Sean 'Diddy' Combs took ecstasy shaped like Obama's face, jury hears

Sean “Diddy” Combs once took an ecstasy pill shaped like former president Barack Obama's face, the hip-hop mogul's former personal assistant testified on Tuesday at Combs' racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 to 2009, told jurors during the second week of the trial in Manhattan federal court he frequently saw Combs take drugs, including opiates during the day and ecstasy at night. James said he sometimes picked up drugs for Combs and his friends and often brought narcotics and other personal items such as lubricant and condoms to Combs' hotel rooms.

He said he once saw Combs take an ecstasy pill shaped like a “former president's face”. When prosecutor Christy Slavik asked him which president, James responded, “president Obama.”

Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024. They say his employees helped by buying drugs, booking and stocking hotel rooms and giving Combs cash to pay male sex workers to take part in the parties.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers have acknowledged Combs had substance abuse issues and was an abusive romantic partner, but say the sex acts described by prosecutors were consensual.

Last week, jurors heard testimony from the prosecutors' star witness: Combs' former longtime girlfriend Casandra Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie. Ventura said she took part in Combs' Freak Offs for about a decade, first to please him and later because he blackmailed her with videos of the encounters.

Ventura's mother Regina Ventura testified on Tuesday Combs demanded $20,000 (R359,018) in December 2011 to recoup money he spent on Ventura after discovering she had a relationship with another man.

Jurors saw photographs Regina Ventura took about that time of her daughter with bruises on her legs and back, as well as an email in which Casandra Ventura told her mother Combs had threatened to release sex tapes of her and have someone hurt her.

“I was scared for my daughter's safety,” Regina Ventura said.

She took out a loan against her home to pay Combs, but the money was returned days later. Combs' defence did not cross-examine her.

Combs' legal team has sought to show jurors his relationship with Ventura was complicated. Last week, the defence showed jurors emails and text messages in which Ventura said she was always ready for a Freak Off or sex.

On Tuesday, a male exotic dancer named Sharay Hayes testified he engaged in sexual activity with Ventura while Combs watched in hotel rooms in Manhattan several times between 2012 and 2016. He said Ventura would pay him between $1,200 (R21,542) and $2,000 (R35,917) in cash.

Hayes, who performs under the stage name “The Punisher”, said Ventura would sometimes sigh as Combs directed her what to do with her body. But he also said Ventura at times appeared to enjoy the encounters.

“It seemed there was consent as far as I was concerned,” Hayes said under cross-examination by defence lawyer Xavier Donaldson.

Known also during his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, Combs helped turn artists such as Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars. In the process, he elevated the role of hip-hop in American culture and became a billionaire.

He has been held in federal lock-up in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.

Reuters