NEW YORK — After the first week of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial was full of graphic and shocking testimony from Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, the second week saw prosecutors call several witnesses who backed up her accounts.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The feds are attempting to prove he coerced women, including Ventura, into videotaped sexual performances with male sex workers and covered it up through a well-paid network that resorted to forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.

Former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard, Ventura’s mother Regina and rapper Kid Cudi were among the witnesses who testified about Combs threatening and physically abusing Ventura during their 11-year on-and-off relationship.

Dawn Richard attests to Combs attacking Ventura with hot skillet

“Frequently, he would punch her, choke her, slap her in the mouth, kick her, punch her in the stomach,” Richard told jurors on Monday. “It could be because Cassie was speaking up for herself. It could be random. It could be if she had an opinion for herself.”

In one incident, Richard said she saw Combs attack Ventura while holding a hot skillet, which Ventura had been using to cook him eggs.

Afterward, Combs met with Richard and told her Ventura “was OK and that it would be in our best interests if we didn’t say anything,” Richard testified. She added Combs also told her that “where he comes from, people go missing if they say things like that, like, if people talk.”

Psychologist testifies on coercive tactics of abusers

During the trial’s second week, prosecutors have focused on burnishing Ventura’s credibility with the jury, after she spent multiple days on the stand describing a cycle of violence, humiliation, abuse and recovery during her relationship with Combs.

Combs’ status as a music mogul “amplifies the power and control differential between the abuser and the victim. It’s very difficult for a victim to disclose in the best of circumstances,” clinical and forensic psychologist Dawn Hughes testified Wednesday.

“If you’re going against someone who has wealth and access and privilege, you begin to think, ‘Who is going to protect me? Who is going to believe me?’”

Hughes testified as a blind expert witness, meaning she never spoke with Combs or Ventura and was relying only on her professional expertise.

Kid Cudi recalls break-in, car arson following onset of romance with Cassie

Perhaps the most famous supporting witness during the trial’s second week was Kid Cudi, the artist whose legal name is Scott Mescudi and who briefly dated Ventura in 2011.

Cudi, 41, said shortly after Combs found out about the relationship, someone broke into his Los Angeles home and, a few weeks later, set his car on fire outside the residence.

A few days after the vehicle arson, Combs, Ventura and Cudi met in an L.A. hotel, Cudi told the jury on Thursday. According to the rapper, he asked Combs, “What are we going to do about my car?” to which Combs replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cudi told the court he didn’t exactly believe that.

He said his relationship with Ventura ended shortly afterward.

Last week, Ventura testified that Combs specifically threatened to blow up Cudi’s car after learning about their fling. Those allegations were also included in her quickly settled November 2023 lawsuit against Combs that sparked the federal investigation.

Cassie’s mom recounts her daughter’s abuse

Regina Ventura, Cassie’s mother, also talked about the dissolution of Cudi’s relationship with her daughter during her testimony on Tuesday. She told the jury that, after Combs found out, Cassie Ventura fled to the family’s home in Connecticut.

Regina Ventura said she insisted on photographing her daughter’s physical injuries at the time. Those photos were shown to the jury.

Male escort, Diddy assistant relay experiences working at freak-offs

On Monday and Tuesday, Combs’ former assistant David James and a male escort, Sharay Hayes, told the jury about their experiences with the notorious freak-offs.

James talked about procuring various items for Combs, including Percocet, ketchup, hair dye, drugs and baby oil, which were allegedly used in the sexcapades.

Hayes told the jury he was hired by Combs to have sex with Ventura multiple times between 2012 and 2016, eventually earning thousands of dollars from the job.

“My understanding was we were creating a scene, a sexy scene, that was enjoyable to [Ventura’s] partner,” said Hayes, who was also known by his stage name, “The Punisher.”

Combs assistant says Cassie felt she couldn’t leave

While Combs’ defense team has not contested his physical and emotional abuse of Ventura — they acknowledged his actions in their opening statement — they claim the freak-offs were consensual.

James recalled asking Ventura why she didn’t walk away from the destructive relationship.

“She was, like, ‘I can’t, I can’t get out. Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life. He controls my music career, he pays for my apartment, he gives me an allowance, essentially a salary,’” James testified. “I just didn’t think that she could easily leave.”

As the trial continues, the jury is expected to hear testimony from another woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane, who was also allegedly coerced into the freak-offs and filmed against her will.

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