Recap of ‘Diddy’ trial: Judge warns Sean Combs and accuser ‘Jane’ outlines sexual ‘hotel nights’

By Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown, Eric Levenson, Kara Scannell, CNN

(CNN) — A judge rebuked Sean “Diddy” Combs for his behavior in court, and a woman using the pseudonym “Jane” alleged that Combs pressured her to have sex with other men as part of her testimony at the hip-hop mogul’s federal criminal trial on Thursday.

The key testimony from Jane comes as the prosecution seeks to show Combs and his inner circle used violence, lies, drugs, and other means to coerce Jane and Cassie Ventura into participating in sexual performances with male escorts known as “hotel nights” or “Freak Offs.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. His defense has acknowledged Combs was violent but has questioned the motives of those testifying and said the women consented to the sexual activity.

Jane began testifying Thursday afternoon and is expected to return to the stand Friday morning. Her testimony is expected to last several days.

Here’s what we learned in testimony Thursday.

Judge warns Combs for gesturing to jury

After the jury left the courtroom for lunch, Judge Arun Subramanian warned the defense that Combs could be excluded from the courtroom if he continues to attempt to interact with the jury.

The judge said he saw Combs on two different occasions looking at the jury and “nodding vigorously” during Bryana Bongolan’s testimony. Subramanian said he already warned the defense that Combs can’t make any facial expressions or attempts to have any interaction with or influence the jury.

“I could not have been any clearer in terms of what I said,” the judge said.

“It is absolutely unacceptable,” he later added.

He asked defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, “Is it going to happen again?” Agnifilo assured him it wouldn’t.

“It cannot happen again,” the judge said. If it does, Subramanian said he’ll let the government make an application to give the jury an instruction on the issue and will consider more severe measures, such as excluding Combs from the courtroom.

Under federal rules, a defendant has the right to face their accusers, but there is a rule that allows a defendant to be removed for disruptive behavior, explained Misty Marris, a defense attorney who has closely followed the case. Removal from the courtroom is a significant move, she said, and would be a “catastrophe” for the defense.

Jane describes ‘hotel nights’ with Combs

Jane testified Thursday about the start of her relationship with Combs and how it changed once he introduced her to “hotel nights” – one of the terms used for drug-fueled sexual encounters with male escorts.

Jane said she met Combs in November 2020. She said was “pretty head over heels” soon after they started dating in January 2021, wherein they went on trips and engaged in frequent drug use. She said Combs gave her drugs when they would have sex that made her feel “relaxed, euphoric, sexual.” She testified she’d used drugs two times in her life before dating Combs.

In May 2021, Combs introduced Jane to the idea of sex with other men. In court, Jane paused, dropped her head and dabbed her eyes with a tissue before describing the change in their relationship.

At first Combs increasingly brought up fantasies involving Jane having sex with other men, she said. Hours before the first “hotel night” when they were already using drugs and having sex, Combs brought it up again and said, “I can make this fantasy a reality if you would like that to happen,” Jane testified. When she said yes, Combs immediately got on his phone to arrange it. She said she agreed “because my partner was excited and it was already happening.”

Within a few hours, a hotel room was arranged and a male escort named “Don” arrived to the room, she said. Jane said she and Don began touching each other while Combs, who was naked, watched and pleasured himself. The encounter ended with Don ejaculating on Jane’s body, and she and Combs then had sex, she said.

Jane testified that she initially felt “exhilarated” by the night in part because it felt “taboo,” but she did not realize that it would become a regular occurrence. From then on, another man was involved in her sexual encounters with Combs about 90% of the time, she testified.

“I truly felt that that night just opened like a Pandora’s box in the relationship,” Jane said. “It just completely set the tone for our relationship moving forward.”

She went along with it for a few months after that.

“I just really loved him at this point and just wanted to make him happy,” she said. “I feared losing him.”

Jane says she became ‘frustrated’

By late 2021, however, Jane said she was telling Combs she didn’t want to have sex with other men in writing and verbally. She said Combs was “dismissive” when she brought it up and would try to rush her away from the topic.

She said she felt obligated to participate in these encounters in part because Combs paid her $10,000-per-month rent and sent her money. Jane said her relationship with Combs affected her ability to work and make income. She testified that it got to a point where money from Combs was her main source of income aside from the child support she got from her son’s father.

When she tried to tell him she didn’t want to have sex with other men, Combs would say, “If you want to break up, that’s fine,” and then say he wouldn’t pay rent for a woman he wasn’t seeing.

“I felt frustrated,” Jane said, adding that she felt “obligated” to “perform these nights for him.”

Jane said Combs called the sexual encounters with other men “debauchery” or “hotel nights.” She testified she and Combs had a “hotel night” every single time she saw him between May 2021 and October 2023. These took place in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Turks and Caicos, she said.

The “hotel nights” generally followed the same pattern. The room would be decorated with red lights, and bedsheets and blankets would cover everything due to the excessive use of baby oil, Jane said. Combs would tell her what he liked or what he wanted to see, directed her on what to wear and would suggest what they do sexually, she added.

At his direction, she’d perform oral sex on another man while Combs watched and pleasured himself. Jane said she’d encourage them to move on to sex because the encounters with the man only ended when the man would ejaculate.

She said hotel nights could last over 24 hours and could include the same pattern multiple times with one man and sometimes more than once with another person as well.

Defense uses receipts to undermine alleged balcony assault

Earlier Thursday, Combs’ defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland presented tour dates and hotel receipts to undermine an allegation that he assaulted a woman on a balcony.

Bryana Bongolan had testified Wednesday that Combs dangled her over a balcony at Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment in late September 2016. She said a photo was taken of a bruise on her leg hours after the incident, and metadata presented in court shows that photo was taken on September 26, 2016.

On cross-examination, Westmoreland said Combs was on tour on the East Coast and Ventura was with him at the time. Westmoreland showed the jury records from the Trump International Hotel in New York City of expenses listed under “Frank Black,” an alias used by Combs, including dining receipts for September 25 and 26, 2016. The records showed the check-in date was September 24, 2016, and the check-out date was September 29, 2016.

“You agree that one person can’t be in two places at the same time?” Westmoreland asked.

“In theory, yeah,” Bongolan responded. “I can’t answer that one.”

On redirect, Bongolan said she did not know the exact date of the balcony incident but said she will never forget it.

After Bongolan left the stand, prosecutors showed the jury a screenshot of a text message thread between Combs’ aide Kristina Khorram and Ventura in which Ventura referenced Combs dangling Bongolan over the balcony. The metadata said the photo was captured on September 30, 2016.

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