Introduction to the Trial
One of the former employees of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs testified that the hip-hop mogul kidnapped her with a weapon and then broke into the house of rapper Kid Cudi in a conspiracy to kill his love rival. Capricorn Clark, who worked for Mr. Combs for more than a decade, informed the court that the accused and a security guard had appeared in their apartment in 2011 and forced them to go to Kid Cudi’s house.
The Incident with Kid Cudi
The incident of Kid Cudi was discussed for the first time in the process last week when this rapper, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, took the stand against Mr. Combs. He testified about his relationship with Mr. Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, a alleged slump in his house in Los Angeles, and an incident in which his Porsche was damaged by a Molotov cocktail that he believed Mr. Combs had orchestrated.
Charges Against Diddy
Mr. Combs is confronted with a possible life in prison if he is sentenced to prostitution for federal accusations, sex trade, and transport. The rapper has denied the allegations separately in a flood of civil lawsuits, which reflect some of the claims raised in his criminal proceedings.
Testimony of Capricorn Clark
In her testimony on Tuesday, Ms. Clark, the global market director at Mr. Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, said that the hip-hop mogul had arrived in her house in 2011 after he discovered that Ms. Ventura was in a relationship with Mr. Mescudi. Mr. Combs held a gun in his hand when he arrived, she said, and seemed "angry" and told her "We will kill Mr. Mescudi". She told the court that he forced her to get into a car and go with them against her will.
The Break-In at Kid Cudi’s House
When they arrived at Mr. Mescudi’s house, Mr. Combs and a security guard went into it, while she called Ms. Ventura out of the car and told her what developed. When Mr. Combs returned and caught her on the phone, he became angry, said Ms. Clark, and added that they were deported when Mr. Mescudi arrived back to his house.
Threats and Intimidation
The court then heard that the accused had announced Ms. Clark that he would not let her go until she and Ms. Ventura persuaded Mr. Mescudi that Mr. Combs was not involved in the slump in his house in LA. "If you don’t convince him of it, I will kill you all," said Combs to Ms. Clark, she said. Ms. Clark also described the difficult work relationship that she had with Mr. Combs over the years.
Work Relationship with Diddy
On her first day in the job, she said Mr. Combs threatened to kill her when he warned that her earlier work for other rappers had not been a problem for him. But she told the court, despite the tumult, she also felt like his protector and wanted to stay in his circle. "He broke the ceiling of what we were allowed to do as black in the business world."
Latest Updates on the Trial
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