"It was truly mayhem": CNN correspondent shares first-hand account of witnessing Kanye West’s cameo during the Diddy trial

American rapper and singer Kanye West appeared at the Manhattan court on Friday, June 13, 2025, to show his support for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. The rapper’s surprise appearance caused “mayhem”, according to CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister.

After Kanye West, who goes by Ye, showed up in the NYC court, American journalist and CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister shared a first-hand account of witnessing the Donda rapper’s presence with CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates.

On June 14, 2025, during her appearance on the CNN Podcast, Trial by Jury: Diddy, Elizabeth Wagmeister said:

“Well, Kanye shows up at court. It was truly mayhem. I mean, you know what this courthouse is like inside and out every day. There is already a cast of characters there. It is already media madhouse. There are TikTokers. There's fans. It's, you know, craziness ensues every day, but Kanye comes and when he comes, I was inside the courthouse.”

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CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister details Kanye West’s surprise appearance during the Diddy trial

The CNN correspondent also noted during the podcast episode that she allegedly gave the inside scoop on Kanye West’s plan on coming to court to support Diddy. According to Elizabeth Wagmeister, Ye had been in constant communication with Christian Combs, son of Sean Combs. She also noted that Christian has been in court most days throughout this trial.

Confirming that she was not outside when Ye showed up, Elizabeth Wagmeister further added:

“I didn't see him arrive. I was able to see footage because our crew, of course, our CNN crew was out there and saw him come in. But inside the courthouse, it was like the quickest game of telephone. Immediately, everyone was saying, ‘Do you hear, do you hear, Kanye is here, Kanye is here’. And then I had heard that he was not going to be led into the actual courtroom.”

Wagmeister said Kanye West couldn’t sit in the main room because there is a list to sit with the family or the defense. The CNN correspondent noted that the rapper was sent to the overflow room on the twenty-third floor. She disclosed that some members of Diddy's defense also came to the overflow room, and that it had allegedly never happened before.

“I found out later on that he was on the 23rd floor in the overflow room, he was sitting with King Combs with Diddy's son. So Diddy's son left the main courtroom and went to sit with Kanye. Didn't last long. I was told he was sitting like in the front row, looking at the monitor, listened to just a few questions of testimony, and then he left,” Wagmeister said.

Notably, rapper Kanye West had shown his support for Sean Combs previously, after the musician was arrested in September 2024. In February of 2025, Ye, in his now-deleted X posts, wrote several tweets for Diddy.

According to Newsweek, the two met in the early 2000s. At that time, Ye was a young producer. The two found themselves at the same events, and Kanye West also reportedly credited Sean Combs as one of his influences. Diddy notably also supported Ye’s music and fashion brands.

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Kanye West’s appearance on Friday, June 13, reportedly comes after Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, under the alias “Jane”, during her testimony said that she had attended another rapper’s “freakoff” in Las Vegas.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently on trial in New York. He is facing federal charges of s*x trafficking, racketeering, and conspiracy in transportation for p*ostitution. Although he denies all the charges, if convicted, he can spend his life in prison.