NEW YORK (AP) – R&B singer Kathy testified Wednesday that Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her when she ended her 10-year relationship.
Speaking to a Manhattan courtroom on the second day of Combs’ federal intercourse trafficking trial, Cassie mentioned Combs pushed his approach into her Los Angeles residence and raped her on the ground in the lounge after she mentioned she had damaged up with him.
Kathy additionally mentioned she would not really feel she will refuse to “a whole lot” of encounters with male intercourse employees — he watched for hours, even days — as a result of if he releases the video, it is going to make her “appear like a lady.”
“I used to be afraid of my profession. I used to be afraid of my household. It’s simply embarrassing. It’s scary and disgusting. You should not try this to anybody.”
Prosecutors confirmed 5 stills to the ju choose from the intercourse video on Wednesday. Cassie mentioned the picture portrayed her at numerous levels of Combs, generally known as “Freak-Offs.” One ju umpire’s eyes widened, and the opposite shook his head backward and forward.
She sued the comb in 2023, accusing him of years of bodily and sexual abuse. Within hours, the lawsuit was settled for $20 million (the figures first revealed Wednesday), however sparked a felony investigation towards him, adopted by dozens of comparable authorized claims from different ladies.
Prosecutors accused combs of exploiting his standing as a robust music government and forcing Cathy and different ladies to take part in sexual encounters. He is charged with 5 counts together with force-based intercourse trafficking, fraud, or coercion. Several different accusers are set to testify.
The comb denied all allegations and pleaded not responsible. His attorneys acknowledge that he could also be violent, however say the gender he and others engaged in are consensus and that he doesn’t quantity to intercourse trafficking or assault.
Combs’ attorneys have been anticipated to start cross-examination of Cathy on Thursday.
The 55-year-old Comb has been in jail since September. If convicted, he faces at the very least 15 years in jail. The examination is anticipated to final for about two months.
Cathy reveals the darkish aspect of a star relationship
Cathy’s testimony reveals the darkish underside of a relationship that has been printed for years with pictures of a pair smiling on the purple carpet and superstar occasions. She mentioned she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and 37. Within a number of years, they began courting, Kathy mentioned.
They participated within the premiere of the movie “The Perfect Match” in 2016. The assault was shot on safety digital camera footage performed on tv and on court docket two days after Combs freaks off and kicks Cathy at a lodge in Los Angeles. Combs apologized after the footage leaked final yr. Ju’s choose confirmed the footage and a photograph of the Prime Minister’s couple.
Kathy, now 38, mentioned she was calm and calm after the primary day of emotional testimony, utilizing make-up to cover her bruises and sporting sun shades to cover her darkish eyes for the premiere. She sneaks right into a popcorn closet on the cinema, switches attire for an afterparty, and says she will’t see any bruises on her legs.
On one other event in 2013, when she was packing to go to Drake’s Music Festival in Canada, Cathy mentioned Combs brawled together with her pal and threw her into the mattress body. She maintained a “fairly vital gouache” above her left eye. Combs safety guards take her to a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills and stitch the injuries collectively, she mentioned.
She then texted Combs a photograph of her injured face and mentioned she wrote, “So you bear in mind.” Comb replied: “You do not know when to cease. You pushed it an excessive amount of. And then you definitely stored pushing it. Sad.”
Combs accused of historical past of violence
Cathy testified about a number of different violent episodes. Early within the relationship in 2007, she mentioned he repeatedly hit her, knocking her on the ground of the automotive with a blow to her head. When he realized in 2011 he had begun courting rapper Kid Coody, she mentioned Combs charged at her with a cork and kicked her within the again.
After the assault in 2011, she mentioned she lied to her mom on Christmas.
“I could not damage her like that,” Cathy testified. “And that was horrifying. It’s not regular, it is continuously damage by the individuals you like. They say they love you.”
Cathy additionally testified that he noticed Combs pull one among her pals again into the balcony railing in Los Angeles. She says she noticed him assault her one other pal in her head with a hammer.
Before ending her relationship with Combs in 2018, Kathy mentioned she had skilled post-traumatic stress dysfunction and had been sleepwalking after a blackout.
Cathy says it broke down in 2023
Cathy testified that her life reached a local weather second in early 2023, when she had a “terrifying flashback” whereas filming the music video. She went dwelling after the video shoot and mentioned that her two kids have been asleep, however her husband was there. Kathy mentioned she remembers, “Please inform me you are able to do this with out me. You do not want me right here anymore.”
So, Kathy mentioned she could not really feel any extra ache and “I left the entrance door and tried to enter the site visitors, however my husband did not let me do.” Just a few weeks later, she was present process rehabilitation and trauma remedy.
Asked why she was testifying at Combs’ felony trial, she mentioned: “I am unable to carry this anymore. I am unable to carry disgrace, guilt.”