'%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)
Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial has now completed its fifth week. On Friday, Kanye West showed up at the court to attend Combs' ongoing sex trafficking trial. In the June 14 episode of CNN's podcast, Trial By Jury, host Laura Coates discussed this with Attorney Lisa Bonner. While discussing the impact of West's appearance in court, Coates also pondered the influence of celebrity in Diddy's trial.
"We're talking about people who were testifying like Kid Cudi and of course, Cassie Ventura and they're name dropping all sorts of people. Mike Myers was named as somebody who somebody worked for. Michael B. Jordan, Madonna I think at one point came up as somebody who was an employer of somebody who used to work for Sean Diddy Combs," Coates said.
Trending
After mentioning the celebrities whose names came up during the testimonies, the host asked Lisa Bonner how she felt this might influence the trial or affect the jurors' perception of Combs.
"Initially, I do believe that there might have been a lot of being starstruck, right? In terms of, wow, this is Diddy and you see him, he's larger than life normally... I think a lot of people, especially in Hollywood, and who had been around him, were enamored with him... And that surely plays into the starstruck behavior initially," Bonner replied.
While agreeing with Bonner's explanation about Combs' perception among industry people, Coates said that the witnesses, at some point, said "very lovely" things about Combs. She added that while the jury may have been starstruck by Diddy, many witnesses maintained that aura of Combs for them.
More details about Laura Coates and Lisa Bonner's discussion on Diddy's trial
Further in the discussion, they spoke about the prosecution strategy and the testimonies of witnesses. Coates then asked the entertainment lawyer whether jurors might be judging a celebrity based on a common stereotype that rock stars are wild, into drugs and sex, and surrounded by people who say yes to everything. She further asked Bonner for her view based on her experience with celebrities.
Bonner said that people have "come to expect" more from celebrities, especially after the #MeToo Movement. She added that the general public no longer tolerates such behavior.
"And the other thing I was gonna say is that maybe the mind of the juror is thinking, he should not be held to any different standard than I would be...And so I'm hoping that the jurors really look at this in every case that we are asked to serve as jurors on from the lens of a reasonable person standard," Bonner added.
Exploring the involvement or name-dropping of Kid Cudi, Madonna, Kanye West, and other A-listers in the Diddy fiasco
According to Us Weekly, since Diddy's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial started in May 2025, the names of many A-listers have been mentioned in the courtroom.
The article also reported that Michael B. Jordan's name was mentioned in Cassie Ventura's 2023 lawsuit against Combs. Jordan, who once dated Ventura, had his name mentioned again during Cassie's testimony on May 15.
Rapper Kid Cudi was also involved in the lawsuit; he even testified on the court stand and shared the Porsche firebombing incident in court, which he believed was done by Combs. He also shared that Combs broke into his house after finding out about his affair with Ventura.
Singer Richard Dawn also testified in May on the court stand. During her testimony, she claimed that Usher witnessed Combs punching Cassie Ventura.
Diddy's former assistant, who testified under the pseudonym Mia, mentioned in her testimony that she worked for Madonna after she stopped working with Combs.
Combs' former assistant testified that once, the rapper directed his team to confront Suge Knight. Another ex-employee, Capricorn Clark, also mentioned Combs' enmity with Knight.
Although Kanye West's name hasn't appeared explicitly in the trial so far, he showed his support for Combs by attending his trial on Friday. Earlier in March, West released a song with Diddy.
Apart from the celebrities mentioned above, other renowned A-listers were also name-dropped during the trial. The proceedings will resume on Monday.
