Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Ex girlfriend ‘Jane’ says he ‘punched’ her head, knocked to floor after public apology in 2024

A former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, identified by the pseudonym “Jane", testified for a third day and stated Combs coerced her to have a "freak-off"-style sexual encounter with a male sex worker previous year after following her around her California home, putting her in a chokehold, hitting her in the face and knocking to floor after public apology in 2024.

The woman stated that Combs became enraged after she confronted him about cheating. Following the assault, Jane claimed, Combs brought in a sex worker, gave her an ecstasy pill, and told Jane, "You're not going to ruin my night like this."

Jane, whose injuries led to a black eye and welts on her forehead, mentioned she had prepared June 18, 2024, as as a romantic night with Combs, but now recalls it “a very terrible day.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which carry the potential of a life sentence. The trial has been ongoing in Manhattan Federal Court, which officially started on May 5.

As Jane stepped down from the witness stand on Monday, she told jurors, "I just pray for his continued healing." Although their relationship ended following Combs' arrest, she said he continues to pay her rent.

Just weeks after Jane claims Combs assaulted her, he publicly declared his commitment to "being a better man every day," following the release of video footage showing him attacking his former longtime girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

Jane recounts violent encounter with Combs

Scheduled to face cross-examination by Combs’ attorneys on Tuesday, Jane recounted a violent encounter in which, after an argument escalated, Combs followed her into a bathroom and kicked the door after she had shoved his head into a countertop, thrown glasses and candles at him, and screamed, "I hate you."

She said that after retreating to a locked closet and attempting to escape, Combs kicked her in the thigh, knocking her to the floor. He then lifted her by the neck and placed her in a chokehold, she testified, telling the jury: “I couldn't breathe".

Jane testified that after the assault, she ran approximately six blocks and hid behind a wall for what she estimated was about two hours. Believing the situation had deescalated, she said she returned to the house, only to see Combs still nearby, approaching her on the street.

She said she fled to a guest bedroom and then ran into the backyard, curling up on the ground and begging him to leave. Instead, Combs began "punching my head, he started kicking me," she told jurors. Eventually, she said, “he grabbed me by my arm or my hair and started dragging me back into the house.”

Jane, who dated Combs on-and-off from 2021 to 2024, said he followed her into the shower and struck her in the face with such force that she lost her balance and fell. Though she was physically and emotionally exhausted, she said Combs insisted on bringing over a male sex worker and told her to apply makeup and fix her hair to conceal her injuries.

"I don't want to, I don't want to," she recalled telling him. According to her testimony, Combs responded coldly, "Then is this coercion?"

Also on Monday, Jane testified that she told Combs she had cried for three days and felt sick after reading Cassie’s November 2023 lawsuit, which detailed hundreds of drug-fueled “freak-off” sex marathons involving Combs and male sex workers.

Jane, who referred to her own similar experiences as “debauchery” and “hotel nights", said the lawsuit felt deeply personal. “It was like reading my own sexual trauma,” she said, adding that Cassie’s allegations matched her own experiences with the Bad Boy Records founder “word for word".

Cassie, who dated Combs for over a decade, testified that she participated in weekly “freak-offs”, many lasting several days, often with Combs watching or filming the encounters.

(With inputs from AP)