Sean Combs’s former girlfriend, who has said he pressured her into a pattern of degrading sex marathons with male escorts, was confronted by the defense on Wednesday with a stream of text messages surrounding those encounters.
The woman — who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane — is on her second day of cross-examination as Mr. Combs’s lawyers seek to portray her as a willing participant in the sex nights. Mr. Combs is facing sex trafficking charges related to Jane and another former girlfriend, as well as racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In one exchange in late 2021, a pornographic actor who was a regular participant in what the couple referred to as “debauchery” or “hotel nights” texted Jane to marvel that a recent encounter had been the “roughest sex we ever had.”
Jane responded that it was “def one for the books,” alongside a series of emojis, including what Jane described as a “mind-blown” emoji.
Prosecutors say Mr. Combs coerced Jane into these nights, and she has testified that they left her feeling disgusted, used and sometimes physically sick, saying that Mr. Combs tended to be dismissive when she voiced her aversion to them. The nights often involved copious amounts of drugs, with Mr. Combs watching, masturbating and sometimes filming while Jane had sex with men they called “entertainers.”
While questioning Jane, Teny Geragos, one of Mr. Combs’s lawyers, spotlighted messages from Mr. Combs in which he appeared to be solicitous about what she wanted to do sexually.
In a 2022 exchange with Mr. Combs, Jane said she wanted to “make love” to him alone, writing, “I haven’t selfishly had you to myself for five months.” She has testified that she only endured the sex with other men in order to get alone time with him.
“I’m fine with the other stuff but I really just need you right now,” she wrote to him.
Mr. Combs responded, “Whatever you want.”
The text messages presented by the defense are in sharp contrast to those highlighted by the prosecution from later in their relationship, in which Jane told Mr. Combs that she felt violated and traumatized by those nights, once declaring that she was not a “sex robot.” She has testified that she had complex feelings about the pattern of encounters, saying that she felt pressure to please her boyfriend despite her own aversion.
Mr. Combs’s lawyers have denied that he coerced Jane and Casandra Ventura, another former girlfriend, who testified at the start of the trial, into sex. The defense has also asserted that members of Mr. Combs’s staff, including security guards and high-ranking employees, were members of lawful businesses — not a criminal conspiracy tasked with facilitating sex trafficking.
Jane has testified that she often read “undertones” of expectation in her boyfriend’s messages or in his interactions with her, leading her to be agreeable or try to cater to the kind of voyeuristic sex that he often requested.
Ms. Geragos pressed Jane on one of the times that she “went along” with a night of sex.
Expecting a night alone with her boyfriend on her birthday in 2023 at a Nobu hotel in the Miami area, Jane was surprised, she said, when Mr. Combs said, “I’m so excited to see what entertainment is tonight.”
“You just accepted it, right?” Ms. Geragos asked, citing Jane’s words under questioning from the prosecution.
“I just complied with it,” she replied.
That night, Jane said, when she asked for a condom to have sex with the hired escort, Mr. Combs gave her “dirty looks” and said “you better not ask for a condom,” using an expletive. He eventually gave the escort a condom, she testified. She had sex with two other men that night, and she received flowers, cake and jewelry.
After her birthday, Ms. Geragos highlighted a text that Jane sent Mr. Combs in which she said she “loved and appreciated everything detail you put into my bday.”
Seeking to explain the message, Jane testified that “despite enduring one of these nights, I can block them out and just focus on the love I had for Sean.”
The defense has also sought to highlight Jane’s active role in planning and preparing for the hotel nights.
Jane testified that she would buy supplies such as lubricant and male erection pills, which she said she purchased to try to speed up the unwanted encounters. Once, Jane planned a hotel night for Valentine’s Day, suggesting that the couple could have two male “entertainers” there at the same time.
“If I see him, there’s a request for a hotel night, so I’m just adapting to my circumstances, I’m adapting to my environment,” Jane testified.
Under questioning from the prosecution, Jane has described the drug-fueled nights of sex as “performances.” In 2023, the dynamic shifted when Mr. Combs began paying her $10,000-a-month rent in Los Angeles. She testified that he started to use the house as “leverage” for her to continue participating in the sex nights.
She has also described a violent brawl with Mr. Combs in 2024, when he was under criminal investigation. She testified that afterward, when she had welts and a black eye from his blows, he demanded she perform oral sex on an escort despite her protests. She said she took the Ecstasy pill he gave her and complied.
Olivia Bensimon contributed reporting.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
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