The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, which sees the music mogul face charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, continues in New York. This week, his former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, also known as 'KK', has been a reoccurring name in court.
Khorram has even been described by prosecutors as Diddy's 'agent and co-conspirator', so it makes sense that anyone closely following the trial should want to know more about her. She has not yet been called to testify.
Diddy's trial is expected to last eight weeks. He has denied all allegations and has pleaded not guilty in court.
Who is Kristina Khorram?
Khorram was Diddy's former chief of staff of Diddy's global multi-faceted company, Combs Enterprises, which is now known as Combs Global. The business portfolio includes Bad Boy Entertainment, Love Records, REVOLT Media & Television, Aquahydrate, Sean John, Combs Investments, Empower Global, Our Fair Share and Sean Combs Foundation.
What has been said about Kristina Khorram during Diddy's trial?
Khorram has become a prominent name in the trial. She has been mentioned by several witnesses and has been accused of assisting Diddy in his alleged crimes.
She was accused by one witness of helping Diddy transport drugs over state lines. She was also accused of monitoring the whereabouts of Diddy's ex-girlfriend of 10 years, Cassie Ventura, and helping secure hotel surveillance of Diddy physically assaulting Cassie.
According to testimony from Eddy Garcia, a security officer working at the InterContinental Hotel in LA in 2016, Khorram allegedly arranged to pay $100,000 to secure the viral CCTV footage of Diddy violently beating and kicking Cassie outside their hotel room.
Garcia told the court that Khorram repeatedly called him at the hotel lobby desk and showed up at the hotel to persuade him to hand over the footage. Garcia said Diddy later met him in person with a large sum of cash, the court heard, and Khorram was also there.
Meanwhile, one of Diddy's former assistants, George Kaplan, testified that Khorram would instruct him to set up Diddy's hotel rooms with candles, liquor, baby oil and AstroGlide for his 'freak off' parties.
Cassie also referred to 'KK' throughout her testimony. 'I talked to KK about a lot, she knew a lot about my personal things,' the singer testified.
Another of Diddy's former partners who went by 'Jane' in court also mentioned Khorram. She alleged she collapsed after taking ecstasy about ten times during a nine-day trip to Turks and Caicos in 2021 and said, '[Diddy's] butler and KK tried to help me'.
She also said Khorram made arrangements for her to get her teeth improved and her nipples pierced, per Diddy's request. Jane later told the court, 'I believe that [Khorram] had very strong opinions about me, which influenced a great deal of how Sean also treated me.'
Has Kristina Khorram been formally accused of any crimes?
In March, Khorram was named as a defendant in three civil cases alongside Diddy. She has not been charged with any crimes.
One civil accuser, Rodney Jones, called Khorram 'the Ghislaine Maxwell to Sean Combs' Jeffrey Epstein'. Another accuser, Phillip Pines, said Khorram was his supervisor at Diddy's company and claimed he told her when he witnessed Diddy's alleged violence and she 'instructed Plaintiff to never speak about it and there are repercussions that can happen if he did'.
She denied all wrongdoing in a statement. Khorram has not been implicated in the active criminal case. Her attorney said she cannot 'tell her story until the criminal trial is over and the civil cases are resolved'.
'For months, horrific accusations have been made about me in various lawsuits regarding my former boss,' her statement read. 'These false allegations of my involvement are causing irreparable and incalculable damage to my reputation and the emotional wellbeing of myself and my family.'
'I have never condoned or aided and abetted the sexual assault of anyone. Nor have I ever drugged anyone,' she continued. 'The idea that I could be accused of playing a role in – or even being a bystander to – the rape of anyone is beyond upsetting, disturbing, and unthinkable. That is not who I am and my heart goes out to all victims of sexual assault.'
'I am confident that the allegations against me will be proven to be untrue,' Khorram concluded.
What has Diddy said about Kristina Khorram?
In a 2021 facebook post, Diddy gushed about his former chief of staff. 'Meet Kristina Khorram, chief of staff at Combs Enterprises,' he wrote. 'Kristina aka KK keeps everything in my life and my business running. She's been my right hand for the last 8 years and has consistently proven to execute and get sh*t done. Don't know how I'd function without her.'
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).