Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis among celebrity names mentioned during Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial
Hollywood nice guys are among the surprising number of A-listers name-dropped during the first explosive week of the Sean “Diddy” Combs court case.
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The first week of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial saw a long list of celebrity names crop up.
See who was mentioned and how their name made its way into the courtroom.
BRITNEY SPEARS, DALLAS AUSTIN & PARIS HILTON
Ms Ventura testified on day 4 of the trial that Combs brought Britney Spears to her 21st birthday celebration, where the fallen music mogul made his first move on the R&B singer.
Combs invited other stars to the surprise birthday bash at a Las Vegas club on September 8, 2007, but Spears and music producer Dallas Austin were two who stood out to her, Ms Ventura told the court.
Photos from the party also show Paris Hilton, at the peak of her 2000s fame, in attendance.
The group also attended a party that same night hosted by rapper-turned-Diddy foe 50 Cent at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, photos show.
RYAN LESLIE
On day four of the trial Ms Ventura admitted she was romantically involved with producer and artist Ryan Leslie when she first began seeing Combs.
Leslie — who has worked with Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kanye West among others — is credited with discovering Cassie in 2004 who signed to his NextSelection record label.
In 2006, in a joint-venture with Combs’ Bad Boy Records, Leslie wrote and produced Cassie’s debut single Me & U.
Ms Ventura told the court she had been dating Ryan for about three years when she went to Miami to see Combs and the two had sex for the first time.
Ms Ventura also confirmed she lied to Leslie about the Miami trip saying it was for a “work-related event”, even creating a flyer to advertise a nightclub appearance that never happened.
KANYE WEST
West — who was mentioned during jury selection on May 5 as a celebrity who may be mentioned during Combs’ trial — has been in the rapper’s corner since his September 2024 arrest.
West — who hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Combs and his sex trafficking charges — released a new track featuring his daughter North West and Combs titled Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine on March 15.
West then shared a prerecorded phone conversation with the Bad Boys Records founder via social media.
At the time, Combs warned Kanye to “be careful” of people trying to “end” him, and thanked the Bound 2 crooner for looking after his seven children.
MICHAEL B JORDAN
Michael Bakari Jordan is an actor, producer and director known for roles in films Creed, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Sinners.
Jordan hasn’t been accused of any crimes but was mentioned during jury selection as a celebrity whose name may be mentioned.
On Day 4 of the trial Ms Ventura was asked if Combs suspected she was in a relationship with someone else.
“Michael B Jordan,” she responded.
The actor famously dated Ms Ventura in 2016 during her break from Combs.
CHRIS BROWN
Diddy’s defence lawyer Anna Estevao asked the rapper’s former girlfriend and lead prosecution witness Cassie Ventura under cross examination if she remembered Combs taking her phone in 2013 after he suspected her of dancing with singer Chris Brown.
Ms Ventura said she didn’t remember much about the incident “besides the fact that I wasn’t dancing with Chris Brown.”
BRUCE WILLIS AND EDDIE MURPHY
Unlike other A-listers who successfully blended their families, Ms Ventura did not have a relationship with Combs’ kids despite dating him for more than a decade, the court heard.
Ms Ventura once confronted Diddy about the matter via text message.
“As much as you think you’re Bruce Willis you aren’t,” Ms Ventura wrote Combs on July 2, 2013.
“He’s married and before he was married, the family as a whole went on trips together or just him and his woman. Eddie Murphy and Paige took his kids away on their own.”
PRINCE
Ms Ventura said one of the couple’s worst fights happened when she was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles and her friends invited her to a party at Prince’s house where he was performing a show for guests in his basement.
She told the court she didn’t tell Combs she was going because she knew he wouldn’t approve.
Ms Ventura said that shortly after arriving at the party, a furious Combs followed her.
TINA TURNER
The court was shown a text message sent by Ms Ventura to Combs where she compared their relationship to that of Tina and Ike Turner.
“Nothing good comes out of freak offs anymore you treat me like Ike Turner,” she said in reference to the abusive marriage Tina Turner escaped from.
DRAKE & FRENCH MONTANA
Ms Ventura alleged she was assaulted by Combs ahead of attending the Canadian rapper Drake’s 2013 OVO Festival in Toronto.
She testified that she was packing to attend the festival and had fallen asleep when Combs entered her home and attacked her, leaving her with a cut on one eyebrow.
Two friends, who she identified as Deonte and Mia, were present, she told the court.
A photo was then presented to the court showing Ms Ventura at the music festival with French Montana.
She explained that she had styled her hair in such away so as to cover the gash and said the injury left a permanent scar despite Combs sending her to a plastic surgeon to treat it.
WHITNEY HOUSTON
Diddy’s lawyer asked Ms Ventura if she remembered the night he overdosed on opiates in February 2012.
“Was that around the time Whitney Houston died? I believe so,” Ms Ventura replied.
“That evening, we had a ‘freak-off.’ We went to a sex club in San Bernardino. And then he had a party at the Playboy Mansion that night, and I went home.”
KID CUDI
The court heard in about 2011, Ms Ventura began secretly dating rapper Kim Cudi, real name Scott Mescudi.
Ms Ventura said Combs found out about the affair while the pair were in the middle of a freak off when he went through her phone and looked at emails she had exchanged with one of his staff members.
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Originally published as Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis among celebrity names mentioned during Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial
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