On the 12th day of Sean Combs’s trial on sex-trafficking and racketeering charges, the second woman to testify about allegations of sexual abuse took the stand. The former assistant to Mr. Combs testified under the pseudonym Mia, and prosecutors also used her testimony to try to corroborate the account of Casandra Ventura, known as the singer Cassie, his on-and-off girlfriend of around a decade. Mr. Combs pleaded not guilty and has denied all the charges.
Here are some takeaways from the day in court.
A former employee described Mr. Combs as a demanding, controlling boss.
Mia, the former personal assistant to Mr. Combs, testified about a grueling work environment in which she was subjected to sleep deprivation and violence for delays in fulfilling his demands.
The woman, whose real name was revealed to jurors, described a fast-paced, often exciting job that could quickly descend into chaos based on Mr. Combs’s moods.
“The highs were really high and the lows were really, really low,” she testified. She described instances in which he threw a bowl of spaghetti at her and, in another, a computer. Both missed, she said.
“He’s thrown me against the wall,” Mia testified. “He’s thrown me into a pool. He’s thrown an ice bucket on my head. He slammed my arm into a door.”
A document shown to jurors listed Mia’s marching orders, which including staying on her Blackberry at all times. Mr. Combs, the document read, could “ask you to do 17,000 things at one time that range from cracking his knuckles to writing his next movie to doing his taxes.”
Mia, who worked for Mr. Combs for eight years in various capacities starting in 2009, said she once worked for five days without sleep, until her vision began to blur and she burst into tears, prompting Mr. Combs to let her off the clock. (She said her initial base salary was $50,000.)
Mia said Mr. Combs sexually assaulted her more than once.
In a voice that quieted to a whisper, Mia said Mr. Combs sexually assaulted her multiple times. Mia, who started working for Mr. Combs while in her mid-20s, testified that a few months after she started the job, he kissed her and put his hand up her dress at his 40th birthday party at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
“I thought it would never happen again,” she testified, her voice shaking.
But later in her employment, Mia said, she was asleep at his home in Los Angeles — the bedroom unlocked because Mr. Combs forbade her to lock doors in his home — when he entered the room, climbed on top of her and penetrated her. Another time, she said, she was packing a bag for him in his closet when he appeared beside her with his penis exposed, grabbed her head and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Mia, who wept at times while recalling the encounters, testified that each time, she felt unable to say no, fearing retaliation.
“I couldn’t tell him no about a sandwich — I couldn’t tell him no about anything,” she said. “There was no way I could tell him no, because then he would know that I thought what he was doing was wrong and then I would be a target.”
Mr. Combs has vehemently denied sexually assaulting anyone. As Mia described the allegations of sexual assault, Mr. Combs shook his head from the defendant’s chair.
Mr. Combs is not accused of sex trafficking Mia but of subjecting her to forced labor — including sexual activity — through violence and threats of serious harm. The forced labor allegation is part of a broader racketeering conspiracy charge that accuses Mr. Combs of directing a criminal enterprise that helped him commit crimes and cover them up over two decades.
Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him. His lawyers have denied the existence of a criminal conspiracy, asserting that he was the head of entirely lawful businesses that were disconnected from his private sex life. They have argued that the sex at issue in the case was entirely consensual.
A stylist said was ‘always’ concerned about Ms. Ventura’s safety.
Deonte Nash, a stylist who worked with Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura for years and maintains a close friendship with her, testified this week that Ms. Ventura confided in him several times that she did not want to participate in “freak-offs” — marathon sexual encounters with male prostitutes that prosecutors say Mr. Combs demanded and directed.
He came under cross-examination on Thursday, with Xavier Donaldson, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, questioning him about why, if he was worried about Ms. Ventura, he did not do more to intervene. Mr. Donaldson focused on an instance when Mr. Nash said he quickly left a hotel room at Ms. Ventura’s request because Mr. Combs “wanted to invite a guy over,” suggesting that he must not have had concern for Ms. Ventura’s safety at the time.
“I always did,” Mr. Nash replied.
Mr. Nash was also questioned about his awareness of infidelity in the couple’s relationship — a main theme of the defense. When he inquired about a flirtation Ms. Ventura had with the actor Michael B. Jordan in 2015, Mr. Nash cut in: “Yes, I did hook her up with Michael B. Jordan — I know where you’re going with this.” He said Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura were broken up at the time.
Cassie was fearful of Mr. Combs.
After Mr. Nash stepped off the stand, Mia testified that she had observed Ms. Ventura get anxious ahead of an upcoming “hotel night” with Mr. Combs, saying Ms. Ventura “started getting stomach issues because of it.”
Mia, who described her relationship with Ms. Ventura as “like sisters,” testified that Mr. Combs directed her to “keep tabs” on Ms. Ventura. One night, Mia testified, she was told by Mr. Combs to keep Ms. Ventura in a hotel room.
When Ms. Ventura and Mia were told by a friend that Prince was having a house party nearby, “Cass and I debated like little kids if we should sneak out of the house,” she said. The women attended the party, Mia testified, dancing and having fun until Mia saw Mr. Combs arrive.
“Oh, crap,” she remembered thinking. “Me and Cass just booked it.”
When Mr. Combs caught up to Ms. Ventura in the front yard, he began attacking her, Mia testified, until Prince’s security intervened. The next day, Mia was suspended without pay for insubordination, she said.
Anusha Bayya contributed reporting.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter for The Times who focuses on popular music and a co-host of the Times podcast “Popcast (Deluxe).”
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