As the federal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs continues, reports from the courtroom have been revealed after jurors were shown explicit video evidence for the first time during proceedings.
The videos, introduced as part of the ongoing racketeering and sex trafficking case against Combs, depict alleged “freak offs” - described as being drug-fueled, orchestrated sexual encounters that prosecutors claim were arranged by the music mogul.
Combs has denied all charges, which include racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation with intent to engage in prostitution, the BBC reports.
Until now, the jury had only heard audio recordings and seen photographs and text messages referencing the alleged events, as previously reported. Sunday marked the first time the court viewed actual video footage said to capture parts of the encounters described over the last several weeks of testimony.
According to CNN, jurors watched three short clips taken from longer recordings filmed in October 2012, October 2014, and December 2014.
While one of the original videos ran for over 30 minutes, jurors were shown a total of just over two minutes of selected footage. The videos were played in court with access limited to the judge, jury, witness, and parties involved. The defense team was not permitted to display the videos on their public-facing monitors to protect the identities of those shown.
Despite weeks of exposure to disturbing testimony and explicit descriptions, several jurors appeared uncomfortable during the viewing, and many were visibly shaking. One female juror reportedly put her hand to her head in distress, while another visibly winced.
Most of the jury, however, remained largely expressionless, possibly a sign of emotional fatigue from the case's heavy subject matter.
The footage was presented during testimony from Special Agent DeLeassa Penland, who walked jurors through travel records, hotel receipts, and text exchanges from October 2012, according to The Independent. Those messages, prosecutors claim, showed Combs and his then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, coordinating one of the “freak offs” at the Trump International Hotel in New York City with two male escorts.
Ventura has previously testified that she felt coerced into participating in these events and that Combs used video recordings to control and intimidate her. She described a disturbing incident following a 2013 trip to Cannes, during which Combs allegedly played one of the explicit videos on a commercial flight in front of others.
“I said, ‘You are embarrassing me,’” Ventura recalled on the stand. “I was scared, I felt trapped. How do you get out of this situation?”
She testified that, upon returning to the U.S. later that day, Combs insisted on another encounter “so he wouldn't be angry or hurt me.”
Ventura also alleged that Combs used the videos as a form of blackmail, per The Guardian, making her fear public humiliation. “He would make me look like a sl*t,” she said during her testimony.
The trial, now entering its final phase with two weeks remaining, continues to draw widespread attention as prosecutors outline what they allege is a disturbing pattern of manipulation, abuse, and exploitation behind Combs' public persona.
The trial is currently in its fifth week, and is expected to continue for two more.