Sean "Diddy" Combs is on trial in New York, accused of sex trafficking and racketeering. He denies all charges. Photo / Shareif Ziyadat, Getty Images
Sean "Diddy" Combs is on trial in New York, accused of sex trafficking and racketeering. He denies all charges. Photo / Shareif Ziyadat, Getty Images
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs descended into chaos on Tuesday, US time, when a ranting member of the public was forcibly removed from the court as the music mogul looked on.
“These motherf***ers are laughing at you,” the woman was reported to have screamed before testimony began at thefederal court in Downtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile, a security guard at a ritzy hotel has testified he buried CCTV of Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend for US$100,000, the star telling him not to make any “big purchases” with the windfall.
A hotel guard testified in court he hid CCTV of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs assaulting an ex for $150,000. Photo / Getty Images
The main courtroom is often full from early in the day with family members, journalists, influencers, fans and others simply interested in the case. Many queue overnight to get in.
On Tuesday, after Combs entered the courtroom, a woman got up and shouted “Diddy,” leading him to turn around. “These motherf***ers are laughing at you,” she said.
She also railed against the “system,” reported the New YorkPost, before being warned by marshals to not “do it again”.
The woman was then led away before the jury came into the room.
YouTuber banned from court
The conduct of some in the court has become increasingly concerning for Judge Arun Subramanian.
On June 2, federal prosecutors told the judge that one of the many YouTubers, who rush out of the courthouse during each break to report live on events inside, used the real name of a witness who the court demanded should remain anonymous.
“Mia” gave evidence for three days until Monday this week. She was a former assistant to Combs and testified that the star had raped and assaulted her.
She was only referred to as “Mia” in court and court sketches didn’t show her face.
That YouTuber has now been banned from the case for allegedly using her real name on his transmission.
Also on Tuesday, a security guard at the Los Angeles InterContinental Hotel took the stand. It was at this hotel, in March 2016, that Combs was caught on CCTV violently assaulting his then girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the corridor.
Eddy Garcia, who had been given immunity from prosecution because of his testimony, said senior Combs’ staff member Kristina Khorram called hotel security shortly after the assault to see if there was “any possible way to get a copy of the video”.
“Off the record, it’s bad,” Garcia said he told her.
Garcia told the court he told both Khorram, and later Combs, that only hotel management could release the CCTV.
He testified that Combs then said “he would take care of me” if he could obtain the footage.
The security guard said he went to his boss who replied he “would do it for 50”, which was US$50,000 (NZ$83,000).
“Eddy, my angel, I knew you could do it,” Combs said, according to Garcia. But he insisted he had to have the “only copy”.
Garcia then dropped off a USB with the video to an address given to him by Combs where he was requested to sign a confidentiality agreement and threatened with a $1 million penalty if he broke it.
In total Combs gave him US$100,000 which he split with his boss and another colleague. He said the musician told him not to make any “big purchases” with the cash.
