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On May 12, 2025, hearing of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile federal trial, two witnesses were called to testify, namely, Israel Florez and Daniel Phillip. They were called as witnesses in the Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura case.
Florez is a police officer who worked as security personnel at the California hotel where Diddy was seemingly captured on CCTV, assaulting his former girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in March 2016. He testified that Cassie wanted to “leave” after the incident, while the Bad Boy Records founder seemingly tried to “bribe” him to keep him quiet.
Phillip is a male escort, stripper, and dancer who testified that he was reportedly paid by Combs to have s*x with Cassie while he watched. Daniel also testified that Diddy once allegedly threw a liquor bottle at the R&B singer and dragged her by her hair, adding that it scared him.
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Exploring further Israel Florez and Daniel Phillip’s testimonies in the Diddy trial
On Monday, the all-female prosecution team in the Diddy trial played the footage of Combs’ violent encounter with Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway from March 2016. The video was leaked last year in May by CNN. The Love Album artist has since apologized for the same.
At the time of the incident, Israel Florez was a security officer in the said hotel. He testified that Diddy had a “devilish stare” when he arrived at the scene, while Cassie had a “purple eye” and kept insisting multiple times that she wanted to leave the premises.
"She just kept saying she wanted to leave," Israel claimed.
The security guard turned police officer added that he reportedly discovered Cassie huddled next to a broken vase (photos of which were shown to the jury) when he arrived at the scene. According to Florez, when he offered to call the cops, Cassie turned him down. Meanwhile, Diddy allegedly tried to buy his silence with a “wad of bills.”
As for Daniel Phillip, he testified that he ran a “male revue” in New York in 2012 when he first met Ventura and Combs. The 41-year-old was reportedly called to perform at a bachelorette party at the Gramercy Hotel in Manhattan.
While he expected to “strip” for women at a party, he was instead received at the door by Cassie, who was reportedly wearing red lace lingerie, a matching wig, a pair of high heels, and dark sunglasses.
At first, Phillip was allegedly asked to give Casandra a baby oil massage and later to have s*x with her, as a “masked” Diddy watched from the corner, m*sturbated, and occasionally filmed the acts. Daniel testified that he offered his 10-12 hours of services multiple times to the former couple and reportedly received routine payments worth $700 to $6000.
“I didn’t care if I got paid one way or the other — they gave that to me every time I went to see them,” he said.
According to Phillip, he walked away from Combs after he allegedly witnessed him shouting, striking, slapping, and dragging Ventura in the next room at the Jumeirah Essex House Hotel in New York City.
“She literally jumped into my lap, and she was shaking, like literally her whole entire body was shaking. She was terrified… I was shocked. It came out of nowhere. I was terrified, too," he stated.
Daniel Phillip claimed he urged Cassie multiple times to leave the hip-hop mogul, but she insisted she would be fine. When asked why he never went to the police, the male escort alleged that he knew he would be up against someone with “unlimited power” and didn’t want to risk his life.
Phillip, whose testimony will continue Tuesday, also told the jury that he was scared to speak up against Combs as the rapper had taken a photo of his driver’s license “just for insurance,” but he understood it was to “threaten” him.
Other highlights from Diddy's trial
During Monday’s hearing, Diddy’s mother and children were present in the courtroom. His 18-year-old twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila and another daughter, Chance, left the venue when Israel Florez and Daniel Phillips’ testimonies turned too graphic, according to CBS News.
Meanwhile, during the opening statements, prosecutor Emily Johnson claimed Sean Combs allegedly paid $100,000 to bury the hotel surveillance footage of him seemingly assaulting Cassie. Emily also claimed that Puff Daddy ran a "criminal enterprise," besides being a notable figure in the music industry.
"He sometimes called himself the king. And he expected to be treated like one," Johnson added.
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and is facing multiple federal charges, including s*x trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution, arson, bribery, drugs, kidnapping, and forced labor, among others.
He has continued to deny the accusations and pleaded not guilty. On Monday, his defense team claimed that while Combs is a “complicated man,” all his relationships have been consensual.
According to CBS News, the 55-year-old hip-hop magnate appeared in a gray sweater and was delighted to see his mother and kids in the courtroom. He blew them a kiss, made a heart shape with his hands, and gave them a thumbs up. The family members responded with smiles and pumping fists.
On Monday, before the first two testimonies, jury selection was finalized. 12 jurors aged between 30 and 74 were chosen; eight are men, four are women. They include a social worker, a scientist, and retired citizens.
Cassie is expected to testify at the ongoing trial on May 13, 2025.
