Cassie’s stylist testifies about Diddy abuse, career control

MANHATTAN (CN) — Bad Boy Records singer Cassie Ventura confided to her longtime stylist that she did not want to have sex with other men at recurring, drug-dazed sex marathons choreographed by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, but only did so “because he wanted her to,” celebrity stylist Deonte’ “DeO” Nash testified in New York federal court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors have accused the Bad Boy Records CEO of conspiring with an inner circle entourage of assistants and bodyguards to coerce multiple women into drug-fueled, voyeuristic sexual encounters — dubbed “freak offs” — that often involved male prostitutes performing sex acts on women while Combs watched.

Nash, a close friend of Cassie since 2008, recalled her venting her reluctance to the extended sex romps as she packed a duffel bag for the one of the weekly hotel stays with cash and sex toys.

The stylist testified on Wednesday he’d heard Combs on multiple occasions threaten Cassie “that he would beat her ass, that he wouldn’t put her music out, that he would get her parents fired.”

Nash said he’d heard Combs threaten to damage Cassie and her family’s careers by sending sexually explicit videos of her to their employers.

Cassie testified earlier in the trial feeling “trapped” because Combs kept the recordings of some of “freak offs,” despite her requests to delete them, for the “leverage of having incriminating, or derogatory humiliating video” that he could threaten to make public if she didn’t behave a certain way.

Asked by prosecutors what names he’d heard Combs call Cassie, Nash replied, “Baby girl, CC, Cass, bitch, slut, hoe.”

He said “bitch” was used most often. “That was his fave,” Nash testified.

On Tuesday, Combs’ former personal assistant Capricorn Clark recalled Combs threatening, “I should kill you bitches and I should cut her face,” in a fuming rage after finding out about Ventura’s relationship with rapper Kid Cudi in late 2011.

The celebrity stylist said he had heard Combs on “quite a few” occasions threaten to not release Cassie’s music while she was signed to a 10-album deal with Bad Boy.

“Y’all’s little mixtape is never going to come out,” Combs would tell Ventura, Nash testified.

Asked by prosecutors how much the music Cassie had recorded ended up ever being released, even for free online as a mixtape, Nash said: “I’m being generous by saying 10%.”

He recalled a pair of incidents when he had witnessed Combs being physically violent toward Ventura.

In one episode that took place when Cassie was packing for the Drake-curated OVO Fest in Toronto, Canada, Combs hit and kicked Ventura until she hit her head on the edge of a bed frame and started bleeding profusely.

Nash testified that both he and a woman referred to as “Mia” jumped on Combs to stop him from assaulting Ventura during that incident.

Combs “panicked” after seeing the blood from Ventura’s head wound, Nash said.

Ventura recalled the same incident during her testimony during the first week of the trial, which she said left her with a “pretty significant gash in the side of my eyebrow.”

Nash testified that Combs had on occasion been aggressive toward him personally, “popping me in the back of the head” and grabbing him by his shirt, in one instance.

During a separate incident during a 2013 music video shoot, Combs threw him on a parked car, Nash testified.

The stylist testified that he saw bruises on Ventura’s body — “legs, arms, neck” —  “quite often,” adding that he did not report the violence he’d witnessed for fear of retaliation.

During cross-examination by Combs’ defense, Nash stated that he has not engaged in civil proceedings against Combs.

Defense attorney Xavier Donaldson asked him if he was considering pursuing civil litigation against the Bad Boy CEO.

“No, I’m focused on getting out of here,” Nash said.

Donaldson inquired if Nash retained counsel to weigh suing Combs. “I have counsel to protect me,” Nash said. “I don’t do federal court.”

Combs, 55, is standing trial on a five-count indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty, and faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted on all charges.

The 12-person jury is composed of eight men and four women, while the six alternates are made up of four women and two men.

The trial was expected to run up to eight weeks into early July, but prosecutors said Wednesday they appear to be running ahead of schedule.

The woman who goes by the pseudonym “Mia” — referred to in the indictment as Victim-4 — is slated to testify as the next prosecution witness on Thursday.

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