Sean Combs trial updates: 'Jane' testifies on 'hotel nights' with Combs

The hip-hop mogul is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

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Last updated: Friday, June 6, 2025 11:36PM GMT
DIDDY ON TRIAL: 4th week of testimony  ends with disturbing testimony from Comb's ex-girlfriend

NEW YORK -- Prosecutors allege that Combs, a three-time Grammy winner, used his fame and fortune to create a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and beatings.

Combs' lawyers argue that all the sexual acts were consensual, and although he could be violent, he never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering.

This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.

"Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy," a new podcast from "20/20" and ABC Audio, traces how the whispers of abuse came to light and led to the downfall of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was once among the most influential entertainers and entrepreneurs in hip hop. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.

(ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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Jun 06, 2025, 5:21 PM GMT

Cassie Ventura friend remembers alleged balcony incident in testimony

Bryana Bongolan was sleeping on the couch with her ex-girlfriend at Cassie Ventura's 17th floor apartment in September 2016 when, she testified, she awoke to the sound of Sean Combs banging loudly on the door.

She testified that she immediately hid the girlfriend in a bathroom, shut the door and ran onto the balcony to "act casual."

Asked why she hid the girlfriend, Bongolan told the court "I didn't want to expose her to the things that I'd seen."

On the balcony, "I either lit a blunt or was about to light it" when Combs came up behind her, Bongolan testified. "He lifted me and then had me on top of the rail."

She's 5 feet, 1 inch tall and, at the time, between 100-115 pounds, Bongolan testified, adding that Sean Combs is "a lot bigger."

Bongolan told the court that her feet were on the balcony rail and she remembered thinking that she was scared to fall.

"For a split second I was thinking I was going to fall but for the most part he was yelling at me, so I was trying to answer him," Bongolan testified, referring to Combs. "He kept repeating 'You know what the f--- you did.'"

"Sitting here today, do you have any idea what he was talking about?" prosecutor Madison Smyser asked.

"Still have no idea," testified Bongolan.

Bongolan told the court that Combs then threw her onto balcony furniture. "It definitely hurt but I think all the adrenaline, I just got up," she testified.

Combs has denied that the incident occurred.

Later, Bongolan testified, she noticed a large purple bruise on her leg with a small puncture wound in the middle of it. The jury was shown a photo of the injury.

The jury also saw other photos of Bongolan's back, which was covered with large bandages. She's also wearing a neck brace in the photo.

Bongolan testified that when a chiropractor asked, "Who did this to you?" she did not answer. She also told the court that she never reported anything about the incident to police because, she told the court, she was "too scared" of Combs.

"Did you ever talk to Mr. Combs about this incident? Smyser asked.

"Yes," Bongolan testified. "Him or someone on his team FaceTimed me a day or two later." She told the jury that the person allegedly said during the call "I don't want any problems from you."

Years later, on New Year's Eve 2017, Bongolan testified, she, Ventura and Combs were together at the 1 Hotel in Miami and "did eight hours of ketamine."

She left the two of them thinking, "I can't do this anymore," Bongolan told the court.

Bongolan also testified that she has a tattoo of the date Jan. 7, 2018, which she said is the day she decided to quit drugs and get sober.

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Jun 06, 2025, 5:21 PM GMT

Friend of Ventura testifies Combs threatened her: 'I'm the devil, and I could kill you'

Bryana Bongolan testified on Wednesday pursuant to a subpoena and an immunity deal with federal prosecutors.

She spoke in a soft voice, at times nearly a whisper, telling the jury Combs allegedly provided her with drugs, including ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine and GHB, also known as Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid. She told the court she had never done "G" before Combs provided it to her.

Bongolan also testified that "a few" times she saw Combs do drugs, including marijuana, ketamine and cocaine.

She and Cassie Ventura tried to stop doing drugs at various points but, she told the court, "It's hard to get sober if there's a lot of drugs around."

The jury saw a 2016 photo Bongolan took of Ventura and a photographer known as Bad Boi in Malibu. At that photo shoot Bongolan testified that Combs threatened her.

"He came up to me and said some stuff," she testified. "He came up really close to my face and said something like, 'I'm the devil, and I could kill you.'"

Prosecutor Madison Smyser asked, "How did you react to this threat?"

"I was terrified," Bongolan testified. "Because of the cocaine I had a lot of confidence and that just brushed it off."

Court is taking its lunch break.

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Jun 06, 2025, 5:21 PM GMT

Cassie Ventura friend testifies 'I was held over a 17-story balcony' by Combs

Bryana Bongolan took the witness stand and promptly told the jury that Sean "Diddy" Combs allegedly held her over a 17th-floor balcony nine years ago.

"I was held over a 17-story balcony" in September 2016, she testified, an allegation that Cassie Ventura also made during her testimony.

Then, Bongolan told the jury, Combs "threw me onto the balcony furniture."

"Were you injured?" prosecutor Madison Smyser asked.

"I had a bruise on the back of my leg and back and neck pain," Bongolan testified. "I had night terrors, paranoia, and I scream in my sleep sometimes."

Combs has denied Bongolan's claim.

Bongolan, who also is known as Bana, told the court that she met Cassie Ventura while they worked together at a streetwear company and called Ventura "one of my close friends."

Asked what she and Ventura would do together, Bongolan testified, "Get high." She told the court they would use "a lot of marijuana, cocaine, ketamine, stuff like that." Eventually, she testified, it "definitely created a habit."

Bongolan was reluctant to meet Combs, she told the court: "I just wasn't ultimately fond of what I was seeing."

Asked to elaborate, Bongolan testified that Ventura would seem upset during phone calls or appear with a black eye. She told the court about one time before the premiere of the film "The Perfect Match," in which Ventura starred, when she said Ventura called her on FaceTime.

"She just panned from one side of the face to the other," Bongolan testified.

"What did you see?" Smyser asked.

"Her black eye," Bongolan testified. "I was a little quiet and I remember saying, 'I'm sorry.'"

Bonglan further testified about another time she said she was asleep in Ventura's apartment and was awakened "by the banging," adding "Puff was banging at the door."

Bongolan told the court that she didn't recall what Combs said but she did recall his tone of voice.

"Upset," Bongolan testified. "I just remember seeing a knife get thrown in her direction," referring to Ventura.

Smyser asked, "How did Cassie react when the knife was thrown in her direction?"

"She threw it back," Bongolan testified in response.

"Did the knife hit Mr. Combs?" Smyser asked.

"No," Bongolan told the court.

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Jun 06, 2025, 5:21 PM GMT

Defense questions video expert regarding accuracy of 2016 hotel attack video

On cross-examination, the defense questioned why the time stamps on the videos jump around, reflecting a concern the defense has raised that the footage may make it appear as if the depicted events transpired faster than they actually did.

"As a result, the assembled compilation gives the false impression to the viewer that the actions are taking closer in time to one another than is actually in fact the case," defense attorney Teny Geragos asserted outside of the jury's presence.

On the witness stand, forensic video analyst Frank Piazza testified that the cameras were not synced and the hotel's surveillance system was buffering some of the time when the footage was recorded.

"In that process, sometimes, that time is dropped," Piazza told the court. "There were some portions that were motion-activated and that took out the time."

Additionally, the hotel's video surveillance system "has the potential of being taxed" and was not always able to produce smooth motion, Piazza testified.

On re-direct examination, prosecutor Madison Smyser asked, "Did you conclude the video we watched today reliably and accurately depicted what happened?"

Piazza testified, "Yes."

Combs has never disputed what the video shows. After it first appeared on television last year, he issued an apology on social media.

"I mean, I hit rock bottom but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable," Combs said in the apology video, in part.