The music industry is still shaking. It’s early 2026, and the dust from the most explosive trial in hip-hop history has barely settled. For months, everyone was glued to the headlines, asking the same question: who is testifying against Diddy? It wasn't just a few disgruntled employees or people looking for a payday. The witness list was a roster of former lovers, industry veterans, and people who claim they were essentially props in a very dark, very controlled world.
Sean "Diddy" Combs—the man who invented the "Bad Boy" lifestyle—spent most of 2025 in a Manhattan courtroom. He wasn't the untouchable mogul we saw on yachts anymore. He was a defendant. And the people who took the stand against him didn't just bring stories; they brought receipts, trauma, and a level of detail that honestly made the public’s collective jaw drop.
The Star Witness: Cassie Ventura’s Breaking Point
Casandra "Cassie" Ventura was always going to be the center of this storm. Even though her initial civil lawsuit settled back in late 2023 for a rumored $20 million, she didn't disappear. Far from it. When the federal trial kicked off in May 2025, she was the prosecution’s heavy hitter.
She spent four days on the stand. Think about that. Four days of reliving a decade of your life that you’ve been trying to bury. Cassie testified about the "freak-offs"—those multi-day, drug-fueled sexual marathons that the feds alleged were at the heart of Diddy’s enterprise. She described being "dissociated," using ketamine and cocaine just to get through the experiences.
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The defense tried to flip it. They showed texts where she sounded happy. They tried to paint her as a "winner" who just wanted money. But it’s hard to argue with a video. The 2016 surveillance footage of Combs assaulting her in a hotel hallway was played over and over. A hotel security guard even testified that Diddy tried to pay him $100,000 to make that video go away. It didn’t go away.
The Inner Circle Speaks Up
It wasn't just Cassie. If it were just one person, the defense might have had a chance to claim it was a "complicated relationship." But then Dawn Richard took the stand.
If you remember Danity Kane or Diddy-Dirty Money, you know Dawn. She was right there in the thick of it. Her testimony was chilling because it focused on the threats. She told the jury that Combs threatened to "make her disappear" after she saw him hit Cassie with a skillet. Yeah, a skillet. Richard’s account painted a picture of a workplace where "staying in line" was the only way to survive.
Then there was "Jane." That’s a pseudonym for a model who dated Combs more recently, from 2021 until his 2024 arrest. Her story was a mirror of Cassie’s: the pressure to perform with male escorts, the financial control, and the "hotel nights" that lasted 30 hours. She admitted she still loved him, which added this weird, tragic layer of complexity to the whole thing. It showed how deep the psychological hooks went.
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The Breakdown of Witnesses
The prosecution didn’t mess around. They called 34 witnesses in total. Here’s a look at some of the most impactful ones:
- Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi): He testified about Diddy allegedly blowing up his car after he started dating Cassie. Cudi was blunt: he knew Diddy had something to do with it, even if the mogul denied it to his face.
- Daniel Phillip: An exotic dancer who was paid to participate in the "freak-offs." He gave the jury the "director’s cut" version of events—describing how Combs would sit in a chair, masturbate, and give orders like "use more baby oil."
- "The Punisher" (Sharay Hayes): Another dancer who recalled the eerie detail of baby oil bottles being kept in bowls of warm water to stay at the "right" temperature.
- Capricorn Clark: A former employee who claimed Diddy once waved a gun at her and told her they were "going to kill Cudi."
- "Mia": A former assistant who testified about being sexually assaulted and "brainwashed" during her years working for Bad Boy.
The Verdict and What It Means Now
By July 2025, the jury had heard enough. They didn't buy everything the prosecution sold—Diddy was actually found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and the most serious sex trafficking charges. That was a huge shock to a lot of people.
However, he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. In October 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced him to four years (50 months) in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.
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Is it over? Not really. As we sit here in 2026, the civil lawsuits are still piling up. Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing over 100 alleged victims, is still moving forward. The Los Angeles County Sheriff is looking into new sexual battery claims. Diddy is currently serving his time in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn—a place that’s been described as "infested with drugs" and "unsafe."
Actionable Insights for Following the Case
If you’re trying to keep up with the fallout, here is what you should actually be looking for:
- Watch the Civil Filings: The criminal trial is done, but the civil cases are where the financial discovery happens. This is where we might see exactly how many people were on the "payroll" to keep these secrets.
- The "Combs Enterprise" Associates: Keep an eye on the names of assistants and security guards mentioned in the trial. Federal prosecutors often use these smaller convictions to flip people for larger investigations into the industry at large.
- Appeals Process: Diddy’s team is already filing appeals, calling the 50-month sentence "draconian." It’s unlikely to be overturned given the testimony, but it will keep him in the news.
The reality is that "who is testifying against Diddy" turned out to be a much larger group than anyone expected. It wasn't just a trial about one man; it was a trial about a culture of silence that finally, loudly, broke.
To stay updated on the specific progress of the remaining civil suits and the status of Diddy's incarceration at MDC Brooklyn, you can monitor the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system for the Southern District of New York or follow reputable legal analysts who specialize in federal criminal law.