Kid Cudi Expected on Stand as Diddy Faces Coercion Charges

Kid Cudi’s “Neverland” album artwork. The Grammy-winning rapper is expected to testify this week in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs in Manhattan. (Courtesy Republic Records)

Grammy-winning artist Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is expected to take the witness stand Wednesday in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, court documents and ABC News updates confirm. His testimony follows emotional accounts from Cassie Ventura’s mother and a male escort, underlining prosecutors’ charge that Combs used threats and intimidation to control women.

Prosecutors say Combs, 54, led an “enterprise that abused, threatened and coerced women into prolonged, drug-fueled sexual ‘freak offs,’ ” then brandished evidence — from videotapes to defaced rifle parts — to silence them. Ventura testified she briefly dated Cudi before Combs allegedly threatened both of them, a key element of the government’s coercion claim.

On Tuesday, Regina Ventura described receiving a “disturbing” December 2011 email from her daughter in which Cassie said Combs threatened to release explicit tapes and harm both women. “I was physically sick,” Regina Ventura told the jury. She also recounted photographing her daughter’s bruises to “memorialize” the abuse.

Later, exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, known as “The Punisher,” testified that Combs directed “sexy scenes” between Hayes and Ventura, often supplying baby oil and specific lighting instructions. Hayes said he was paid $1,200–$2,000 per encounter and that on one occasion Combs threw condoms at him, declaring, “I’m ready to see you f— her,” though Hayes could not comply under the pressure.

Federal agents then described discovering AR-15–style rifle receivers, ammunition and lingerie on the same shelving unit during a March 2024 Miami Beach raid. Homeland Security Special Agent Gerard Gannon demonstrated how serial numbers had been defaced, suggesting attempts to intimidate.

Cudi’s anticipated testimony follows defense arguments that Combs’ relationships were consensual and part of a swinger lifestyle. Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. The trial continues Wednesday with further testimony from Agent Gannon, psychologist Dawn Hughes and former assistant George Kaplan, before Cudi takes the stand.