Rapper Kid Cudi says his car was set on fire weeks after Sean (Diddy) Combs broke into his home
Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, testified about brief relationship with Combs's ex-girlfriend Cassie
WARNING: This story contains allegations of sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced it or know someone affected by it.
Rapper Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Sean (Diddy) Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011 after finding out he was dating Combs's ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, and that someone set fire to his car weeks later.
Speaking at Combs's sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court, Cudi — whose given name is Scott Mescudi — said that while he and Cassie briefly dated, he took her to a West Hollywood hotel to get her away from a seething Combs.
While there, he said, he got a call from Combs's assistant, Capricorn Clark, who told him Combs and an associate were in his house and that she had been forced to go with them.
Cudi said he called Combs while driving home and asked why he was in his house. He said Combs calmly replied, "I want to talk to you."
But Combs wasn't there when he arrived, Cudi said. Instead, he found that someone had opened Christmas presents he'd bought for his family and locked his dog in a bathroom.
Cudi said he wasn't sure what was going on, so he called the police.
A few weeks later, Cudi testified, his Porsche 911 convertible had been destroyed by fire while parked in his driveway. Cudi said he was at a friend's house when his dogsitter called and told him his car was on fire.
Photos shown to the jury showed a hole cut in the car's fabric roof. A Molotov cocktail was found on the passenger seat, Cudi said.
Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified last week that Combs threatened to blow up Cudi's car and hurt him after he learned she was dating the Grammy Award-winning rapper.
Cudi told jurors that Combs denied involvement in the car fire when they met to try to smooth things over the next day at a Los Angeles hotel. He said he sought the meeting — brokered by his manager and Combs's bodyguard — because "after the fire I said, this is getting out of hand, I need to talk to him."
Cudi said he didn't have conflicts at the time with anyone other than Combs.
"I knew he had something to do with it," Cudi said, leading Combs's lawyers to object. Jurors were told to disregard the remark.
Cudi testifies that Combs apologized to him
At the end of the meeting, as they stood and shook hands, Cudi said he asked Combs: "What are we going to do about my car?" Cudi said Combs gave him a "very cold stare" and responded: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Cudi said he was annoyed by Combs's answer but let it go, and there were no more incidents at his house.
The rapper testified that he told Combs he was taking him at his word. Eventually, Cudi said, he made peace with the situation.
A few years later, Combs apologized to Cudi "for everything" when they ran into each other again at the SoHo House hotel, Cudi testified.
Combs seemed subdued as Cudi testified. Although he looked toward the witness stand, neither man seemed to react to the other. Cudi didn't look at Combs when he left the stand. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, Cudi arrived at the courthouse smoking a cigarette while someone held an umbrella over him in the rain. He didn't stop to speak to reporters while leaving.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges after he was arrested in September at a Manhattan hotel. He denies using threats or his music industry clout to abuse women and others, and denies forcing Cassie to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances called "freak-offs."
Defence suggested Cassie lived 'double life'
During the defence's cross-examination of Cudi, Combs's lawyer, Brian Steel, painted Cassie as the villain in her relationships with Combs and Cudi, suggesting she had played both of them and had been living a "double life."
Cudi testified that when he started dating Cassie in late 2011, she led him to believe she and Combs had broken up.
In reality, Cassie testified earlier, she was still seeing Combs for freak-offs and using a burner phone to contact Cudi and keep their relationship secret from Combs.
"Ms. Ventura was living two different lives — is that true?" Steel asked.
"Yes," Cudi replied.
He said he was upset to find out she later decided to go back to Combs.
The federal investigation of Combs began in November 2023, a day after Cassie sued him, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. The lawsuit was settled by Combs for $20 million US the next day.
In four days of testimony last week, Cassie said Combs physically abused her during most of their relationship from 2007 through 2018.
She said she ended her relationship with Cudi in late 2011 after only a few weeks because Combs learned about it.
Personal assistant saw Combs become violent
George Kaplan, Combs's personal assistant from 2013 to 2015, testified earlier Thursday that he saw Combs be violent with Cassie only once, on a 2015 trip to Las Vegas aboard Combs's private jet. He said he heard glass breaking behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Combs standing with a whiskey glass in his hand.
"There was tremendous commotion and a scuffle, and then after the glass crashed, Cassie screamed, 'Isn't anybody seeing this?' " Kaplan testified.
Kaplan said he didn't intervene because he feared losing his dream job, but quit after that attack and a later episode in which he saw Cassie with a bruised eye.
After Cudi's testimony, jurors heard from makeup artist Mylah Morales, who's worked for Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and other stars.
She said Combs stormed into Cassie's bedroom at a hotel on the weekend of the 2010 Grammy Awards. Combs shut the door, and she heard "yelling and screaming." Then she saw Cassie with a "swollen eye and a busted lip, and knots on her head."
Later, the general manager of the ritzy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel testified that Combs frequently stayed there, using aliases such as Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie said he used when checking in for freak-offs.
Frederic Zemmour said Combs's guest profile noted he "ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil." The profile instructed staff to "place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning."
The trial is set to resume Tuesday.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
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