A former top aide to Sean “Diddy” Combs testified Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, alleging that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her on her first day of employment and subsequently kidnapped her at gunpoint during an incident involving rapper Kid Cudi.
Capricorn Clark’s testimony detailing Combs’ alleged volatile and violent behavior marked the beginning of the third week in his sex trafficking trial.
Prosecutors called Clark, who served as the global brand director for Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, as they aim to demonstrate a racketeering conspiracy led by Combs over two decades. The prosecution contends this conspiracy relied on intimidation tactics, including bodyguards, death threats, and a code of silence among fearful staff, to ensure Combs’ demands were met. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts in an indictment that accuses him of a pattern of abuse towards his former girlfriend Cassie, legally known as Casandra Ventura, and others. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
Clark’s testimony followed days after Kid Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, recounted receiving a call from Clark in December 2011. Clark allegedly informed him that Combs, enraged by Cudi dating Cassie, had kidnapped her and forced her to drive with him to Cudi’s residence.
During her testimony, Clark, who frequently referred to Combs as “Puff,” stated that he arrived at her home one morning armed with a gun. He allegedly demanded she get dressed and accompany him, stating their intention was to “kill Cudi.”
Clark testified that they traveled in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV to Cudi’s home in Los Angeles. Combs and his bodyguard reportedly entered the residence while Clark remained in the vehicle and contacted Cassie.
Clark recounted telling Cassie that Combs “got me with a gun and brought me to Cudi’s house to kill him.” She further testified that she heard Cudi’s voice in the background of the call, asking, “He’s in my house?” Clark said she urged Cassie to “Stop him, he’s going to get himself killed.” Cassie reportedly responded that she couldn’t stop Cudi.
Combs then returned to the vehicle and questioned Clark about the call, according to her testimony. He allegedly seized the phone and called Cassie back.
Subsequently, they heard Cudi’s vehicle approaching, Clark said. Combs and his bodyguard re-entered their vehicle and pursued Cudi, eventually ceasing the chase upon encountering police cars heading towards Cudi’s residence.
Following the break-in attempt, Clark testified that Combs instructed his associates to convince Cudi that Combs was not responsible. He allegedly threatened them, saying, “If you don’t convince him of that I’ll kill all you,” using an expletive to emphasize his threat, according to Clark.
Clark stated that she and Cassie later went to Cudi’s home, telling jurors, “We needed to talk to him. We needed to make sure he wasn’t going to make a police report about Puff.” After this, she said she witnessed Combs violently assault Cassie over her relationship with Cudi. Clark described seeing Combs kick Cassie with “100% full force” to her legs and back as she lay curled in a fetal position outside his home, weeping silently. Clark said her “heart was breaking from seeing her get hit like that,” and neither she nor Combs’ bodyguard intervened.
When Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner asked Clark if Combs’ bodyguard ever intervened during any of Combs’ assaults on women, Clark answered, “Never, ever.” This response prompted an objection from Combs’ lawyers, and Judge Arun Subramanian instructed jurors to disregard it.
Kid Cudi testified on Thursday that he briefly dated Cassie in December 2011, believing she had ended her relationship with Combs. However, they mutually agreed to end the relationship after the holidays due to the preceding events.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner also questioned Clark about her intermittent employment with Combs between 2004 and 2018. She recalled her first day on the job when Combs and a security staff member allegedly took her to Central Park after 9 p.m. Combs purportedly expressed his unawareness of her prior work with other rappers. Clark testified, her voice occasionally unsteady, that Combs told her if her past work for rival rappers became an issue, he would have to kill her.
She further recounted an incident weeks into her employment when Combs tasked her with transporting diamond jewelry on a flight to Miami, and the jewelry went missing. As a result, she said she was taken to a largely vacant building in Manhattan where, over a five-day period, she was repeatedly subjected to a lie detector test by a man she described as significantly larger than herself. “He said: ‘If you fail this test they’re going to throw you in the East River,’” she recalled. Clark said she was eventually allowed to return to work.
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