Kid Cudi took the witness stand at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Manhattan sex trafficking trial Thursday, telling a jury about how his Hollywood Hills home was burgled and his Porsche was blown up in his driveway after the hip-hop mogul threatened his life.
Jurors last week heard from Combs’ ex, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, that Combs threatened her and the “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, after learning they were dating in 2011.
Mescudi on Thursady described receiving a late-night call from a worried Ventura, “very scared, sounded like she was on the verge of tears,” in December 2011 when Combs found out about them, prompting him to go and pick her up. Mescudi said he called Combs’ assistant, Capricorn Clark, who sounded distraught and said she was outside Mescudi’s house, where Combs and one of his associates were inside.
“I called Sean Combs,” Mescudi recalled. “I will be very candid. I said, ‘Uh, motherf—-r, you in my house.’ And he’s like, ‘Wassup?’”
Mescudi said Combs told him he’d meet him at home and “just wanted to talk.” When he arrived, Combs was not there but he discovered his security cameras had been positioned at a different angle, Christmas gifts had been opened, and his dog was locked in the bathroom.
Combs told Mescudi he would come and meet him, but Mescudi decided against it, instead calling the cops, telling the court, “I thought about the reality of the situation, not knowing what I was walking myself into, so I decided to call the police.”
In the ensuing weeks, he had some text communication with Combs, and Ventura went home to Connecticut, where Mescudi visited. Jurors saw images last week that her mother took on the trip of her with severe bruising after allegedly being beaten by Combs.
Not long after in 2012, Mescudi’s frantic dog-sitter called him at 6:30 a.m. about his Porsche blowing up in front of his house.
“She told me my car was on fire,” Mescudi recalled.
When he got home, the burnt-out car appeared to have been targeted with a Molotov cocktail, Mescudi said.
“It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open, and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in,” he said as jurors were shown a photo.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment, including counts of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transporting individuals for prostitution.
He’s accused of compulsively coercing women into depraved sexual performances with male escorts with help from a well-compensated network of high-ranking employees akin to a mob who resorted to sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice to facilitate his desires.
This developing story will be updated.
