Topline
A friend of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified on Wednesday that Combs once dangled her over a 17th-floor balcony during a 2016 altercation and that he threatened to “kill” her on another occasion, while also describing Combs’ alleged violence toward Ventura.
An alleged victim will take the stand under the pseudonym “Jane.” (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images … More
Key Facts
Ventura’s friend Bryana “Bana” Bongolan took the stand Wednesday, testifying Combs held her over a 17-story apartment balcony in 2016 during an altercation in Ventura’s presence, after which he threw Bongolan on a table, causing her to sustain bruises and neck pain.
Bongolan said she still suffers “night terrors and paranoia” as a result of the balcony incident, CNN reported.
In another incident at a photoshoot in 2016, Bongolan testified Combs came up to her and said, “I’m the devil and I could kill you,” stating she did not know why he said that and theorized he may have been on drugs.
Bongolan testified she saw multiple violent altercations between Combs and Ventura, describing an incident when she was asleep at Ventura’s apartment and she was awakened by Combs banging at the door, who threw a knife at Ventura after entering, whom Bongolan said threw the knife back, CNN reported.
Bongolan testified she sometimes saw Ventura with injuries, including a black eye, and said she initially hesitated to meet Combs after becoming friends with Ventura because she thought their relationship was “volatile,” the Washington Post reported.
Bongolan’s testimony, including the balcony and knife incidents, mirror allegations she made in a lawsuit she filed against Combs in November 2024.
What Did A Forensic Video Expert Say On The Stand?
Before Bongolan began testimony, forensic video expert Frank Piazza took the stand, testifying about the surveillance footage that captured Combs attacking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Piazza testified he believes the surveillance footage, first published by CNN last year, accurately depicts the altercation between Ventura and Combs. Combs’ legal team previously alleged CNN “substantially altered” the footage, which CNN denied. The video was played multiple times for jurors, who have seen the video played several times during previous testimony so far in the trial. Piazza also testified he enhanced 10 “sex videos” recorded between 2012 and 2014 that were retrieved from a laptop Ventura turned over to the government, which were submitted as evidence and may later be shown to jurors, the New York Times reported.
What Did Bongolan Allege In Her Lawsuit?
Bongolan filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2024, alleging she was asleep in Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment in 2016 when Combs woke her up by banging on the door and shouting. Her lawsuit states Combs entered the apartment and advanced on Bongolan, lifting her by her underarms and holding her over Ventura’s 17th-floor balcony, stating, “Do you know what the f— you did? Do you know what the f— you did?” while Ventura screamed at him to stop. “The only purpose of dangling someone over a balcony is to actually kill them or to intentionally terrorize them and rob them of any concept of dominion over their own bodily autonomy and safety,” Bongolan’s lawsuit states. Elsewhere in her lawsuit, Bongolan alleges she witnessed “disturbing signs of an abusive relationship” by Combs toward Ventura, stating she sometimes saw Ventura with visible bruises and that she once witnessed an altercation in which Combs “threw a large kitchen knife at Ms. Ventura, who, acting in self-defense, threw one back at him.” Combs denied the allegations in Bongolan’s suit.
Who Is “jane?”
“Jane” is the pseudonym of a woman prosecutors say was sex trafficked by Combs, who is referred to as “Victim-2” in the indictment. Ventura, who is referred to as “Victim-1,” and “Mia,” the pseudonym of “Victim-4,” have both already testified. The indictment alleges Combs used “force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims,” including Jane, “to engage in commercial sex acts.” During her opening statement last month, prosecutor Emily A. Johnson described Jane as a single mother who began dating Combs in 2020, two years after Ventura left him. Johnson said Jane participated in a “freak-off” thinking it would be a one-time thing to please Combs, though he expected more and discouraged her from working by paying her rent so she would always be available. Johnson described an altercation in which Combs became enraged at Jane after they clashed about him seeing another woman, during which he allegedly “grabbed her in a chokehold, lifted her off the ground by her neck and kicked her to the ground,” the New York Times reported. Combs’ defense lawyer Teny Geragos said during her opening statement Jane consented to their sexual encounters, stating a “capable, strong woman, willingly engaged in their relationship,” which she said is “not sex trafficking,” the Times reported.
What Other Key Witnesses Have Testified?
Ventura, who dated Combs on-and-off for about a decade, testified for much of the trial’s first week, alleging Combs coerced her into “freak-off” sexual encounters with male escorts, which she says left her in physical and mental pain. She also described various instances of physical abuse and accused Combs of raping her in 2018. Rapper Kid Cudi took the stand in May alleging Combs broke into his house and that his car was firebombed in his driveway in 2012 after Combs discovered he was dating Ventura. Mia, a former personal assistant to Combs, took the stand last week, alleging Combs repeatedly sexually assaulted her and subjected her to physical abuse while she worked for him.
What Is Diddy Charged With?
Combs is charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Separately, Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and sex trafficking, all of which he has denied.
Further Reading
Diddy Trial: Alleged Victim ‘Mia’ Testifies Combs Sexually Assaulted Her Multiple Times (Forbes)
Diddy Trial: Kid Cudi Testifies Sean Combs Broke Into His House Before His Car Was Firebombed (Forbes)
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