The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continues and is expected to last eight weeks. He has pleaded not guilty in court and denies all allegations.
Despite endless speculation about the 'Diddy List' of potential A-list names that could come up during Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial, the rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, was never near the top. Nevertheless, due to his brief romance with Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2011, he has been called to testify in court.
Combs and Ventura dated on and off for 11 years, first meeting when Ventura was signed to Combs' label Bad Boy Records when she was 19 and Combs was 37. Shortly after, they began a romantic relationship, that quickly turned turbulent. In 2023, Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging that he subjected her to a pattern of abuse and control over a decade. He denied the allegations and the case was settled out of court for $20 million (£Xm).
However, in May last year, CCTV footage from 2016 was leaked online that showed Combs violently beating and kicking Ventura outside their hotel room. In her testimony during the first week of Combs' trial, in which he faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, Ventura told the court she was repeatedly beaten, assaulted and controlled throughout their relationship.
During a break in 2011 when she and Combs were 'not in a good place', Ventura began dating Mescudi. She told the court that when Combs learned she was dating Mescudi during a freak-off, a term for the sex parties hosted by Combs, she said Combs told her that 'he was going to hurt' both of them and that he was going to have Mescudi's car blown up.
In Ventura's original lawsuit, she alleges that Combs orchestrated a car bomb in Mescudi's car and claims it shows 'what Mr. Combs was both willing and able to do to those he believed had slighted him'. In a brief response to The New York Times last year, Mescudi said the description of the incident in Ventura’s lawsuit was accurate. Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo said: 'There is no allegation that Mr. Combs was involved in these actions or directed anyone else to take them. It’s clear the government doesn’t know who set fire to the vehicle or how it relates to Mr. Combs, who denies any involvement.'
What did Kid Cudi testify during Diddy's trial?
Mescudi said that when he and Cassie began dating, she was having 'some problems' with Diddy, and says Cassie and Combs 'weren't dating.' He detailed how Cassie called him distressed when Diddy found out about their relationship, saying: 'Diddy found out about us.' He testified she wanted him to come and pick her up as she was worried Diddy would come to his house, adding 'she was very, stressed, nervous, scared, she didn't know what Sean Combs would do.' He said he took Ventura to the Sunset Marquis, believing it’d be a safe place to keep her away from Combs.
After he'd taken her to the hotel, Mescudi said one of Diddy's staff called him, and said that Diddy was inside his house. He testified that some items had been moved and his dog had been locked in a bathroom after Diddy allegedly broke in.
Mescudi testified he called Combs after arriving back at his house because he wanted to 'confront' and 'fight' him, but decided to file a police report instead. He said Combs texted him after the break-in while he was spending the holidays with Cassie. 'I guess he was in the dark about things and wanted to talk, but at that point, post-break-in, I didn’t want to talk,' Mescudi said. 'You broke into my house, you messed with my dog, I don’t want to talk to you.'
Mescudi said his Porsche was damaged by a Molotov cocktail in January 2012. Cassie previously testified that Combs threatened to set Mescudi’s car on fire. Combs has denied any involvement in the fire.
Mescudi said he reached out to Diddy after the car fire. He said he 'finally told him that we needed to meet up, to talk,' continuing 'He had been wanting to talk to me, so after the fire, I was like, this is getting out of hand, I need to talk to him.'