A former personal assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs took the stand Thursday in New York, providing detailed and disturbing testimony in the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial against the music mogul.
Testifying under the pseudonym “Mia” to protect her identity, the woman told the court she witnessed Combs physically assault his former partner Cassie Ventura on multiple occasions. “He attacked her, threw her on the ground, cracked her head open,” Mia said. When asked how often she witnessed the violence, she replied, “All the time. I don’t have a number.” She added that Cassie never fought back and said she viewed her as a “sister.”
Mia worked closely with Combs and later served as a director of development at his media company, Revolt Films. Her testimony also painted a picture of a workplace where control and fear were constant.
She said she was not allowed to leave his side without permission and was forbidden from locking her bedroom door while staying at Combs’s home. One incident she described involved leaving his Los Angeles house around 2 a.m.—only to be tracked down by his security staff. “This is my house. No one locks my doors,” she recalled Combs telling her.
Mia also described the exhausting demands of the job. At one point, she said she went five days without sleep. “My hearing went. It felt like I was underwater,” she told the court. “I was hysterical. I couldn’t stop crying,” until Combs finally allowed her to rest.
She further alleged that Combs physically assaulted her as well. “He’s thrown things at me. He’s thrown me against the wall. He’s thrown me into a pool,” she testified quietly. “He also, um, sexually assaulted me.”
Before Mia began her testimony, Judge Arun Subramanian explained to the jury that she was using a pseudonym for safety and privacy reasons, and that this did not change the weight of her testimony.
Mia is one of two anonymous accusers expected to testify directly against Combs in the ongoing trial. The case, which centers on claims of sex trafficking, abuse, and manipulation, continues to unfold with new testimony each day.
