By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sean “Diddy” Combs twice rebuffed a former girlfriend’s requests that male entertainers wear condoms when having sex with her as Combs watched, the woman said on Friday during often tearful testimony at the hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial.
The woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy, said Combs would “guilt trip” her when she asked that the entertainers wear condoms during their frequent, lengthy sexual encounters. The sexual interactions resembled what another one of Combs’ exes, Casandra Ventura, referred to as “Freak Offs” during her testimony last month.
Jurors in the Manhattan federal court trial heard an audio recording in which Combs intervened after Jane asked a male entertainer named Don if he had a condom. As the recording was played, Combs rapidly tapped his fingers against his leg while seated at the defense table.
“Why didn’t you just insist that Don wear a condom?” prosecutor Maurene Comey asked.
“Because I just didn’t want to disappoint my lover,” Jane responded, referring to Combs. Jane said she and Combs dated from 2021 through 2024.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Prosecutors say he coerced women over two decades to take part in elaborate, drug-fueled sexual performances during Freak Offs over two decades.
The Bad Boy Records founder’s defense lawyers have acknowledged that Combs was occasionally abusive in domestic relationships, but say the women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually.
During the first day of her testimony on Thursday, Jane said she was “head over heels” for Combs and wanted to have a one-on-one relationship with him, but that starting five months into their relationship most of their time together involved sexual interactions with male escorts in hotels.
Jane said that when she told Combs she wanted those encounters to stop, he threatened to stop paying her rent.
On Friday, Jane frequently sobbed and dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she told jurors how Combs would encourage her to keep going even after she grew tired during the encounters, which she said often lasted 24 hours or more.
She recounted one instance in which she broke down crying after Combs said he had to leave following an encounter with an entertainer, despite having promised Jane a one-on-one date night and that the entertainer would be there for “just a little bit.”
“I hung onto those words, just a little bit,” Jane said. “I was feeling terrible that he was going to leave me alone.”
Combs’ defense lawyers are expected to cross-examine Jane next week. They may focus on sexually explicit text messages that she sent Combs in between their encounters to show she was a willing participant in their relationship.
Combs has been in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest. He could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
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