Combs, who then performed as Puff Daddy, released his 1997 debut album, “No Way Out,” on his Bad Boy Records label. According to Diddy, the album was heavily inspired by the March 9, 1997 shooting death of Diddy’s close confidant and Bad Boy artist Notorious B.I.G.

The criminal case against Sean “Diddy” Combs was sparked after a startling 2023 civil lawsuit from his former girlfriend in which she alleged years of abuse and violence.

Cassie Ventura took the stand as the prosecution’s star witness. She recounted years of alleged manipulation and abuse, describing a life dominated by Combs’ orchestrated “freak-offs” — multi-day, drug-fueled encounters with sex workers. Her testimony painted a chilling albeit alleged portrait of control, fear, and psychological torment.

Casandra Ventura, the mogul’s former girlfriend, testified that Mr. Combs was routinely violent, stomping on her face and later raping her.

You and Sean Combs were in love for 11 years, right?” defense lawyer Anna Estevao poignantly asked Cassie Ventura on Thursday at the beginning of her cross-examination of Combs’ former long-term girlfriend in his sex-trafficking trial.

The public knew Sean “Diddy” Combs as a larger-than-life cultural icon and business mogul, but in private he used violence and threats to coerce women