A woman accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of dangling her off a 17th-floor balcony in 2016, while testifying at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial in New York.
Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a 33-year-old fashion designer, entered Combs’ orbit when she became close friends and collaborators with his then-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who previously testified against Combs in his criminal trial.
Bongolan frequently hung out at Ventura’s apartment in Los Angeles, where the two would work on fashion designs and often take drugs like marijuana and ketamine together.
One early morning, Bongolan and her then-girlfriend had slept at Ventura’s apartment and awoke to “very loud” bangs on the door. Bongolan hid her girlfriend in the guest bathroom and told her to be quiet, and then Bongolan retreated to the balcony to “act natural.” An “upset” Combs gained access to the apartment and approached Bongolan, who alleges he “came up from behind” and “lifted me up and put me on top of the rail” of the balcony.
Bongolan said as Combs held her over the 17-story drop, he repeatedly yelled, “You know what the fuck you did.” (Bongolan said she still has “no idea” what Combs was referring to.)
“I was trying not to slip and pushing back on him,” Bongolan said. “I was scared to fall.”
After about 10 to 15 seconds, Combs allegedly threw Bongolan onto the patio furniture on Ventura’s balcony. She said Ventura came out from her bedroom and said in disbelief, “Did you just hang her over the balcony?” Ventura began arguing with Combs and apparently told him that Bongolan’s girlfriend was in the apartment, causing Combs to promptly leave.
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Photographs of Bongolan’s injuries — which included a massive, red and purple bruise on her leg, as well as her back bandaged up and neck in a brace — were shown to the court. Bongolan said she visited a chiropractor on the same day, but when he asked who caused the injuries, she was too “scared” to tell the truth.
Bongolan testified that, as a result of the balcony incident, “I have nightmares, and I have a lot of paranoia, and I used to scream a lot in my sleep.”
Bongolan also testified about a separate incident in which she and Ventura were in Malibu with Combs, taking photos and hanging out on the beach. Bongolan said at one point during the day, Combs “came up really close to my face” and said, “I’m the devil, and I could kill you.” Bongolan said she was likely on cocaine at the time and could not tell whether Combs was also under the influence of drugs. “I was terrified,” Bongolan said.
In November 2024, Bongolan filed a lawsuit against Combs, demanding $10 million. That civil suit is still pending. She testified that she has no financial incentive to testify during his criminal trial, at which he is charged with sex trafficking and racketeering.
Bongolan began to describe an alleged FaceTime call in which a friend of Combs asked Bongolan to settle with him, but Combs’ lawyers objected to the prosecutor’s line of questioning. “I declined what was offered to me,” Bongolan said, before the federal attorney was forced to move on.
When asked why she filed a lawsuit against Combs, Bongolan said, “I wanted to seek justice for what happened to me.”
During a tough cross-examination, Bongolan was grilled over discrepancies in her recollection of certain incidents, in an attempt to discredit her testimony. One of such discrepancies is whether Ventura witnessed Combs hang Bongolan over the balcony or just saw the aftermath. Another pertained to the demand letters Bongolan’s attorneys sent to Combs in January 2024, which accused him of “groping” Bongolan’s breasts before lifting her on top of the balcony railing. Bongolan’s civil lawsuit accused Combs of sexual battery, but she did not reference those specific allegations in court on Wednesday during her direct examination by federal prosecutors.
One of Combs’ attorneys, Nicole Westmoreland, picked apart the ways in which Bongolan’s story changed throughout various meetings with federal prosecutors, which occurred as recently as Monday. Bongolan often replied “I don’t remember” to Westmoreland’s questions. Westmoreland’s cross-examination will continue on Thursday.
From Variety US