Sean Combs trial: ‘He kidnapped me’: Shock Diddy claims
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ heavily pregnant ex Cassie has gone into labour, as his dramatic trial continues.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura has gone into labour, days after testifying against him in court.
PEOPLE reports that the singer has been taken to a New York hospital after going into labour with her third baby with husband Alex Fine.
It comes as Combs’ trial continued today, with a former executive in his business empire breaking down on the witness stand as she alleged the music star kidnapped her at gunpoint, assaulted her, threatened to kill her and then destroyed her career.
“I was petrified,” said Capricorn Clark of some her dealings with Combs and his associates which, she alleged, included being threatened with being thrown into New York’s East River after some jewels went missing.
“Sean Combs said I would never work again - he would make me kill myself”.
Ms Clark also took a swipe at Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura – who is at the centre of the case – saying the singer wasn’t very “talented”.
More famous names also came up at the Manhattan trial on Tuesday, US time, including Rhianna.
MORE:‘Freak off’: Diddy cops $50m insult in major blow
Combs, also known as “Puff”, is on trial in New York on federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs has denied all the charges.
Ms Clark had previously worked for music producer Suge Knight at Death Row Records who was a rival to Combs’ Bad Boy Records.
In 2004, Ms Clark began working for Combs in New York as an executive assistant, a role that involved working 20 hour days, seven days a week. With breaks, she would work in some form for Combs until 2018. She alleged that the threats from the mogul began on day one of her employment.
“On the first day he took me to Central Park. It was dark, after 9pm,” Ms Clark told the court.
She said that Combs was with a member of his security Paul Offord, known as “Uncle Paulie” who was “quiet and menacing”.
“Puff said he didn’t know I’d had anything to do with Suge Knight and if anything happened he would kill me.”
‘Throw you in the East River’
Ms Clark was later accused of stealing after some jewellery she was holding for Combs went missing.
Initially, she said, Mr Offord questioned her for “hours” at Bad Boy’s Manhattan headquarters but she had no idea where the jewels were.
She said she was then subjected to five straight days of menacing lie detector tests in a dilapidated and deserted building by a “heavy set, chain smoking gentleman” who she had never met before.
Ms Clark began sobbing in the witness box as she claimed the man told her: “If you fail the lie detector test were going to throw you in the East River”.
“I wanted to prove my innocence, I was just trying to survive,” she said.
The assistant said she returned to work for Combs fearful that if she left “I would be written off as if I’d been stealing”.
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Ms Clark also alleged that Combs assaulted her in his Miami home after she said she “hated it here” because she had been verbally abused by the star.
“He ran towards me with his hands up and pushed me back about 25-30 yards.
“He said ‘If you hate it here get the f*** out of my house,’” Ms Clark claimed.
She said she then left Combs’ employment. However she returned in 2011 to work as the global brand director for Sean Combs’ overall business.
Ms Clark said she agreed to that role as it “wasn’t in proximity to Combs’ personal orbit. I didn’t want to be trapped inside his home”.
Cassie Ventura ‘not very talented’
Ms Clark later took on a role as the creative director for Ms Ventura, which was also within Combs’ empire.
“I think she had talent and was a very beautiful girl,” Ms Clark said of the R&B singer.
Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo then suggested Ms Ventura, in fact, “wasn’t very talented?”
“True,” Ms Clark responded.
She added Ms Ventura needed her voice “equalised” and “engineered” and she wasn’t up to the calibre of, say, Mariah Carey.
Ms Clark said Ms Ventura’s work also suffered later due to her “addiction”.
Kidnap at gunpoint claim
In 2011, Ms Clark said Ms Ventura told her she was in a relationship with Scott Mescudi – aka rapper Kid Cudi.
“I was very concerned with Sean Combs finding out about Kid Cudi. The way Cassie was moving she was going to get us all killed.”
At the time, the phones, car and rent for Ms Clark and Ms Ventura were paid for by Combs’ companies. So she said she took Ms Ventura to a store to buy a burner phone that Combs would not have access to.
Early in the morning of December 22, 2011, Ms Clark said she woke to Combs banging on her door and with a gun in his hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she alleged Combs said.
Ms Clark said she initially tried to minimise Ms Mescudi’s relationship with Ms Ventura, but Combs was furious.
“Get dressed, we’re going to kill this (n-word),” he allegedly said.
Ms Clark said she tried to refuse but Combs replied “I don’t give an f*** what you wanna do”. She said she was then kidnapped.
‘I’ll kill you mother f***ers’
Ms Clark said they drove to Mescudi’s house – who wasn’t home. When Combs was in the property she called Ms Ventura on her burner phone. Combs saw, she said, and was “livid”.
Mescudi called the police. Ms Clark then alleged Combs said it was up to her and Ms Ventura to persuade the rapper not to tell the cops about Combs connection to the break in.
“If you guys don’t convince him, I’ll kill all you mother f***ers”.
Ms Clark said she then saw Combs repeatedly kick Ms Ventura on a road as Combs’ security looked on. She said she called everyone from other staff to Ms Ventura’s mum.
“He’s beating the s*** out of your daughter,” she said she told Regina Ventura. “I’m in over my head”.
Asked by a defence lawyer why she didn’t call the police, Ms Clark said “The mission of the day was not get Cudi to call the police, so for me to call them would have been counter intuitive”.
Several months later, in 2012, Ms Clark said, she told various senior people in Combs’ company of their boss’ behaviour. Shortly after, she went on holiday with the singer Rhianna. While she was in Europe she was called back to New York where she was sacked. Given how much Combs funded her life she lost her healthcare, car and house.
She said it was at this point Combs told her she would never work again and “he would make me kill myself”.
Sure enough, Ms Clark said she could not find a full time job in the entertainment industry. And, she claimed, several major industry people told her to leave Combs alone.
However, Combs’ lawyers brought up several emails and message to Combs after her sacking asking for forgiveness and one point telling him how much of a crush she had on him prior to her employment. She had also suggesteda role she could do in the Combs organisation.
Like several other former staff members of Combs, Ms Clark said working for him would open up doors in a cut throat industry.
“I had lost my parents and had an autistic non-verbal. I wasn’t able to get work,” she said of the suggestion she begin work once gain for Combs.
Originally published as Sean Combs trial: ‘He kidnapped me’: Shock Diddy claims
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