Ex-girlfriend says Combs threatened to stop paying
her rent
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Judge threatens to kick Combs out of courtroom
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Combs faces sex trafficking trial, pleads not guilty
to charges
By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) -
Sean "Diddy" Combs
dismissed requests by one of his former girlfriends to stop having sex with other men at his behest, and threatened to stop
paying her rent, the woman testified on Thursday at the hip-hop mogul's sex trafficking trial.
The woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to
protect her privacy, said she was Combs' girlfriend between 2021 and 2024.
She is the third woman who prosecutors say was sexually abused by Combs to take
the stand at his trial in Manhattan federal court,
which is in its fourth week.
Combs has pleaded not guilty
to five counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
He could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
Jane, a model and social media influencer, said she felt "exhilarated" the first time she had sex with a male escort in front of Combs in May 2021, about five months into their
relationship.
But she said she thought it would be a one-time occurrence.
Instead, she said she had sex with other men in front of Combs about 90% of the time she saw him.
When she eventually told him she did not want to have sex
with other men anymore, Combs - whose net worth Forbes estimated at above $1 billion in 2022
- threatened to stop paying her rent, Jane said.
"He just was dismissive or wanted to move on from the subject," Jane said.
Jane said she and Combs would call the events with other men "debauchery" or "hotel nights."
Her description of the events resembled what another former
girlfriend of Combs',
Casandra Ventura
, referred to as "Freak Offs."
Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as
Cassie, said she participated in "Freak Offs" with Combs and
male sex workers for nearly a decade - at first to please him,
and later because he
blackmailed her
with videos of the encounters.
JUDGE THREATENS TO KICK COMBS OUT OF COURTROOM
Earlier on Thursday, Combs' lawyer Nicole Westmoreland accused another witness, Ventura's friend Bryana Bongolan, of falsely testifying that
Combs dangled her over Ventura's 17th-story Los
Angeles balcony in September 2016.
Westmoreland suggested Combs was on the East Coast at the time of the alleged attack.
"You came in here and you lied to the ladies and gentlemen of this jury, didn't you?" Westmoreland asked.
"I can't agree with you," Bongolan replied.
Under further questioning from prosecutor Madison Smyser, Bongolan said she did not know the exact date of the incident but
said she had no doubt it took place.
Prosecutors later displayed a text message Ventura sent an associate on September
30, 2016, stating that Combs' had dangled Bongolan's feet over
the balcony.
Outside the jury's presence following Bongolan's testimony, U.S.
District Judge Arun Subramanian said he had observed Combs "nodding vigorously" in the jury's direction during
Westmoreland's questioning, and threatened to kick him out of the courtroom if he did that again.
"There should be no efforts whatsoever to have any interactions with this jury," Subramanian said.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York Editing by Nick Zieminski)