Bad Rap: Star Witness
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Who are the hosts and what is the podcast about?
Hi, I'm Brian Bachmeier, an ABC News legal contributor and host of Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy. You're about to hear our latest episode following everything going on in Sean Combs' trial from the prosecution and the defense. Remember, to hear all of our updates on this case, follow Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy. We're dropping two new episodes every week, including one that's not available anywhere else. Now here's our episode.
Hey, it's Brad Milkey. This week on The Crime Scene Weekly, we're talking about a mom who gained national attention for faking her own kidnapping. Sherry Papini is back in the spotlight, but now she's changing her story and trying to change her custody arrangement with her kids. Listen to the latest from the case on The Crime Scene Weekly.
A warning that this episode includes discussion of violence, sexual assault, and suicide. So please take care when listening. This week, USA v. Sean Combs has been mostly about one witness, singer Cassie Ventura, who was in a romantic relationship with Sean Combs for over a decade. Cassie brought the first civil lawsuit against Combs in 2023. It included allegations of sex trafficking and was settled quickly with no admission of guilt. This week, we learn through her testimony the amount of that settlement, $20 million. For a long time, that lawsuit was the only look we had into her experience with Sean Combs. I remember when we were researching earlier episodes of this podcast, the lawsuit was one of the very few sources of information we had to draw from to try to understand her side of things. And now, here's Cassie Ventura, sitting in court, very pregnant, answering question after question, testifying to how she believes Sean Combs held her career back.
How she started off participating in orchestrated sex performances called freak-offs because she wanted to please Combs. How she says leaving a freak-off early led to Combs beating her in the hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel back in 2016. The jury saw videos of that incident captured by the hotel's surveillance cameras. Combs denies the federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and interstate transportation for prostitution he's facing, and he's pled not guilty. Under cross-examination, the defense asked Cassie to read texts she'd sent to Combs. Texts they say show her willingness, eagerness, and agency in the relationship. The defense also questioned whether her reluctance to participate in Combs' freak-offs was because she wanted their relationship to develop more, and to be more than their sexual encounters. In other words, was the story more about jealousy and infidelity than the serious charges Combs is facing?
One of the people keeping an extremely close eye on everything happening in the courtroom is my colleague, Tanya Simpson. She's a coordinating producer for ABC's investigative unit. We're going to talk about what she heard and observed while sitting in the courtroom when Cassie was on the stand. I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor and practicing attorney. You're listening to Bad Rap, the case against Diddy. This episode, Star Witness. Tanya, you and I have both been in court every day. I think we've been like line buddies as well for a while. We've heard some really incredible testimony. And I say incredible, not because it's like amazing, but just... almost beyond belief, most notably from Cassie Ventura, Diddy's ex.
We'll get into that in a minute. But listeners might be surprised to learn we can't take any electronic devices into the court with us, so we have to take notes the old-fashioned way, pen and paper. How's your wrist holding up, by the way?
You know, my wrist is doing okay. My fingers were getting a little sore on the first day. I was starting to get a dent on one of my fingers from the pen. So I actually bought cushions to put on my pens while I'm writing, and that has helped a lot.
And I know you guys can't see this, but Tanya's flipping through his book. One, some of the nicest writing I've seen. Two, very small writing. And so you're like squeezing things into the margins just to make it fit, but it's still just covering the page.
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