Cudi claims Diddy retaliated; makeup artist recalls Cassie injuries during Grammys weekend

NEW YORK - Rapper Kid Cudi took the stand Thursday in Sean "Diddy" Combs’ sex trafficking trial, testifying about a tense period in 2011 when he briefly dated Cassie. 

He described arriving home to find his dog locked in a bathroom and his Christmas presents opened after Diddy allegedly entered his house. 

Weeks later, Cudi’s Porsche was set on fire in his driveway, an act he says he believes Diddy was behind, though Diddy denied it. Cudi also recalled a hotel meeting where Diddy stood "like a Marvel supervillain" before calmly offering him water. 

Makeup artist Mylah Morales testified that she once saw Cassie with a swollen eye, busted lip, and knots on her head after an alleged altercation with Diddy during Grammys weekend in 2010.

What's next:

Court is now on break for Memorial Day weekend and will resume Tuesday. Prosecutors say they plan to call Capricorn Clark, Diddy's former assistant, as well as witnesses from the Los Angeles police and fire departments.

SKIP TO: LIVE UPDATES | KID CUDI | GEORGE KAPLAN | PHOTOS | CHARGES | USHER

Why did Kid Cudi testify?

What we know:

The Grammy-winning artist, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, was first mentioned during testimony from singer Cassie Ventura, who said she briefly dated Cudi in 2011 while on a break from her relationship with Diddy. 

In her testimony, Cassie alleged that Diddy threatened to blow up Cudi’s car after learning about their relationship.

Prosecutors say Diddy was so enraged by the romance that he later arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed. They told the judge Cudi will testify after a federal agent wraps up testimony about evidence seized during last year’s raid on Diddy’s Miami home. It’s unclear what time Cudi will take the stand.

Diddy’s former assistant, Kaplan, was granted immunity and testified that he often cleaned up hotel rooms to protect the rapper’s image. He described a pattern of disturbing behavior, including alleged drug use, physical assaults and efforts to cover up what happened after Diddy's parties. 

Diddy trial live updates from the courtroom

4:30 p.m.

Kid Cudi thanks supporters

Kid Cudi posted a video to X, thanking his supporters for "all the love" ahead of his testimony.

"I've been seeing all the love and support, I just wanna thank you so much, man … this is a stressful situation. I'm glad it's behind me," he said.

3:05 p.m.

Court ends early and will resume after the holiday

No other prosecution witnesses were ready, so Judge Arun Subramanian let the jury go home early.

The court calls FBI Agent Josh Croft was called to the stand

2:45 p.m.

Frédéric Zemmour, the general manager of the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel takes the stand

Frédéric Zemmour testified that Combs frequently stayed at the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills using aliases such as Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie said he used when checking in for "freak-off" sexual encounters.

Zemmour said Combs’ guest profile noted that he "ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil." The profile instructed staff to "place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning."

Prosecutors highlighted several complaints about Combs’ stays in the hotel’s internal files, including one from January 2010 in which the housekeeping staff said it observed "large deposits of candle wax on carpets in living room area, and on the night stands in bedroom area." Combs was charged $500 for the damage.

2:30 p.m. 

Morales says she got Cassie out of the hotel room after she was injured

Morales testified that she was sleeping on a hotel room couch when Combs came storming in after Cassie on the weekend of the Grammy Awards in 2010.

Combs went into the bedroom where Cassie was and pulled the door closed before shouting started, Morales said.

When Cassie emerged from the bedroom with a swollen eye, busted lip and knots on her head, Morales said she immediately packed up her things and got her out of the hotel.

Morales said her doctor friend checked Cassie out the next day and recommended she go to the emergency room, but Cassie didn’t go.

2:15 p.m. 

Makeup artist says Cassie ‘was like a little sister’

They’d met on a photoshoot when Cassie was a teenager, and Morales said they’d worked together regularly from 2007 to 2021.

"Sean always made sure that the look was perfect," Morales testified. "You’d have to report back to him," sending him cell phone pictures for his approach.

 2 p.m. 

Makeup artist saw injuries on Cassie’s face during Grammys weekend

makeup artist Mylah Morales testified that she saw injuries on Cassie’s face only once while doing makeup for her between 2007 and 2021.

She said it happened in 2010 during Grammys weekend after Combs stormed into Cassie’s bedroom at a hotel and she heard "yelling and screaming."

"She had a swollen eye and a busted lip and knots on her head," she said.

 

Cudi cross-examination

Under questioning, Cudi acknowledged that he had left the door to his home unlocked and that there was no damage to the structure.

Cudi says Diddy apologized

Diddy ended up apologizing a few years later, when they ran into each other again at the SoHo House hotel, Cudi testified.

Cudi said Diddy, there with his daughter, pulled him aside and said: "Man, I just was to apologize for everything and all that (expletive)."

The court will return at 1 p.m. ET.

Cudi says Diddy was like a ‘Marvel supervillain’

Cudi said when he walked in, Diddy was staring out the window standing with hands behind his back "like a Marvel supervillain," prompting laugher in the courtroom.

He says Diddy was calm, even offering him water during the one-on-one meeting.

Cudi said he asked Diddy: "What are we going to do about my car?"

Cudi said Diddy gave him a "very cold stare" and responded: "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Cudi says Diddy denied having anything to do with the fire

Cudi said that he met up with Diddy to squash the beef at an LA hotel in an encounter he had his manager broker with Diddy's bodyguard. 

"I knew he had something to do with it," Cudi said, prompting Combs’ lawyers to object. Jurors were told to disregard the remark.

12:06 p.m.

Cudi says his sports car was set on fire

A few weeks later, Cudi testified, his Porsche 911 convertible was destroyed by fire in the driveway of his Hollywood Hills home.

Cudi said he was about 45 minutes away at a friend’s house when his dog sitter called and "told me my car was on fire."

12:01 p.m.

Diddy appears to be animated

Diddy reportedly nodded and smiled as his former assistant, Kaplan, offered testimony about working for him, recalling Diddy's grand persona and how he treated Notorious B.I.G.’s birthday as a holiday. 

Kaplan added that he still sends Diddy birthday wishes despite not hearing back about his wedding invite, drawing smiles and laughter from the courtroom.

11:50 a.m.

Cudi found his presents opened, his dog locked up

Cudi said he had gone to a West Hollywood hotel with Cassie to get her away from the Diddy when he got a call from Combs’ assistant, Capricorn Clark.

She told him that Diddy and an affiliate were at his house.

Cudi said he told Combs he was on his way to the house, to which Combs said: "I’m over here waiting for you."

When he arrived, he found Christmas presents he’d purchased for his family had been opened and his dog was locked up in a bathroom.

He said Diddy wasn't there, so he called the police. 

11:40 a.m. 

Cudi says Diddy broke into his Hollywood Hills home

He says it happened in Dec. of 2011 when Diddy found out that the two were seeing each other. 

He said she told him "Sean Combs and an affiliate were in my house, and she was in a car, and she was forced to go with them over there."

11:30 a.m.

How did Cudi and Cassie meet?

He says they met in 2008 to record music and dated in 2011. 

10:50 a.m. 

Kid Cudi arrives and is called to the stand

Wearing a leather jacket, white T-shirt and jeans, he entered the courtroom around 10:45 a.m.

What happened Wednesday? Who is George Kaplan?

The backstory:

The 34-year-old began working for Diddy in 2014, reporting to Kristina Khorram, who he said "essentially ran Mr. Combs’ life." Kaplan described working exhausting hours, sometimes up to 100 per week, at Diddy’s Los Angeles mansion.

Although he earned about $125,000 a year, Kaplan testified that Diddy threatened his job on a monthly basis, once berating him for buying the wrong size bottled water. 

Cassie testified that Kaplan quit after seeing Diddy beat her.

According to his testimony, he managed a range of tasks from late night studio sessions to carrying bags packed with phones, computers, medicine, and food. 

Kaplan also testified that he booked hotel rooms under the alias "Frank Black" in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Miami to help Diddy meet with female guests discreetly. 

He said he would clean up the rooms afterward to protect Diddy’s public image, claiming he never saw the guests himself. 

Kaplan also said Diddy once sent him to pick up MDMA in Miami. Kaplan told the jury Diddy gave him cash and a phone number, and a man later delivered the drugs after Kaplan made the call.

Who is Kid Cudi?

Big picture view:

Kid Cudi, 44, rose to fame after his song "Day ’n’ Nite" gained traction on music blogs in 2007, eventually catching the attention of Kanye West, who signed him to his GOOD Music label. 

The two first met in a Virgin Megastore in 2006 and reconnected when Cudi was working at a BAPE store in New York, where he once chased West down the street to remove a security tag from a jacket. 

Cudi went on to co-write and contribute vocals to several tracks on West’s 808s & Heartbreak, including "Heartless" and "Welcome to Heartbreak," helping shape the album’s signature sound.

Kid Cudi is widely credited with influencing contemporary hip-hop and alternative music through his emotional vulnerability and focus on mental health. 

His autobiographical lyrics often touch on depression, addiction, and spirituality. Known for blending genres like psychedelia, R&B, electronica, and punk, Cudi has sold over 22 million units in the U.S. and won two Grammy Awards.

He has collaborated with artists across genres, including Jay-Z, Drake, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, and David Guetta.

Who is Kid Cudi dating?

In 2024, Cudi announced via Instagram that he was engaged to designer Lola Abecassis Sartore.

Why is Kid Cudi testifying?

Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, testified that she received an email in December 2011 from Cassie saying that Diddy was so angry about her relationship with Cudi that he planned to release sexually explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt Cassie and Cudi.

Afterward, Regina Ventura said, she received a demand from Diddy for $20,000. Scared for her daughter's safety, she went to the bank and sent Diddy the money, only to have it returned by Combs days later.

Cassie testified that Cudi came to visit her at her mother's Connecticut home around Christmas in 2011 and stayed for three or four days. She said she broke up with him.

"It was just too much," she said. "Too much danger, too much uncertainty of, like, what could happen if we continued to see each other."

Cassie said she told her family she was going to Los Angeles after the holidays to "get to work." But instead, she said, she traveled after New Year's to meet Diddy in Arizona, where he had gone to visit a college with his son. They resumed their relationship.

When Cassie and Diddy were out of the country, Diddy told her that Cudi's car would be blown up and Diddy wanted Cudi's friends there to see it, Cassie said.

Will Usher testify?

Grammy Award-winning singer and producer Usher Raymond, at the age of 13, lost his voice while working on his debut album due to puberty, making it hard for him to sing. 

LA Reid, unsure about Usher’s future, paused the album and considered dropping him. Usher begged to stay, and the label gave him another chance. 

Reid then sent him to New York in 1994 to live with Diddy for what he called "Flavor Camp."

 Usher adapted to the flashy lifestyle but later said it was one of the toughest times in his life, calling it a period where he had to "knuckle up" and figure things out, according to an interview with Rolling Stone. 

What they're saying:

Given his decades-long relationship with Diddy, especially starting from such a young age, there is much speculation about whether he will take the stand or if he has witnessed any of the alleged abuse in the case.

It is still unclear whether he will actually testify in the trial.

• MORE: Male escort 'the punisher’ says Diddy wore veil during 'freak off'
• MORE: 50 Cent calls out convicted killer tied to Diddy sex-trafficking trial

New photo evidence

On Monday, the Department of Justice released several pieces of evidence, including photos showing a large chef’s knife hanging on a door.

Cassie Ventura testified that she kept the knife for protection near the end of their relationship in 2018, saying she had locked herself in her apartment with the weapon to guard against unexpected visits.

Prosecutors also shared images taken after Diddy’s 2024 arrest at Midtown Manhattan’s Park Hyatt hotel. The photos depict bottles of baby oil, personal lubricant, bags of pink drugs, pills, and thousands of dollars in cash.

Additionally, the DOJ released photos of Ventura’s injuries from the alleged abuse during her decade-long relationship with Combs. The images show bruises, a bloodied gash, and swollen lips.

Cassie alleged the permanent scar on her eyebrow came from being pushed into a bedframe by Combs.

What is Diddy charged with?

Federal prosecutors have charged Combs with a series of crimes including:

• Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy. Count One charges that, from at least in or about 2004 through in or about 2024, the defendant participated in a racketeering conspiracy during which he agreed with other employees and associates of his businesses to commit kidnapping, arson, bribery of a witness, obstruction of justice, drug distribution, forced labor, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of engaging in prostitution.
• Count 2: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion. Count Two charges the defendant with sex trafficking an adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 3: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Three charges the defendant with transporting that female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 4: Sex trafficking. Count Four charges the defendant with sex trafficking a second adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2021 and ~2024.
• Count 5: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Five charges the defendant with transporting that second female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2021 and ~2024.

He also faces more than 60 lawsuits from alleged victims.

Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs' label in 2005, and the two were on-again-off-again romantic partners for more than a decade starting in 2007. The lawsuit filed in federal court says Combs was "prone to uncontrollable rage" and subjected her to "savage" beatings. It says he plied her with drugs, forced her to have sex with other men, and raped her in her home as she was trying to end the relationship in 2018. Combs, through his attorney, "vehemently denies" the accusations.

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