We were back in the main courtroom inside the Southern District of New York for Day 19 of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial. The day opened with a motion for mistrial from the defence and continued with further direct testimony from a witness identified only as “Jane.”
The courtroom heard details of alleged emotional manipulation, financial entanglements, and intimate exchanges that prosecutors are using to attempt to illustrate a pattern of control within Jane’s relationship with Diddy.
Defence Files Mistrial Motion Over Alleged Perjury
The defence filed a motion for mistrial over the weekend, alleging government witness Bryana Bongolan committed perjury. Defence attorneys pointed to discrepancies in the metadata of a photo she submitted to prosecutors—one that displayed a timestamp of September 26, 2016—which they argued contradicted her testimony about an alleged assault by Diddy that day in Los Angeles.
To challenge her testimony, the defence presented hotel receipts from the Trump Hotel in New York City showing charges made under Diddy’s alias “Frank Black,” a name prosecutors have verified is linked directly to Diddy.
The receipts covered a stay from September 26 to 29, 2016. According to the defence, this evidence completely undermined Bongolan’s alleged accusation that Diddy not only attacked her but dangled her over the balcony at Cassie Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment on the same day. Prosecutors are expected to formally respond to the mistrial motion tomorrow morning.
Justin and Christian Combs being lead through the back of the courthouse (Remi Louis Harris / HipHopCanada)
Jane Testifies to Emotional Discomfort and Alleged Coercion
Jane resumed her testimony, describing a relationship with Combs that she characterized as emotionally draining. She told the court there were times Combs asked her to send explicit photos and videos of herself. In one of the texts shown by prosecutors, Jane wrote: “I don’t want to be used and locked in a room to fulfill your sexual fantasies.”
In another, she added: “I don’t want to feel obligated to do these things to keep a roof over my head.” Jane also referenced entries from her phone’s Notes app, which prosecutors presented as saved drafts. In one, she wrote: “I don’t want to be treated like this anymore.” In another, she stated: “I don’t want to come see you just to be treated like a hoe.” Additional messages included: “Ever since I opened Pandora’s box I can’t close it.”
Prosecutors asked Jane to read these aloud in court. One text exchange centred around Jane confronting Combs after seeing him and another woman on a podcast, where he allegedly joked about sleeping with her for 48 hours straight. According to Jane, when she brought it up, Diddy replied: “That’s podcast talk.”
Promises, Trips, and Alleged Escort Link
Jane testified that Combs had promised to take her on a yacht trip, but he ended up taking another woman to the Bahamas instead. She also recounted a time in Los Angeles where he allegedly asked her to help set up a party, but later saw him with an ex-girlfriend via social media. Prosecutors presented a message to the jury from Diddy that included a photo linking to Cowboys for Angels. Jane claimed she later ended up having sex with an “entertainer” named Kabral in front of Diddy and that the meeting was part of a “surprise” from Diddy.
Jane went on to testify that Diddy paid Kabral directly and the cash used to pay him allegedly came directly from Diddy himself. Jane also testified that she had expressed to Diddy a desire to completely stop participating in “Hotel Nights.” “I don’t want to be f**d and mistreated. I don’t want loveless cold sex,” she wrote in a text read aloud in court.In one exchange, Jane asked Diddy for money: “Can you make sure they put something into my account?”
Diddy, according to Jane, responded: “I’m not about to be paying for someone I’m not seeing. I don’t get down like that.” He later added: “The beauty of it all is We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to do.”
Allegations of Emotional Volatility
Prosecutors displayed text message exchanges under seal between Jane and Combs for the jury to review that showcased moments of emotional tension, confusion, and what Jane described as mental exhaustion. In one message, Jane wrote: “I need a break, I’ve hit a wall.”
In another, she told Combs: “You always push me to do more and more.” Prosecutors also played a voice message Diddy sent to Jane during one of their back and forth exchanges, where he had said: “You know I wouldn’t be calling you like this. I need you, girl.” The message was described in court as an attempt at emotional manipulation.
Another message, read out loud in court by Jane, had Diddy stating: “I’m done, let me know when you want to talk like adults,” followed by a separate text saying: “This is a free country—you never need to hear my voice again.”
Jane told the court that although she had strong feelings for Diddy, she began to feel emotionally manipulated by the way he would fluctuate between affection and withdrawal. She claimed that some of his behaviour could be described as “love bombing,” and said she eventually texted him: “I’m not trying to fuck strangers for your weird fetishes.” According to Jane, Diddy responded by calling her “crazy.”
She later reiterated her need for space to Diddy, texting: “I need a break, please respect that.” In response, Jane said he sent her a text message saying, “I got a lot of shit going on” with a screenshot from a doctor stating he needed knee surgery—an alleged attempt he used to gain sympathy from Jane as well as to pull her back to him.
Las Vegas Trip, OnlyFans Account, and Later Contact
Jane went on to testify that she went to Las Vegas with a rapper in January of 2023 and attended a party where she witnessed an “entertainer” she knew from her “Hotel Parties” with Diddy having sex with a woman in front of a room full of people. She told the court that nothing happened with the rapper outside of flirting. After the trip, she started an OnlyFans account and received $9,000 from one of her friends named “Bear.”
Jane also testified that In February of 2023, she began speaking with Diddy again, stating in open court that the reason specifically was that she “missed him dearly.”
Remi Louis Harris / HipHopCanada
Financial Demands and Alleged Threats
During testimony, Jane stated that she had demanded $100,000 per year from Diddy as compensation— for “wasting 3 years of my life”—with a total of $450,000 requested. She also testified that she had reached out to his assistant and right hand woman KK about Combs allegedly threatening to show sex tapes to her child’s father. She claimed Combs also threatened to report her to law enforcement as a response to Jane’s alleged blackmail.
Jane’s messages indicated she considered harming herself during their arguments, texting: “I’m going to kill myself, you all use me.” In response, Diddy allegedly said: “Don’t threaten to hurt yourself, I’m here for you, I love you.”
KK later told Jane that “nothing will happen with the tapes” and was advised by KK that both she and Combs needed to give each other space.
Thoughts So Far: Prosecutors Rely Too Heavily on Messages
Throughout the day, prosecutors presented nothing but text messages as key evidence. It seems that the government is focusing more on post-breakup text messages than on evidence directly tied to the charges Diddy is facing (RICO & Sex Trafficking). I noticed that one juror appeared disengaged at times during the afternoon portion of Jane’s testimony.
Jane also admitted to being a “side chick” in messages and reiterated multiple times that her relationship with Combs was consensual—though she testified that she felt pressured to participate in certain “freak offs” to “make her partner happy.”
Court resumes tomorrow morning, with the government expected to formally respond to the mistrial motion followed by the defence’s cross examination of Jane’s testimony.
We will continue providing on-the-ground coverage from inside the courtroom as the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial unfolds. Stay with us for updates and exclusive reporting.
