Diddy’s criminal trial continued on Thursday (May 15) inside a Manhattan federal courthouse, where Cassie Ventura was cross-examined by the mogul’s defense team. Diddy’s attorneys presented a series of explicit text messages exchanged between the two during their relationship.
The defense highlighted the messages to argue that Ventura and other women were willing participants in the so-called “freak-offs,” drug-fueled sexual encounters central to the prosecution’s case.
One message from Ventura to Diddy, read in court, stated, “I’m always ready to freak off lolol,” sent in August 2009, about two years into their relationship. Other texts included Ventura expressing sexual interest and making plans for intimate encounters.
Another reads, “I feel like I want to f###” and Diddy responds, “I’m so horny I can’t concentrate.” She replies, “I’ll go to Duane Reade for candles and then set up the room.”
The defense used the communications to suggest that Ventura was enthusiastic and consensual about these activities at the time.
However, Ventura’s earlier testimony painted a starkly different picture. She described the “freak-offs” as coercive, stating she was forced to participate and that Diddy used threats, violence and recordings of these encounters as leverage against her.
Ventura testified that she felt “dirty and confused” after her first freak-off and recounted numerous instances of physical and emotional abuse throughout their decade-long relationship.
The defense’s strategy in presenting these messages is to counter Ventura’s claims of coercion and abuse by showing moments of apparent consent and enthusiasm. Yet, Ventura maintained under oath that these exchanges didn’t reflect the full reality of her experience, which she described as one marked by manipulation, violence and fear.
Inner City Press has been documenting much of the testimony throughout the week. Other admissions included Ventura explaining Diddy taught her oral sex, plied her with drugs and had her sleep with multiple men up to four days a week, leaving her with urinary tract infections and sores in her mouth. She claimed after their 2018 breakup, he raped her inside her home.
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