'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
David James, Sean "Diddy" Combs' former assistant, testified that the rapper warned him not to be aggressive or violent towards women after James was involved in an altercation with Combs' chef while working for him.
On May 19 and 20, James took the stand to testify about his experiences while employed by Diddy from 2007 to 2009, as one of the many witnesses in the rapper's ongoing sex trafficking trial.
During his cross-examination by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo on May 20, James was questioned about his argument with the rapper's former personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson. He testified that he and Atkinson had an argument at Combs' Miami home after the chef instructed him on how to do his job.
Trending
James said he grabbed the chef's wrists in anger and told her to "stay in her f**king lane." He claimed that the incident was reported to corporate HR and that the rapper privately warned him afterwards, saying:
"You can't be putting your hands on women."
James testified that Diddy instructed him to give Atkinson a gift to make amends, adding that he offered the chef a blunt as a peace offering.
Diddy's alleged comments about not "putting hands on women" followed several witnesses claiming to have seen the rapper assault his former partner, Cassie Ventura, multiple times. The alleged assaults were also recounted by Ventura, the prosecution's star witness, during her four-day testimony last week.
Exploring the witness testimonies that detail Diddy allegedly assaulting Cassie Ventura
Diddy's sex trafficking trial began on May 5 with jury selection, and witnesses were called to testify on May 12 after the opening statements. The first witness to take the stand was a former security guard at the InterContinental Hotel in LA, where CCTV footage from 2016 showed Diddy physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in the hotel hallways.
While the guard testified that he did not witness the assault, he claimed he noticed that Ventura looked scared when he went to defuse the situation after receiving a call about a woman in distress at the hotel.
The second witness was a male escort who was allegedly hired to participate in the "freak-offs" with Ventura. The escort claimed that he saw Diddy drag Ventura into another room by her hair during one of their meetings and testified to hearing what sounded like slaps from the room where the couple was located.
“She was screaming, and he pulled her into the bedroom. I could hear what sounded like him slapping her. She was screaming, ‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry!'” the escort said.
The next witness was Cassie Ventura, who claimed that Diddy had physically assaulted her multiple times, including kicking her, hitting her, and stomping her head. During her testimony, Ventura alleged that the beatings occurred "too frequently," adding that the violence hinged on reasons like her "making the wrong face."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ventura, who is currently eight months pregnant with her third child, told jurors:
“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things."
Cassie Ventura's mother and former best friend testify to her alleged assaults
According to NBC News, Danity Kane singer Dawn Richards testified on May 16, claiming she witnessed Diddy trying to hit Cassie Ventura with a skillet filled with eggs. The singer claimed the incident occurred at his Los Angeles home in 2009, testifying:
"I was scared for her, I was scared to do anything."
On May 19, model Kerry Morgan took the stand and testified that she allegedly witnessed the rapper physically assault Cassie Ventura. Morgan, Ventura's former best friend, claimed that she saw Combs be abusive towards Ventura twice: once in Jamaica and once in Hollywood Hills. She stated that he had “hit her [Ventura], pull her hair, kick her, push her."
Morgan also testified that Diddy allegedly assaulted her once in Ventura's Hollywood Hills home in 2018, saying:
“He came up behind me and choked me, and boomeranged a wooden hanger around my head."
Morgan and Ventura's friendship reportedly deteriorated after Diddy allegedly attacked Morgan. The model testified that Ventura allegedly paid her $30,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement a month after the attack, and the two women have not spoken since.
On May 20, Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura's mother, took the stand to testify. Regina claimed that she had taken photographs of the bruises that Combs had allegedly left on her daughter's body sometime in 2011 to create a record of the physical abuse.
It is important to note that Sean Combs is not on trial for domestic abuse and violence. During opening statements, Teny Geragos, one of his attorneys, noted that the defense did not intend to deny the rapper's history of domestic violence, stating:
"We will not shy away from the things he did. But we will not own the things he did not do."
In other news, Kid Cudi is expected to testify sometime this week regarding his brief relationship with Cassie Ventura in 2011. Previously, Ventura testified that she broke up with Cudi after Combs threatened to hurt them.
