Sean “Diddy” Combs once beat ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura so badly she needed stitches on her forehead, the music mogul’s former stylist has testified at his trial.
Deonte Nash, who styled both Combs and Ventura, told the court there were times when he witnessed his boss attacking his then-girlfriend and others.
He also testified he saw Combs threaten to release sex tapes of Ventura in drug-fuelled “freak-offs” with male prostitutes.
The testimony came as it emerged Ventura had given birth to her third child, a son, with her fitness instructor husband. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Nash was one of three witnesses to take the stand on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in the third week of the trial.
He said several times he did not want to be in court – he was summoned to testify through a subpoena.
Deonte Nash’s testimony
A close friend of Ventura, Nash said he saw her almost every day while working as her stylist.
He told the jury he witnessed Combs abusing Ventura on several occasions.
Asked what names Combs would call Ventura, Nash said he would refer to her as “slut” and “ho”, among other derogatory terms.
The stylist told the court Ventura had confided in him that she did not want to participate in the sex parties.
In one incident, Nash testified that Combs showed up at Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment while she was asleep on a sofa.
Combs shouted at her, grabbed her by the hair and started beating her, the court heard.
Nash testified that he and Ventura, and an assistant to Combs, named in court only as “Mia”, tried to run into a bedroom and close the door, but Combs managed to get in.
The hip-hop mogul continued beating Ventura until she hit her head on a bedframe and was bleeding profusely, the court heard.
Nash said he and “Mia” tried to stop Combs by jumping on his back.
The stylist also said he tried to call emergency services, but Combs told him that a member of his security would take Ventura to a plastic surgeon for treatment.
Nash said he saw her on a video call the next day with stitches in her eyebrow.
Having started as an intern with Combs’ record label, Bad Boy, Nash said he became a stylist when he met Ventura in 2008 and still remains close friends with her.
When a defence attorney asked about the last time they spoke, he said, “May 27, 2025, after she had the baby.”
Nash also insisted that the defence lawyer refer to Ventura as “Mrs Fine”, since she was married to personal trainer Alex Fine in 2019.
Ventura, who testified for four days during the first week of the trial, was heavily pregnant while on the stand. Media reports said she had given birth in a New York hospital on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
Nash said he also advised the R&B singer on what outfits she should wear while testifying.
The jury also heard testimony on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, from a Los Angeles Police Department officer and a Los Angeles Fire Department official who testified about conflicts between Mr Combs and rapper Kid Cudi, who took the stand last week. His legal name is Scott Mescudi.
Arson investigator Lance Jimenez told the court about being called to examine Mescudi’s Porsche that had just been set on fire in his driveway.
Jimenez
The court saw more photos of the burnt Porsche and a bottle of petrol that Jimenez said was a makeshift Molotov cocktail used to set fire to the car.
Jimenez said fingerprints were recovered from the crime scene, some of which had a partial match to a woman whose identity is unknown.
Jimenez said he put other prints in an envelope and sent them to the LAPD, but they were destroyed without his permission the same year.
Prosecutors asked him if this was unusual, which led to an objection from Combs’ attorneys, who argued that prosecutors were trying to claim that “someone in the room” was responsible for the destruction of evidence.
Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, asked the judge to declare a mistrial based on what he called “outrageous” questioning. The request was denied, but the jury was instructed to disregard the testimony.
Nash is scheduled to return to the stand on Thursday, followed by Mr Combs’ former personal assistant, “Mia”. Her testimony is expected to take up most of the next two days of trial, prosecutors said.
