Diddy trial: Cassie says 'freak offs' became a job

NEW YORK - Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, took the stand Tuesday morning in the federal trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Cassie detailed years of alleged abuse and her first "freak off", which she first outlined in a 2023 lawsuit that helped spark the federal investigation. See "Freak Off" definition here.

Cassie, who is now pregnant with her third child with husband Alex Fine, claims Diddy pulled her into a drug-fueled, controlling relationship after signing her to his label at age 19, when he was 37.

SKIP TO: LIVE UPDATES | Who is Cassie Ventura? | Monday recap | Israel Florez | Daniel Phillips

A key piece of evidence already shown to jurors is a 2016 surveillance video that appears to show Diddy assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.

Her testimony follows Monday’s accounts from hotel security guard Israel Florez, who told jurors he saw Diddy with a "devilish stare" after allegedly attacking Cassie, and Daniel Phillips, who testified he was paid in 2013 to have sex with Cassie—expecting a bachelorette party gig but instead finding her in red lingerie as Diddy watched and masturbated.

Diddy, now 55, has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys argue that while he may have been violent, the relationship was consensual and not criminal.

***LIVE COVERAGE: FOX 5 NY is live inside and outside the courtroom with the very latest and will be streaming live coverage each day.

• MORE: These are key players in the Diddy trial, celebrities mentioned

Diddy trial updates:

5:20 p.m.

Before court ended for the day, Cassie was explaining what happened in the infamous 2016 InterContinental Hotel video, which shows Diddy kicking and beating her. She will resume testimony tomorrow under direct examination.

Prosecutor emphasizes Combs’ alleged involvement

3:30 p.m.

As she questioned Cassie, prosecutor Emily Johnson returned again and again to a simple, but important question: Whose decision was it?

"Sean," Cassie replied each time, referring to Diddy.

-Associated Press

1:50 p.m.

Cassie says ‘freak offs’ became a job

Cassie said she created hundreds of songs, some of which were released on the internet prior to "proper release and some just didn’t see the light of day."

Cassie testified that much of her week went toward the "freak offs."

"Freak offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again," she said.

-Associated Press

Cassie says she saw Combs and his bodyguard grab guns to confront Suge Knight

In her testimony, Cassie says during one "freak off," Diddy and his bodyguard grabbed guns from a safe, loaded them into an SUV to confront rival record executive Suge Knight at Mel’s Drive-In, a landmark diner nearby.

"I was crying. I was screaming, like ‘Please don’t do anything stupid,’" Cassie testified. "I was really nervous for them. I didn’t know what they were going to do."

-Associated Press

12:33 p.m.

Cassie testified the longest ‘freak off’ she was involved in lasted four days

Cassie said the freak offs became a job, noting that other encounters took anywhere from 36 or 48 hours. The marathon sessions frequently required periods of recovery from dehydration, fatigue and drug use, she said.

-Associated Press

12:25 p.m.

Cassie explains alleged control Diddy had over her

Cassie said that Diddy paid her rent at apartments close to his residences in New York and later Los Angeles, had his own sets of keys and made "a lot of unannounced visits."

Cassie said that the space Diddy rented for her in Los Angeles was just a three-minute drive from his home and he’d sometimes drive a golf cart to get from one residence to the other.

-Associated Press

11:41 a.m.

Cassie says hotel video was during a ‘Freak Off’ 

Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel, Cassie said prior to the altercation: "We were having an encounter called a ‘Freak Off’ and I was leaving there."

-Associated Press

11:25 a.m.

Cassie recounts fear over first alleged ‘Freak Off’

When asked by the prosecutor about "Freak Offs," Cassie testified that Diddy first asked her to take part in them when she was 22. 

She said she didn’t feel like she could say no to Diddy because she "didn’t know what ‘no’ could be, or what ‘no’ could turn into.

-Adeja Shivonne, Associated Press

11:19 a.m. 

Cassie claims Diddy controlled much of her life 

She says Diddy controlled a lot of her life whether it was her career or the way she dressed. 

"Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything. I just didn’t have much say in it at the time," Cassie testified.

11:14 a.m. 

Cassie takes the stand

Cassie testified that her relationship with Diddy went from good times to arguments and physical altercations.

"If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things," Cassie told jurors.

-Adeja Shivonne, Associated Press

11:00 a.m. 

Judge lets husband Alex Fine stay for Cassie's testimony

10:50 a.m.

10-minute break ahead of Cassie's testimony

Judge Arun Subramanian has called a 10-minute break prior to R&B singer Cassie’s testimony. In open court, a lawyer for Combs asked that Cassie’s husband not be allowed in the courtroom while she testifies because he might be called as a witness.

10:30 a.m.

Defense claims Daniel Phillip had crush on Cassie: ‘I was attracted to her’

Defense lawyers tried to point out inconsistencies in Phillip’s Monday statements in a cross-examination.

They suggest Phillip had a crush on Cassie and wanted to isolate her from Combs so he could be with her romantically. Phillip denied that but admitted: "I was attracted to her. If she ever gave me the chance to date her, I absolutely would have."
 

9:59 a.m.

Jury enters courtroom, testimony has resumed

"Welcome back members of the jury," Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors.

-Associated Press

9:45 a.m.

Judge decides on sexually explicit material in the trial 

Judge Arun Subramanian says he’s likely to approve media requests to view videos described as pornographic, which will be shown to the jury. He’s giving both sides another day to submit arguments, aiming to balance privacy with public access to the trial.

-Adeja Shivonne, Associated Press

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Who is Cassie Ventura?

Cassie, Diddy timeline

Cassie Ventura, better known as Cassie, is an R&B singer, model, dancer, and actress who broke into the industry in 2005. 

She is considered to be a key prosecution witness in the Diddy trial. 

 She’s best known for her hit songs "Me & U" and "Long Way 2 Go." Music producer Ryan Leslie discovered her, working alongside industry executive Tommy Mottola.

She was first signed to Bad Boy Records in early 2006 and was in an on-and-off relationship with Diddy from 2007 to 2018.

On Nov. 16, 2023, she filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of years of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking. The suit was filed in Manhattan federal court under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows survivors of sexual abuse to sue even after the statute of limitations has passed. Cassie alleged the abuse began when the relationship started and included a 2018 rape and repeated incidents of domestic violence.

Diddy’s lawyer denied the claims, but just a day after the lawsuit was filed, both sides said they had reached a settlement, though the terms were not made public.

In May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance video from 2016 showing Diddy attacking Cassie — grabbing, punching, and kicking her in a hallway. After the video surfaced, Diddy issued a public apology, admitting to the incident.

Cassie Ventura, Alex Fine

Cassie and Diddy officially ended their relationship around 2018. The following year, she married her personal trainer, Alex Fine, in September 2019. The couple has two daughters, born in December 2019 and March 2021. On February 19, 2025, Cassie and Fine announced that they’re expecting their third child.

What are ‘Freak Offs’?

"Freak Offs" were alleged sex parties organized by Diddy that could last for days and involved drug use, coercion, and sex acts between women and male commercial sex workers. 

According to the federal indictment, Combs used his wealth and influence to lure women into these encounters, often under the influence of drugs, while he watched or directed the acts.

Prosecutors say a network of Combs’ employees and associates helped set up the "Freak Offs" by booking hotel rooms, arranging travel for participants, delivering cash to pay sex workers, and supplying drugs, baby oil, linens, and special lighting. They also allegedly scheduled IV fluid deliveries to help guests recover from the extended parties.

Authorities claim that some of these events were secretly recorded and used as blackmail to keep victims silent. 

During a raid on Combs' homes last March, law enforcement recovered narcotics, sex tapes, three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers, and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant believed to be used for these parties.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

What happened Monday? 

Testimony in the trial began Monday after jury selection and opening statements. Federal prosecutors told jurors that for nearly 20 years, Diddy used his music empire to run a racketeering operation that forced women into sex and turned violent when they refused. 

Diddy, dressed in a light gray sweater with mostly gray hair, entered the courtroom, hugged his lawyers, and gave a thumbs-up to supporters seated behind him. Outside, a line stretched down the block, while his mother and some of his children were escorted past the crowd into the building. Jurors were shown 2016 surveillance footage of Diddy attacking Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel—evidence prosecutors say is central to their case.

Israel Florez, LA security officer 

On Monday, prosecutors called their first witness, Israel Florez, a former security officer at a Los Angeles hotel, to testify about the night in March 2016 when he witnessed Diddy assault Cassie.

Florez’s testimony helped introduce hotel surveillance footage that prosecutors say shows the attack—footage they argue is more complete than the edited version previously aired by CNN. 

Defense attorneys had tried, unsuccessfully, to keep the video out of the trial. On the stand, Florez described finding Diddy in a towel with a blank, "devilish" stare after responding to a call about a woman in distress. 

He said Cassie tried to leave, but Combs told her, "You’re not going to leave." After she walked out, Florez said Diddy tried to hand him a stack of cash and told him, "Don’t tell nobody." Florez refused the money and told him to go back to his room.

Daniel Phillips, male escort

On Monday, Daniel Phillips testified that in 2013, he was paid to have sex with Cassie Ventura while Diddy watched and masturbated. 

Phillips said he was hired under the impression he’d be performing at a bachelorette party, but arrived to find Cassie in red lingerie. 

He described multiple sexual encounters allegedly orchestrated by Diddy, who tried to hide his identity but was recognizable by his voice. 

Phillips also said he witnessed Diddy assault Cassie and feared for his own safety.

What are Diddy's lawyers saying?

Diddy's lawyer Teny Geragos said during her opening, the trial of Diddy is a misguided overreach by prosecutors, who are trying to turn consenting sex between adults into a prostitution and sex trafficking case. 

"Sean Combs is a complicated man. But this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money," Geragos told the eight men and four women on the jury.

"There has been a tremendous amount of noise around this case over the past year. It is time to cancel that noise," she added, noting the intense public attention the case has received.

‘What did Diddy do?’

Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing serious charges that include sexual assault, sex trafficking, drugging, coercion, and racketeering. These allegations span across multiple civil and criminal lawsuits, with some plaintiffs claiming that Diddy used his wealth and power to exploit and abuse vulnerable individuals. 

• MORE: Diddy indictment: Baby oil, 'Freak Off' parties explained
• MORE: Diddy reportedly accused by three more men of sexual assault in NYC: Details
• MORE: New Diddy allegations involve 9-year-old boy, pregnant woman
• MORE: New Diddy allegations involve 10-year-old boy at NYC hotel, teen from 'Making the Band'

The charges stem from various accusations, including participation in "Freak Off" parties, where victims were allegedly drugged and coerced into sex acts. Combs has been accused of multiple counts of abuse, trafficking, and obstruction of justice.

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