Sean “Diddy” Combs overdosed on painkillers in February 2012, his lawyer revealed during his sex trafficking trial in New York.
Defense attorney Anna Estevao brought up the incident Thursday afternoon during the cross-examination of Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend and the key witness in the trial. Estevao asked Ventura if she recalled Combs’ overdose in February 2012, and Ventura asked, “Was that around the time Whitney Houston died?”
Recounting the events of the day, Ventura said she and Combs engaged in a “freak-off” — one of Combs’ drug-fueled sex parties — then went to a sex club together in San Bernardino, Calif. Afterward, Combs threw a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles and Ventura went home. That night, Combs told Ventura he took a “very strong opiate,” so she took him to the hospital, where she learned that Combs had overdosed on painkillers.
Both Combs’ and Ventura’s drug use was a major topic of the first day of her cross-examination, with Estevao asking Ventura directly, “You were both addicts, right?” Throughout the trial, Ventura has been open about her prior dependence on opioids, as well as her use of MDMA, ecstasy, ketamine, mushrooms, cocaine, marijuana and other drugs. (Ventura went to rehab in 2023 and testified that she has not taken drugs since.)
Ventura said she and Combs did copious amounts of drugs independently as well as together, both during “freak-offs” and otherwise. She added that Combs did not like it when she consumed drugs with her friends, rather than with him, and that he would get angry when he found out about such instances. Ventura allegedly hid some of her drug use from Combs, Estevao indicated, but he could tell she was using without him due to her “side effects,” such as dissociation from ketamine use. According to Ventura, Combs instructed drug dealers in L.A. not to sell drugs to Ventura, but that did not work.
Estevao started the day off shaky, often withdrawing her own questions and multiple times introducing exhibits that had not yet been officially admitted as evidence, which caused a brief kerfuffle amongst the parties. Ventura, dressed in a white blouse under a black blazer with shoulder pads and peaked lapels, maintained her composure throughout, answering calmly as Estevao jumped across the timeline of her and Combs’ relationship. Many times, Ventura was confused about the timeframe of Estevao’s line of questioning, with Estevao at one point admitting, “I know I’m all over the place.”
The defense picked up speed toward the end of the day, trapping Ventura in a couple of minor inconsistencies in her testimony, such as whether she saw or heard an alleged act of violence. After Ventura answered “I don’t remember” to several of her questions, Estevao attempted to goad the witness into saying that, because of her heavy drug use, she does not “remember” much of the time around 2017. (Ventura rejected that assessment.)
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The defense’s cross-examination relied, in large part, on text messages between Ventura and Combs that showed the loving side of their 11-year relationship. A text from Combs in 2010: “I love you sooooo much it makes me cry.” Ventura’s response: “Who was I before we decided to be together? … I’m so happy that we fell in love.”
Attempting to paint Ventura as a willing participant in Combs’ sexual escapades, rather than a victim of them, the defense showed various instances in which Ventura initiated a “freak-off.” A text from Ventura in 2009: “I’m always ready for an F/O.” (Many of the texts shown were of a highly graphic sexual nature, and Ventura was not required to read those out loud.)
Earlier this week, Ventura testified that she participated in “hundreds” of “freak-offs” because she loved Combs and it made him happy. She also testified that on multiple occasions, she indicated to Combs that she did not wish to participate in “freak-offs,” a sentiment that was supported by separate correspondence between them. Ventura has accused Combs of abusing and violently beating her during some of these “freak-offs,” which frequently involved Combs watching Ventura as she had sex with male escorts. One of those escorts, Daniel Phillip, testified on Monday that he once witnessed Combs hit Ventura and drag her across the floor.
Defense attorneys argue that Combs’ domestic violence is a result of a toxic relationship with Ventura that was fraught with drug use and infidelity. Combs maintains his innocence from the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering levied against him. If he is convicted, he faces a possible life sentence in prison.
From Variety US