Diddy trial recap: Kerry Morgan, Cassie's former friend, alleges Combs hit her with hanger
This page reflects the news from Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial on Monday, May 19. For the latest updates from Diddy's trial, read Paste BN's live coverage for Tuesday, May 20.
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Multiple witnesses in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sweeping federal sex-crimes trial testified on years of alleged physical, sexual and emotional abuse as prosecutors try to build their case against the embattled hip-hop mogul.
Dawn Richard, a former member of Combs' platinum-selling girl group Danity Kane, told the court on May 19 that she saw Combs beat his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura Fine in 2009 in his Los Angeles home, grabbing her hair and dragging her up a flight of stairs.
Richard, who filed a civil lawsuit against the rapper last year alleging physical and sexual abuse, told the court she wasn't looking for compensation or other perks for her testimony in his criminal trial: "I'm expecting justice," she said.
Kerry Morgan, a model and former friend of Ventura Fine, testified that Combs once attacked her in Cassie's California home, choking her and hitting her in the head with a wooden hanger. She also told the court she saw Combs assault Ventura Fine several times, and she pleaded with her friend to leave the rapper.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Diddy's former personal assistant says he was hired to serve 'Mr. Combs' kingdom'
To close out the day, Combs’ former personal assistant, David James, began his testimony on the events he witnessed from 2007 to 2009.
James told the court one comment stood out in his mind when he thought back on the initial job interview process. A female staff member at the time told him "This is Mr. Combs' kingdom. We're all here to serve it."
James is expected to continue testifying on May 20.
Kerry Morgan testifies on Diddy, Cassie's alleged jealousy
During cross-examination, Morgan was asked by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo whether Combs was jealous of Michael B. Jordan, the Emmy-nominated actor whom the rapper allegedly suspected was dating Ventura Fine around 2015.
Morgan said Ventura Fine began talking to Jordan shortly before a two-month trip to South Africa. Cassie starred in the musical drama "Honey 3: Dare to Dance," which was set in South Africa and reportedly concluded filming in December 2015. "They were not together, and (Combs) was jealous," Morgan explained. "She was trying to leave him."
Morgan, who reportedly hasn't spoken to Ventura Fine in seven years, said her former friend in turn was jealous of Combs' other romantic partners, including a woman named Gina Huynh and model-actress Kim Porter, the latter of whom Combs shared four children with. "She was jealous because she could never go to the New Year’s Eve parties," she said of Cassie's feelings on Porter.
During her May 15 testimony, Ventura Fine said she had "some jealousy" toward Porter, and jurors saw a series of text messages from 2013 in which she was upset at seeing Porter and Combs with their children and not being invited to family vacations and get-togethers.
Kerry Morgan says she told Cassie to leave Diddy
Asked why she didn’t call the police after allegedly seeing Combs attack Ventura Fine multiple times, Morgan said her former friend, "didn’t want me to."
However, the model said she tried to pressure Ventura Fine to leave Combs when the former friends would speak about Diddy and Cassie's relationship.
When prosecutors asked how Ventura Fine would respond, Morgan said that she "said she couldn’t." The reasons she would give were her job, her car, her apartment. Combs controlled everything, Morgan claimed.
Kerry Morgan alleges Combs assaulted her with a wooden hanger
Morgan testified that her friendship with Ventura Fine ended after Combs assaulted her in April 2018.
Cassie's former friend said she was listening to the singer's music in Ventura Fine's Hollywood Hills house before Combs came in and allegedly choked Morgan. She added that he "boomeranged" a wooden hanger at her head that hit her behind the ear.
"I got my stuff and left the house," said Morgan, who recalled Combs yelling and accusing Ventura Fine of cheating on him.
“The reason I stopped speaking to her was because she was not supportive” after the incident," Morgan said of Ventura Fine. “I draw my line at physical abuse.”
Kerry Morgan details splinter with Cassie, Diddy
On the stand, Morgan said she and Ventura Fine were friends for over a decade, but the relationship severed after Combs assaulted her.
Before Ventura Fine dated Combs, Morgan told the court she didn’t drink much alcohol or use illegal drugs. When her friend first started seeing the rapper, Morgan said she saw Combs assault Ventura Fine several times, once dragging her by the hair during a trip to Jamaica.
Morgan was at Ventura Fine’s apartment the night of the 2016 hotel assault caught on surveillance video and said she returned with a black eye. Thirty minutes later, Combs was pounding on the apartment door with a hammer, Morgan said. "I was terrified," she told the court, describing Ventura Fine as "numb," and as if she wouldn’t care if Combs killed her.
Dawn Richard defends career in cross-examination
Nicole Westmoreland, one of Combs' lawyers, pressed the former Danity Kane member on why she reached out to him following an allegedly violent 2009 incident if she thought he was dangerous.
The attorney referred to Richard's previous testimony, when she said she saw Combs assault Ventura Fine, and the rapper threatened her afterward.
"You perceived the threats as death threats, fear for your life, but then you reached out to work with him again?" Westmoreland said, to which Richard replied: "Yes."
Arguing that in more recent years her songs haven't reached the level of Danity Kane's success, Westmoreland added: "I mean, no offense."
"I have succeeded in it (her career)" Richard shot back.
"In the past?" Westmoreland said, to which Richard responded: "Now."
Dawn Richard questioned on lapses in testimony
During a pointed cross-examination, Richard admitted to giving different versions of events to officials and not mentioning certain details during interviews with prosecutors.
For example she said in court she saw Combs use cocaine and witnessed his alleged drug dealer, identified as "One Stop," sell drugs, but previously gave different answers to prosecutors.
"Your testimony has changed a number of times. You would agree that as time progresses, your story changes?" Nicole Westmoreland, a lawyer for Combs, asked.
Richard agreed there were lapses, but she explained: "I have to go back to memory that I didn't want to come back to."
"The environment was volatile, and it was very hard to work in," she said of interacting with Combs.
Dawn Richard recalls celebrity-packed dinner where Diddy punched Cassie
Under cross-examination, Richard told the court about a dinner around 2009 where she allegedly saw Combs punch Cassie. She told the court music stars Usher, Jimmy Iovine and Ne-Yo were in attendance.
The comments add to a growing web from the trial that has ensnared several big names in the music industry and Hollywood, including Michael B. Jordan and Kid Cudi.
Dawn Richard says Combs threatened her: ‘We could go missing’
Richard said she frequently saw Combs physically abuse Ventura Fine between 2009 and 2011, recalling injuries on her face, arms and knees.
"I saw him punch her, choke her, drag her and kick her," she testified, adding that if Ventura Fine had an opinion or spoke up for herself, "he would hurt her for it."
In one incident, Richard said she witnessed Combs punch Ventura Fine in the face. In another, Combs allegedly punched Ventura Fine in the stomach during a dinner. Richard testified that when Ventura Fine confronted Combs, he grabbed Cassie’s neck and hit her in the mouth.
Richard also said she was "shocked" and "scared" after Combs threatened her, warning that "if we said anything, we could go missing" and "we could die." He would tell people in his circle to stay "out of my relationship or else we would pay for it, or else something bad would happen to you," she said.
Dawn Richard alleges Diddy drug use, says she expects 'justice'
Detailing Combs' alleged drug use, Richard said she often observed the music mogul using marijuana, ketamine, cocaine and molly.
His drug dealer, known as "One Stop," would come to the studio, she said, providing illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy. But she said the man also provided pharmaceuticals such as birth control and emergency contraceptives.
Richard also testified to seeing a Louis Vuitton toiletry bag where Combs kept his drugs and that she saw him with a handgun a few times.
When questioned about her pending civil lawsuit against Combs, Richard said she was not expecting compensation for her testimony. "I'm expecting justice," she said.
Dawn Richard describes violent assault on Cassie
Danity Kane alum and Combs' former Diddy – Dirty Money collaborator Richard described witnessing Combs attack Ventura Fine as she was making eggs in a kitchen in Combs' Los Angeles home.
Combs grabbed the skillet Ventura Fine was cooking in and tried to hit her with it, Richard said. The skillet didn't seem to hit Ventura Fine "fully" because "she went into the fetal position," according to Richard. Ventura Fine was "literally" trying to hide her face and her head.
Richard testified that the rapper then grabbed Ventura Fine's hair and dragged her upstairs. She said she subsequently heard glass breaking and yelling.
Federal agent discovered bottles of baby oil, lubricant after Diddy's arrest
The prosecution also brought Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Yasin Binda to the stand. Binda, who specializes in human-trafficking cases, was on the scene for Combs' Sept. 16, 2024, arrest at the Park Hyatt New York, where she photographed evidence in his room.
Among the items discovered were:
- A plastic bag filled with Johnson & Johnson baby oil
- Five bottles of baby oil and lubricant standing together on the floor of the bathtub (This was not all of the baby oil and lubricant they'd found, Binda confirmed.)
- A Louis Vuitton bag with a bottle of clonazepam – a benzodiazepine that is used for anxiety and seizures – which was prescribed to Combs' alias, Frank Black
- Two bottles of lubricant in the right nightstand drawer
- A bottle of medication in the left nightstand with two clear plastic bags filled with a pink substance. One of the bags tested positive for ketamine, and the other had a mixture of MDMA and ketamine
- A fanny pack hanging off the bed with $9,000 in cash
- Cell phones belonging to Combs and Kristina "KK" Khorram, who has been described as Combs' "right hand"
What is Diddy charged with? Why is he on trial?
Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.
He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
Where can I watch the Diddy trial?
The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.
Paste BN will be reporting live from the courtroom.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.
Contributing: Paste BN staff