Sean “Diddy” Combs Allegedly Wanted Discounted Escorts
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As Sean “Diddy” Combs’s New York sex-trafficking trial crawls closer to a conclusion, information about the fallen mogul’s spending habits has come about: Puffy might have been a penny-pincher. This personal detail emerged during testimony from Joseph Cerciello, a special agent with Homeland Security, who took the stand on Friday as a summary witness.
Prosecutor Maurene Comey asked Cerciello about messages from 2023 between Diddy and a booker for the website Cowboys 4 Angels, which offers “elite male escorts.” Diddy was seeking a male escort, and the booker, Bridget, recommended one, touting him as a “great guy.” Diddy said: “Stop raising my rate. I’m a longtimer.”
“You want the best guys, they’ve got the highest rates,” Bridget responded. “Some of the men have different rates … I’m contractually obligated to the rates on the website.”
Jurors also saw how Diddy’s staff tried to save him a buck. Diddy and his longtime chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, were texting about Van Cleef jewelry when she suggested a jeweler named Benny. “It’s all the same at cost,” Khorram said. She also noted that Benny had done “all of Yung’s.” Benny “will save you a lot” of money, she said. Bringing up this jewelry is important for prosecutors, as it helps back up witness testimony; Jane, one of Diddy’s accusers at trial, said she received a Van Cleef necklace from him as a birthday gift.
During Cerciello’s testimony, jurors were shown still more excerpts of sexually explicit videos, which are integral in the prosecution’s case against him. Diddy is accused of coercing his female partners into drug-fueled, dayslong sexual encounters with male escorts, which he watched — and allegedly recorded. These encounters were sometimes called Freak Offs, and other times, Wild King Nights. Jurors have seen multiple excerpts of explicit video over the past week.
As with past days, jurors watched these clips on screens that were not visible to the public. They wore headphones that one might see in a high-school language lab. Diddy, who wore a slightly off-white sweater to court on Monday morning, put on headphones as well. Right before 10 a.m., he could be seen shaking his head. He took off his headphones and placed them on the table. The headphones went against the table audibly. Diddy put his headphones back on shortly thereafter. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.