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On Monday, May 13, Diddy's s*x trafficking trial officially began in the Manhattan federal court, with both sides presenting their opening statements to the jury. As a crowd of journalists gathered outside the court for live updates from the courtroom, a Diddy supporter was captured screaming furiously outside.
Comedian Jamil Peterson, who was also outside the court, recorded the supporter stomping around the building and shouting words that weren't clearly audible in the provided clip. The video, which was posted on Peterson's TikTok handle, was later shared on X by @ArtOfDialogue_.
In the clip, Jamil attempted to explain what was going on with the supporter while also suggesting they need more security. The comedian said:
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"I'm like, 'do he see the police standing there'... Looks like everybody was scared. He's going off right now. If he wanted to go viral, he just almost did it. He almost went viral! 'Cause he scared the sh*t out of me... Oh look, he's still going on. Listen, we may need security out here."
Diddy, who is being held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September 2024, appeared in the courtroom in a grey sweater, matching slacks, and a white shirt underneath.
Two witnesses testified on the first day of Diddy's trial
In the opening statement, prosecutor Emily Johnson accused Diddy of using his fame and violence to abuse women and run a criminal enterprise. Johnson focused on two key alleged victims in the case, Cassie Ventura and another unnamed former girlfriend of the disgraced rapper.
Per Johnson, Diddy met Cassie in 2006, when he was 36 and she was only 19. Ventura was struggling to build a career in music at the time, which Combs allegedly leveraged to force her into performing non-consensual s*xual activities with male escorts during his so-called "freak-offs". Most of these were filmed by the Bad Boy Records owner.
Two witnesses also took the stand to testify in the courtroom. The first witness was Israel Florez - an LA police officer who was present at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016, which was when incidents from the leaked CCTV footage took place.
Florez testified that he had received a call about a woman being in distress while working as a security official at the hotel. As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Diddy and Ventura in the lobby and escorted them back to their room.
Per the officer, Combs then approached him with a wad of cash, perceived by him as a bribe, which he declined. He added that Cassie left the hotel later that day with a purple eye, but didn't press any charges.
Daniel Phillip was the second witness - a male escort who had been allegedly called for Ventura in 2012. Phillip testified to having s*xual intercourse with Cassie Ventura on multiple occasions, as Combs watched and pleasured himself. Per Phillip, the disgraced rapper also directed them in their s*xual activities and even recorded it occasionally.
While Cassie, who is eight months pregnant, wasn't present in the courtroom on Monday, she will take the stand as a witness to testify against Diddy in the upcoming proceedings.
