On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Regina Ventura, the mother of Cassie Ventura, took the stand on the seventh day of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile sex trafficking trial, delivering testimony that sent shockwaves through the courtroom. Her emotional account exposed alleged threats to release explicit videos, evidence of physical abuse, and exorbitant financial demands tied to her daughter’s relationship with rapper Kid Cudi.
The day’s proceedings also featured testimony from Sharay Hayes, an exotic dancer known as “The Punisher,” who described his role in sexual encounters involving the couple.
Regina Ventura’s testimony hinged on a disturbing email she received from her daughter in December 2011. The email detailed threats from Combs to release two explicit sex tapes of Cassie after he discovered her romantic involvement with Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi). Regina told the court that Combs had vowed to leak one tape on Christmas Day and another shortly thereafter, a prospect that left her feeling “physically sick.”
The email didn’t stop at humiliation. Regina testified that it also contained threats of physical violence against both Cassie and Kid Cudi. Combs allegedly warned he would “have someone hurt her and Scott Mescudi physically,” adding that “it wouldn’t be by his hands” and that he would be “out of the country when it happened.” These menacing words followed Combs’ discovery of Cassie’s relationship with Kid Cudi, which he uncovered by rifling through her phone and finding emails about delivering her toiletries to Cudi’s home.
“I did not understand it. The sex tape threw me; he was trying to hurt my daughter,”
Regina said, her voice breaking as she recalled the ordeal.
Regina testified that Combs, enraged by Cassie’s relationship with Kid Cudi, demanded $20,000 from her family as reimbursement for money he claimed to have spent on her.
“He was angry because Cassie was dating someone else after he had financially supported her,”
The Ventura family resorted to a home equity loan to meet this demand.
“We took a home equity loan, and that was the only way we could get the money,”
Regina said, underscoring the pressure they faced amid the threats. Curiously, the $20,000 was returned just days later without explanation, and the matter was dropped after Cassie and Combs reconciled. Notably, Combs’ defense team opted not to cross-examine Regina, leaving her testimony uncontested.
Regina’s testimony took a visceral turn when she presented photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body, taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011—the same period as the email threats. These images, shown to the jury, served as stark evidence of the physical abuse Cassie allegedly suffered during her decade-long relationship with Combs, which spanned 2007 to 2018.
Regina explained that she documented the injuries out of concern for her daughter’s safety, believing they were clear signs of abuse. The photographs aligned with Cassie’s testimony from the previous week, where she spent four days describing a “violent” and “toxic” relationship with Combs.
The catalyst for Combs’ alleged actions was Cassie’s relationship with Kid Cudi, which began in 2011 after their professional collaboration blossomed into romance. Cassie kept the relationship under wraps from Combs, but he discovered it during a so-called “freak off”—a term used in the trial to describe drug-fueled group sex sessions he allegedly orchestrated. While examining Cassie’s phone, Combs found emails between her and his assistant, Capricorn Clark, arranging to deliver toiletries to Cudi’s residence, sparking his fury.
The court also heard from Sharay Hayes, known as “The Punisher,” an exotic dancer who testified about his involvement with Combs and Cassie. Hayes recounted how, in autumn 2012, Cassie contacted him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” with her while Combs watched. He described eight to twelve such encounters, during which he had sex with Cassie in hotel rooms decorated with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture. At the same time, Combs observed from a distance, often wearing a cap to obscure his face.
Hayes testified that Cassie instructed him not to acknowledge or make eye contact with Combs during these sessions, which prosecutors allege were part of the “freak-offs” Combs forced women to participate in.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, the 55-year-old founder of Bad Boy Records, faces a litany of charges in this trial: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors allege that from 2004 to 2024, Combs coerced women into participating in drug-fueled “Freak Offs,” facilitated by his staff. Combs has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution’s star witness, Cassie Ventura, testified about her four-day experience with Combs. His legal team has acknowledged his abusive behavior and substance issues, but maintains that the sexual acts described were consensual.
