say anything about sexual abuse.

He also said it was Combs who initially suggested Ventura record a song with Kid Cudi in 2010 and put them in the studio together.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Before the lunch break, defence lawyer Brian Steele - known for getting rapper Young Thug acquitted on criminal charges in Georgia - continued Mescudi's cross-questioning.

After emphasizing there was no evidence of Combs' involvement in the break in to Kid Cudi's home or the destruction of his car, Steele honed in on questions about Ventura. He asked Kid Cudi how he felt to learn Ventura was seeing both him and Combs.

"She played you," Steele said.

"Yes," Kid Cudi replied .

Steele asked if Ventura "played" both Combs and Kid Cudi and whether they both wanted to figure out what was going on.

"Yes," Kid Cudi told the court.

The judge has paused proceedings so the jury can eat lunch.

Kid Cudi is off the witness stand and we do not expect him to return.

But we will have some more fresh details from his testimony shortly.

Stick with us.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

On cross examination, Combs' lawyer Brian Steele asks if Kid Cudi knew that DNA was collected from the Porsche that was allegedly destroyed by a Molotov cocktail, and that tests showed it belonged to a female.

He says he never got a follow up from police.

Kid Cudi also confirms that he didn’t have any eyewitnesses of Combs or anyone d with the hip-hop mogul on his property.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Kid Cudi was asked how he reacted when Cassie Ventura arrived in that room, where the court just heard Sean Combs was already standing and looking like a "Marvel super villain".

He said he was upset to find out she had appeared to have gone back to Combs.

He told the court as he was leaving and shaking hands with Combs, he looked him in the eye and asked what was going to be done about his car.

He said Combs replied calmly, "I don’t know what you’re talking about".

Kid Cudi saw Combs a few years later, and says Combs approached him and apologised for everything and all the "(expletive)".

Kid Cudi says he found peace with what happened after that, not expecting he would get anything more.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Kid Cudi tells the trial that the last time he saw Cassie Ventura was back in 2012, along with Sean Combs at SoHo House in Hollywood. This happened after the Porsche Molotov cocktail incident.

Kid Cudi says when he walked into SoHo house, Combs’s security walked him to a meeting room where Combs looked like "a Marvel super villain" looking out the windows with his hands behind his back.

He tells the court Combs was calm in a way that was off-putting and weird, and he offered him water twice.

He said Combs told him they were "homies" and Ventura was his "girl".

Kid Cudi told him Combs that he took Ventura's word for it that she and Combs were broken up at the time.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

We’re now hearing from Kid Cudi about the incident when a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown in his car in January 2012.

The rapper tells the court he was about 45 minutes away from the same Los Angeles home that Combs allegedly broke into in separate incident when he got a call.

Kid Cudi tells the court his dog sitter rang and told him that his car, a Porsche, was on fire.

He rushed home and called the police.

Prosecutors show the jury photos of a damaged Porsche, including a hole cut in the roof where a Molotov cocktail was allegedly tossed through.

The photo shows a charred interior.

A Molotov cocktail bottle was found on the ground near the car, Kid Cudi tells the court.

Molotov cocktails are homemade incendiary weapons, usually thrown by hand.