The Latest: Cassie’s text messages with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs reveal drugs, sex and trauma
NEW YORK (AP) — The R&B singer Cassie is back for more cross-examination Friday by the defense team for ex-boyfriend, Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Prosecutors allege that the hip hop mogul used his fame and fortune to orchestrate an empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties. His lawyers argue that all the sexual acts were consensual, and although he could be violent, he never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Defense attorney Anna Estevao has made Cassie read out loud from messages expressing desire for the drug-fueled group sex she previously testified left her traumatized. Estevao also suggested that by exposing Combs’ sexual behavior in a lawsuit, it was Cassie who ended Combs’ career, not the other way around.
Prosecutors implored the judge overnight to make the defense wrap up its questioning in time to allow for prosecution follow-ups on Friday, citing concern for Cassie’s “health and safety” and the potential for a mistrial if she goes into labor with her third child.
The Latest:
Esteveo ends cross-examination by having Cassie read yet more text messages
In an attempt to show jurors that she was a willing participant in Combs’ “freak-off” lifestyle of drug-fueled sex marathons, Esteveo has her read another exchange.
In the exchange, in September 2012, Combs told Cassie he wanted to “FO one last time tonight,” using initials for “freak-off.”
“What?” Cassie said.
“You can’t read?” Combs replied.
“I don’t want to freak off for the last time. I want it to be the first time for the rest of our lives,” Cassie told him.
Estevao ended her questioning there, but prosecutor Emily Johnson — questioning Cassie in a phase of testimony known as re-direct — had Cassie read more of the messages to provide additional context.
“I want to see you, but I’m emotional right now,” Cassie told Combs. “I don’t want to do one last time. I’d rather not do it at all.”
Defense highlights an Instagram post they contend only points to domestic violence
Near the end of her cross-examination, Combs’ lawyer Estevao highlighted a post Cassie made on Instagram in May 2024 after CNN broadcast previously unaired security footage of the hip-hop mogul attacking at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
“Domestic violence is the issue,” Cassie wrote in the post.
Estevao was underscoring the defense’s contention that while Combs was abusive, his behavior didn’t warrant sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Cassie denies financial troubles before suing
Cassie denied a defense suggestion that she was having financial trouble before suing Combs in November 2023 and securing a $20 million settlement.
Combs’ lawyer, Anna Estevao, noted that Cassie, her husband and children had moved in with her parents in Connecticut prior to the lawsuit.
But Cassie said they were relocating to the East Coast and that the move had nothing to do with money.
Cassie, an R&B singer, was also planning to go on a concert tour to Australia and New Zealand in 2024, but ended up canceling after Combs settled her lawsuit within 24 hours of it being filed.
“That wasn’t the reason why,” Cassie testified.
Cassie and Combs exchanged warm messages even after their breakup
Cassie and Combs kept exchanging warm messages after their breakup, even after she married her husband, Alex Fine, in 2019.
In one message, Combs described Cassie as his “ride or die always,” and one of the “greatest women in the world.” She told Combs that the messages “blew my mind a bit” and told him “I don’t hate you. I never have.”
In another message, she told him: “I wouldn’t be at this beautiful point in my life if I hadn’t been with you.”
Estevao tries to discredit Cassie’s allegation that Combs raped her
She noted that Cassie’s trial testimony differs in some ways from what she told investigators in 2023. Cassie contends Combs raped her in her Los Angeles home after they had dinner in Malibu to discuss the end of their decade-long relationship, either in August or September 2018.
On his demeanor:
— Her testimony: Combs “was just being really nice” at the dinner — playful, laughing and giving off “kind of romantic vibes.”
— To investigators: Combs had been “acting very strangely” that night — he was anxious, not “in his right mind,” and possibly experiencing signs of bipolar disorder.
— On cross-examination: “Nice but strangely, yea,” Cassie clarified.
On the timing:
— Her testimony: At the dinner, Combs was trying to get her to go to the Burning Man festival in Nevada.
— To investigators: The dinner and rape happened after Combs got back from that year’s festival.
— On cross-examination: Cassie reaffirms that Combs was trying to get her to go to Burning Man, while acknowledging that she told investigators he raped her after the festival.
Cassie acknowledges consensual sex weeks after alleged rape
Cassie acknowledged their consensual sex as Estevao had her read the texts they exchanged in the aftermath of their breakup.
Cassie told Combs: “I do love you. I would just prefer not being one of your girlfriends anymore.”
Then, a few weeks after the alleged rape, Cassie said she was moving on to respect her own sanity. Combs replied: “I respect your sanity. It’s best we keep it moving. I’m not a stalker.”
Cassie also acknowledged that these messages made no mention of the alleged rape.
Cassie says she doesn’t hate Combs, despite accusing him of rape
Estevao asked Cassie if she still had feelings for Combs after he allegedly raped her in August 2018.
“You didn’t hate him then. And you don’t still hate him now,” Estevao said.
“I don’t hate him,” Cassie responded.
“You still have love for him?”
“I have love for the past, what it was.”
Cassie’s break-up text: ‘the nail in the coffin’
Cassie testified that she broke up with Combs for good in August 2018 after she saw a photo of him with another woman he’d been dating for the last few years of their decade-long relationship.
“I just don’t trust anymore. That last shot put the nail in the coffin,” Casse texted Combs, referring to the photo of Combs with a woman identified in court as Gina.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t be with you anymore if you did that to me again,” Cassie wrote, telling Combs “you lied to me” and “she never went away.”
Soon after, Cassie said, she started dating her now husband, Alex Fine.
Cassie is questioned about her treatment in 2023
Estevao noted that the women’s center offered treatment for sex addiction, sexual compulsion and love addiction — and she asked Cassie if she was treated for any of these things during her weeks-long stay.
Cassie said she was not — but that she did undergo neurofeedback therapy: “They hook your brain up to a machine and you watch something and it regulates your brain waves.”
She said she underwent it five or six times, or about once a week during her stay, and that she believed it was to help her process trauma.
Cassie said she also underwent “EMDR” therapy to process trauma — and gave an example of recalling a traumatic moment when you couldn’t escape a room, but through therapy are able to experience what it’s like to escape the room.
Jurors hear Cassie in 2013 pleading not to make sex video public
Jurors heard a recording of a distressed Cassie screaming at a friend who said he had seen a video of performing sex acts.
In the recording, made by Cassie in 2013, the man claimed to have the video on his phone. Cassie is heard pleading to see the video and then threatening to kill him if it became public.
“I’ve never killed anyone in my life, but I will kill you,” Cassie told the man, punctuating her threats with profanity.
Cassie acknowledged in her testimony that Combs subsequently made efforts to keep the video private.
Cassie told Combs after LA hotel attack: ‘I’m not a rag doll’
Defense attorney Anna Estevao resumed her cross examination Friday with questions related to the March 2016 recording of Combs attacking Cassie at the elevator bank of a Los Angeles hotel. In it, Combs can be seen slinging Cassie to the floor, kicking her and dragging her into a hotel hallway.
Estevao had Cassie read aloud a text message in which she complained that Combs was out of control from drugs and alcohol that day. In the message, Cassie told Combs: “I’m not a rag doll. I’m somebody’s child.”
Through text messages read aloud to the jury, Estevao then showed that Combs and Cassie were expressing love to one another again just days later as they tried to recover from the hotel attack. Cassie told Combs in one text: “We need a different vibe from Friday.”
Cassie said Combs was wary of her dating or giving attention to other men, even during breaks in their decade-long relationship. The hip-hop star took her phone from her on numerous occasions, including when he found out she was dating a football player and when she suspected her of dancing with the singer Chris Brown. Cassie didn’t name the player and denied dancing with Brown.
Defense agrees not to show Combs’ ‘God in my heart’ video
The judge has tried to clear the way for jurors to be brought in on time for what was hoped to be Cassie’s last day on the witness stand.
One item in dispute: A recording Combs made when he went to rehabilitation after a March 2016 attack on Cassie at the elevator bank of a Los Angeles hotel.
Prosecutor Emily Johnson said the video showed Combs “wandering through nature” as he spoke of “religion and God.” She described it as an effort by Combs’ lawyers to seek sympathy from the jury.
On the video, Combs says he has “God in my heart.” The judge watched it and then decided the argument was moot because the defense agreed not to show the video to the jury.
Prosecutors want the judge to force Cassie’s cross examination to end Friday
Their complaints include:
Prosecutors tell judge the defense is trying to ‘filibuster’ its cross-examination
A day after an attorney for Combs claimed that prosecutors purposely delayed calling Cassie to testify so that the defense would have less time to cross examine her, prosecutors shot back in a letter to the judge overnight.
Prosecutors said it seemed defense lawyers were intent on forcing Cassie to return to the witness stand on Monday so that Combs could review transcripts over the weekend and help them prepare additional questions for her.
They also raised the risk of a mistrial if Cassie is required to return Monday but instead goes into labor with her third child over the weekend.
What to know Friday:
Key moments from Thursday’s testimony
Messages between Combs and Cassie — both romantic and lurid — were the focus of the fourth day of testimony in a Manhattan courtroom. Defense attorney Anna Estevao read what Combs wrote, while Cassie recited her own messages about her participation in marathon encounters with sex workers, called “freak-offs.”
Read more about Cassie’s testimony Thursday