• Ye appeared at Manhattan court to support Sean "Diddy" Combs at his sex-trafficking trial.
• But the rapper was not allowed in the main courtroom where Combs is on trial.
• Combs' trial is in its fifth week, with the prosecution expected to rest next week.

Ye, the embattled rapper formerly known as Kanye West, showed up Friday at Manhattan federal court to support Sean "Diddy" Combs at his criminal sex-trafficking trial.

Ye made the surprise appearance at the courthouse shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday. The "Jesus Walks" rapper, though, never actually made it into the 26th-floor courtroom where Combs' trial is unfolding.

He instead sat in the front row of an overflow room on the courthouse's 23rd floor after he was denied entry into the main courtroom where the trial is taking place, courthouse sources told Business Insider.

One source told BI that Ye was not on Combs' list of approved family members or friends.

"He did not wait in line like everybody else from the public," the court source said. "No one gets special treatment."

Courthouse staff opened an overflow room where Ye and Christian Combs, one of Combs' children, were able to watch the proceedings on a screen, a court source said. Ye's bodyguard and another Combs supporter also sat with them, according to the source.

Ye, who wore an outfit of all-white denim, listened to about half an hour of testimony before he left. At the time, Jonathan Perez, a former personal assistant for Combs, was on the witness stand.

Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been a spokesman for Ye, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial is now in its fifth week.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case next week before Combs' defense will present its side to the eight-man, four-woman jury.

During jury selection, potential jurors were quizzed about their knowledge of other celebrities who may have had some connection to the case.

The list included Ye. During the trial, he's only been mentioned once, in passing, by another one of Combs' assistants.

Kid Cudi, another celebrity listed on the juror questionnaire, testified earlier in the trial about a dispute with Combs involving Cassie Ventura.

Ventura, a singer who was signed to Combs' record label and dated him for around a decade, testified at the start of the trial that Combs abused her and coerced her into participating in elaborate sex performances called "freak offs."

On Thursday, another accuser in the case, who used the pseudonym Jane, testified that she attended a sex performance hosted by another rapper.

The rapper wasn't named in the case, but Combs' lawyer described him as "an icon in the music industry" and as someone who was "very close with Combs" and had collaborated with him professionally.

Jane testified that she attended the sex performance as part of a trip to Las Vegas in January 2024 to celebrate the unnamed rapper's girlfriend's birthday.

According to Jane, that rapper flirted with her while they watched another man and woman have sex in a hotel room.

"He said something along the lines of that he thought I was beautiful, and he always wanted to blank me," Jane said Thursday, censoring herself in the courtroom.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs' feud with 50 Cent was highlighted in testimony at the mogul's criminal trial.
• Combs' ex-assistant testified about a gun-related comment he made after a press event with 50 Cent.
• Combs made the comment in an elevator to music manager Chris Lighty, Capricorn Clark testified.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' long-running feud with rapper 50 Cent was spotlighted in testimony given at the hip-hop mogul's criminal sex-trafficking trial this week.

50 Cent later took an online jab at Combs over the Tuesday testimony from Combs' former personal assistant and top executive, Capricorn Clark.

While on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court, Clark was asked by prosecutor Mitzi Steiner whether Clark ever heard Combs discuss guns during her stint working for the music tycoon.

Clark responded "once" and then went on to describe a time following an MTV press event that involved 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III.

Following the event, which both Combs and Jackson attended, Clark told the jury that Combs mentioned the rappers' beef to late music manager Chris Lighty, who at the time represented both men.

Lighty, who also managed artists like Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, and Mariah Carey, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his Bronx apartment in 2012. His death was later ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner.

Combs "was doing MTV press with 50 Cent and after the interview wrapped up, myself, Puff, and Chris Lighty got in the elevator," Clark said, referring to Combs as "Puff."

Clark testified that while in the elevator, "Puff told Chris, because they were having some sort of issue, like, 'I really don't like all the back and forth, I don't do that, I like guns.'"

"And what's the issue, with an individual?" the prosecutor asked.

"He had an issue with 50 Cent," Clark said.

Clark — who also testified that Combs kidnapped her at gunpoint in 2011 and made threats against her life — said Combs' demeanor was "very serious" when he brought up his fondness for guns.

Following the testimony, Jackson took the opportunity to troll Combs on Instagram writing in a caption: "Wait a minute PUFFY's got a gun, I can't believe this I don't feel safe 😔LOL."

Jackson has been working on a documentary for Netflix about the sex assault allegations against Combs.

The feud publicly erupted when Jackson released a 2006 diss track accusing Combs of knowing who killed rapper Notorious B.I.G. in 1997.

Combs' trial is now in its third week.

Prosecutors allege that for two decades, the one-time near-billionaire led a criminal enterprise that involved the sex trafficking of his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, and another woman.

If convicted of the sex trafficking and racketeering charges against him, Combs could face up to life in prison.

• A judge rebuked Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorney for a question he asked witness Kid Cudi.
• Combs' lawyer questioned the rapper about his sex life with star prosecution witness Cassie Ventura.
• "One, the line was crystal clear. And two, the line was crossed," the judge said.

The judge overseeing Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal trial slammed an attorney for the hip-hop mogul for questioning Kid Cudi about his sex life with R&B singer Cassie Ventura.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian's rebuke followed more than an hour of testimony given by Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.

While under cross-examination in Manhattan federal court, Steel asked Mescudi a series of questions that appeared intended to besmirch the credibility of Ventura, the prosecution's star witness in Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.

Steel asked if Mescudi had felt "played" by Ventura — and if Combs had been likewise "played" — because she'd told both men that their relationship was exclusive.

"Yes," Mescudi answered.

Mescudi and Ventura briefly dated in 2011 while Ventura was on a break from Combs. Ventura and Combs dated on and off between 2007 and 2018. During that time, prosecutors allege that Ventura was one of two women whom Combs sex-trafficked.

During his line of questioning, Steel asked Mescudi if he and Ventura had been sexually intimate during their romance — a question that sparked a speedy, successful objection from prosecutors.

After Mescudi left the witness stand and the jury was excused from the courtroom, the judge admonished Steel, who has also represented rapper Young Thug.

The judge said that Steel's question was way out of line under federal rules barring the use of prior sexual activity in impugning sex-crime accusers.

"One, the line was crystal clear. And two, the line was crossed," Subramanian said, his voice angry. "Mr. Steel, you knew what you were doing when you did it, and you did it anyway."

When Subramanian asked, "Is it going to happen again?" Steel said it wouldn't. The judge also ordered that the question, which Mescudi never answered, be struck from the record.

While on the witness stand, Mescudi told the jury that Combs broke into his Los Angeles home after the music tycoon found out he was dating Ventura.

Christmas gifts from Chanel that Mescudi had gotten for his family were unwrapped and opened, and his dog was shut in the bathroom during the December 2011 break-in, he testified.

Mescudi told the jury that his Porsche was firebombed weeks later while it was parked in his driveway.

During Ventura's more than 20 hours of testimony in the trial last week, she said her relationship with Mescudi sent Combs into a violent rage. Ventura also testified that Combs threatened to blow up Mescudi's car when they were out of the country.

Prosecutors have alleged that Combs previously ordered his underlings to torch a car using a Molotov cocktail.

• The Sean "Diddy" Combs trial began this week and featured testimony from Cassie Ventura.
• She testified about the graphic moments in her 11-year relationship with Combs.
• In the courthouse, the atmosphere was grim as Ventura shared shocking details.

From the start of Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial, everyone was waiting for Cassie Ventura to appear. She was the star witness.

I expected Ventura's testimony to be explosive. But it turned out to be more graphic than I ever imagined.

In the courtroom, I noticed the distress on the face of Ventura's husband. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, was telling her alleged abuser and a room full of strangers about some of the worst moments in her life.

In September, federal prosecutors in Manhattan accused Combs of racketeering and sex trafficking. They say he used the vast power and resources of his record label and other businesses to arrange drug-fueled and baby oil-lubricated sexual encounters called "freak offs" with Ventura, other victims, and male escorts.

Combs pleaded not guilty and denies the sex-trafficking allegations, but he hasn't quite denied all wrongdoing. His legal team said he participated in "mutual abuse" with Ventura, and that the two frequently fought physically. This was a domestic violence case, they argued — ugly, but not criminal sex trafficking.

In her testimony, Ventura talked about a messy, 11-year relationship during which she fought for scraps of Combs' attention. He was often busy with other women and his various businesses, she said. Ventura participated in the freak offs out of love for Combs, she said, but they were never something she wanted.

The hip-hop mogul introduced her to the idea of freak offs about six months into their relationship, when she was 22 and owed him another nine albums as part of a record label deal, Ventura said. Combs would watch as Ventura would have sex with other men, who were paid thousands of dollars in cash, according to court testimony.

In text messages and emails shown as trial evidence, Ventura talked about arranging the freak offs, which required dropping by a Duane Reade to pick up baby oil, lubricant, candles, and condoms.

The freak offs could last up to four days, requiring drugs to maintain stamina, she said. They typically required up to 10 large bottles of baby oil, she testified. Everyone "had to be glistening," as she described it. At one point, the judge stepped in to ask prosecutors to pull back from the deluge of baby oil questions.

The disturbing nature of the testimony was only heightened by Ventura's appearance. She is due to have a baby in June and was visibly pregnant. One courtroom marshal said he was prepared to deliver her baby if the stress of testifying induced labor. I wasn't sure if he was joking. One of the prosecutors urged the judge to require Combs' lawyers to wrap up cross-examination. "We are afraid she could have the baby over the weekend," she said.

Cassie Ventura's testimony transfixed the courtroom

Over the years, I've reported on about a dozen trials and countless more court hearings. There were the uncomfortable benches of Donald Trump's criminal trial. The rowdy fans at the R. Kelly Trial. The cold December mornings when I lined up for the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. The ultracompetitive Sam Bankman-Fried trial, where getting in line at 4 a.m. still wasn't early enough to get inside the courtroom.

But nothing in my experience has compared to the Combs trial, which began Monday morning after a week of jury selection and is supposed to last two months.

Ever since Ventura accused Combs of sexual abuse in November 2023, Combs' legal quagmire has been one of the biggest stories in the country. Combs paid Ventura $20 million to settle her case, but a flood of other accusers filed additional civil lawsuits against him. When prosecutors brought the criminal case against Combs, it was put on the fast track.

No longer the image of a pop star, Combs dresses for court like an office drone, wearing thin crewneck sweaters over white button-down shirts. He rarely betrays any emotion, occasionally nodding during his lawyers' arguments or huddling with the attorneys beside him.

His large family, including his mother and seven children, has been in the courtroom to show their support. Every day, Combs flashes them heart symbols with his hands. Their expressions, during trial proceedings, have remained neutral. The gravity of the situation — Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of all charges — is obvious.

On the other side of the courtroom aisle are Ventura's support group, which includes her husband, Alex Fine, and several relatives. At some of the more raw moments of Ventura's testimony, Fine's face looked visibly pained. When her texts with Combs about the freak offs were shown to the jury, he broke his gaze and looked at his lap.

As Ventura testified in graphic detail, the courtroom was rapt. She spoke in a faint, dispassionate voice.

The grim atmosphere made the otherwise unbelievable details of the trial feel upsetting rather than dramatic. On social media, these details fly by as jokes. For Ventura, they left scars. In February of 2023, years after she left Combs, Ventura couldn't sleep, she testified.

"I couldn't take the pain that I was in anymore, and so I just tried to walk out the front door into traffic," she told the jury. "And my husband would not let me."

'I've been to a Diddy party'

On Monday, for opening statements, the line outside the lower Manhattan courthouse began the previous afternoon. Same Old Line Dudes, the standard-bearer line-sitting company for New York trials, declined to disclose the precise time their clients booked because "it's very competitive," a receptionist told me.

During lunch breaks, live-streamers went outside and updated their followers on what unfolded indoors. Christine Cornell, a courtroom sketch artist, took photos of her illustrations in natural sunlight to share them with the media. Vicky Perez, who had come to New York City from Connecticut to watch the trial's opening day, said she's a fan of Ventura, having purchased her first album when she was in the fifth grade. Perez wanted her to "get justice," she said.

"I want to see his downfall," she said of Combs.

The scene overwhelmed even Dennis Byron, the editor in chief of the Hip-Hop Enquirer, who said he's reported on the hip-hop scene for 35 years. He covered Comb's career since he was an up-and-coming artist.

"I've been to a Diddy party," he said.

"Not one of those parties," he quickly clarified.

Byron — who wore a tweed vest and trousers in the May afternoon heat — said he's attended and photographed Combs' extravagant "White Parties," where he took photos of the likes of Combs, Ventura, Kim Porter, and Jay-Z.

These parties took on a new meaning following the indictment against Combs, where they've been widely re-interpreted as sex parties (virtually every single celebrity who has been asked about this denies they were sex parties). But celebrities have been having orgies forever, Byron said. He remembers hearing about them in the 1980s. Flying in escorts — as prosecutors said Combs did for freak offs — wasn't anything new either, Byron said.

"Well, I never stayed for those," Byron said. "I never stayed for those orgies. But I'm sure they happen. But I never seen them."

Combs' White Parties were meant to show off his power as "a tastemaker," Byron said. Combs accrued cultural capital — something prosecutors later said he used to coerce his victims.

"Remember, that party was a regular party," he said as I wrapped up our conversation. "Ain't no party like a regular Diddy party."

Combs' lawyers acknowledge his flaws — but say he's not a sex trafficker

Combs' trial was taking place in the same 26th-floor courtroom that saw the trials of Sam Bankman-Fried and two of E. Jean Carroll's lawsuits against Trump. (Bankman-Fried and Combs share a jail unit together; Trump is in the White House.) As with all federal court cases, there's no broadcast or livestream.

Karen Agnifilo-Friedman, Luigi Mangione's lead defense lawyer and the husband of Combs' lead lawyer Mark Agnifilo, often showed up to watch. The court staff had also set up three overflow rooms for journalists and members of the public to watch the trial on a closed-circuit camera feed, plus two rooms for members of the in-house press like me.

Several people I spoke to said they were willing to keep an open mind, but believed it would be hard to shake the memory of watching the video of Combs beating Ventura and dragging her through a hotel hallway.

"I'm going to try to give him a fair shake, said Oota Ongo, a YouTuber who livestreamed himself walking around the courthouse after watching opening statements. "We all saw the Cassie tape. That Cassie tape is just something that I can't get out of my head."

Depending on the day, I alternated between the courtroom itself and a press room. When I checked out an overflow room one day, I spotted a prominent federal prosecutor who had put Bankman-Fried behind bars. He was paying close attention to Combs' lawyer, Teny Gregagaros, giving Combs' side of the story in an opening statement.

While Combs may have been an unpleasant, angry, jealous, and violent man — especially when drunk or high — he was not guilty of sex trafficking, Gregagos insisted. At most, he was responsible for domestic violence, she conceded.

"He is not charged with being mean," Gregaros told the jurors. "He is not charged with being a jerk."

The first witness was a security guard at the Intercontinental Hotel, who testified about the infamous video where Combs assaulted Ventura (Combs just wanted to get his phone back from her, his defense lawyers said).

Next, before Ventura, was a male dancer who said he acted as an escort. He testified about being asked to carefully urinate during sex.

"Apparently, I was doing it wrong because they both stopped me and told me that I was supposed to let a little out at a time and not go full, like, take a leak on her," he said, in a quote that perhaps best encapsulated both the graphic nature of the trial testimony and how prosecutors say Combs intimately choreographed people around him to satisfy his own desires.

During Ventura's cross-examination, Combs' lawyers pulled up texts in which Ventura indicated she enjoyed the freak offs.

But Ventura, in her testimony earlier, said she just wanted to make Combs happy. She loved him. But she never wanted the freak offs, she said.

"It made me feel worthless," Ventura testified. "Like I didn't have anything else to offer him."

• Cassie is a singer and actor, best known for her top-10 hit single "Me & U."
• She met Sean Combs, aka Diddy, in 2006 and signed to his label Bad Boy.
• She filed a lawsuit against him in 2023 and is a key witness in his criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.

Cassie burst onto the music scene in 2006 with an irresistible blend of pop and R&B.

Although the singer, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, withdrew from the spotlight in the ensuing years, she's still beloved by fans of 2000s club jams.

In 2023, she filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging abuse throughout their relationship, including rape. An attorney for Combs denied the allegations to Business Insider. Cassie is now a key accuser in Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, which began on May 12.

Here's everything to know about Cassie's career, her connection to Diddy, and what her life is like today.

Cassie broke out with the club hit 'Me & U'

Before launching her music career, Cassie had done some modeling for brands like Delia's.

In 2006, when she was 19 years old, she released her debut single "Me & U." It became her first hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100.

"Me & U" set the tone for her self-titled debut album, which was praised by critics for its "hypnotic groove" and "flippant playfulness." Rolling Stone later described the album as "the most brilliantly minimalist R&B album of its era."

In a positive review for Slant, Sal Cinquemani also said, "'Me & U' has single-handedly revived his ailing Bad Boy imprint," referring to Combs, then known as Diddy.

Cassie signed to Bad Boy Records in 2006

An archived feature from 2008 said that Combs heard "Me & U" in a club and felt inspired to help Cassie's career.

Combs teamed up with Ryan Leslie, who wrote and produced the song, to record Cassie's album.

In 2008, she announced her plans to release her sophomore album.

"I guess I grew up a lot but I'm still in essence the same person," Cassie, then 21, told Billboard. "Lots has changed in my life, stuff that has made me think about things differently. I'm more vulnerable and you can hear my vocals better this time around. There's real emotion and a much realer connection with my fans."

At the time, Combs praised Cassie's musical development, which he said was reflected in the album.

"We pulled out, we took our time, we developed her for like, a year-and-a-half," he told Billboard in a 2008 interview. "People are just going to see her there and be like, 'Wow, she's really cocooned into a butterfly.'"

However, the album was delayed several times. She didn't release new music until 2012, when she surprise-dropped a set of three mixtapes. She continued releasing singles sporadically in the years following.

Cassie has dabbled in acting

Cassie played Sophie in the 2008 film "Step Up 2: The Streets," and has also appeared in "The Perfect Match" and on several episodes of "Empire."

Additionally, she appeared in the 2022 TV movie "Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding."

Cassie was in a tumultuous relationship with Diddy for over a decade

Prior to her lawsuit, gossip news sites reported that Cassie and Combs maintained an on-again, off-again relationship. They reportedly started dating in 2007 and broke up in 2018.

Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit accused Combs of serious allegations, painting the music mogul as an extremely violent and angry ex-partner.

It details several instances when the music mogul physically and mentally abused Cassie, as well as used intimidation tactics to keep her in the relationship. Combs quickly settled the suit shortly after it was filed.

Combs has been accused of sexual assault, rape, drugging, and other forms of violence in more than 50 civil lawsuits. He was arrested in September following a grand jury indictment and has denied the charges against him and all other allegations of sex abuse.

Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial began on Monday. Cassie, the prosecution's key witness in the case, took the stand on Tuesday and Wednesday to testify against Combs.

Cassie married Alex Fine in 2019 and has three children

Following her split from Combs in 2018, Cassie began a relationship with Alex Fine, a professional bull rider, model, and personal trainer.

In June 2019, the singer revealed that she and Fine were expecting their first child together. The couple tied the knot in a small, surprise wedding in September of that year in Malibu, California. Their daughter, Frankie Stone, was born in early December.

Cassie and Fine welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Sunny Cinco, in March 2021.

In February 2025, Cassie revealed that she was pregnant with their third child, a son. While testifying Wednesday, Cassie's stylist, Deonte Nash, said he called Cassie to congratulate her on the birth of the baby, born Tuesday, about two weeks after Cassie testified against Combs.

Additional reporting by Laura Italiano.

Libby Torres contributed to an earlier version of this story.

• Prosecutors want to seal Sean Combs' "freak off" videos in sex-trafficking trial.
• Combs is accused of sex trafficking and racketeering, with Cassie Ventura as a key victim.
• The judge is hammering out resolutions for different legal issues before the trial in May.

Prosecutors want to make sure the public doesn't see the "freak off" videos made by Sean "Diddy" Combs, which they say they'll present as exhibits in his upcoming criminal sex-trafficking trial.

Even the audio from those videos shouldn't reach the ears of the public and the press, argued Assistant US Attorney Madison Smyser in a court conference on Friday.

"These are extremely sensitive videos, they are going to involve videos of 'freak offs,'" Smyser said. "They involve other parties, victims, and, in some videos, Mr. Combs."

Smyser said prosecutors and defense lawyers were working out a way so that only jurors would be able to see and hear the videos when they're presented in court.

The indictment, brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, accuses Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering.

The primary victim prosecutors identified is Cassie Ventura, who was in a romantic relationship with Combs for 10 years. According to prosecutors, Combs sexually abused Ventura through "freak offs," which they described as elaborate and lengthy sexual performances that Combs staged, masturbated during, and often recorded.

Prosecutors have identified another four accusers who are expected to testify as victims in the trial. The judge has also allowed one "propensity witness," a yet-identified former romantic partner who is set to testify by name about alleged prior abuse, but who is not considered a victim in the criminal charges. Some of the witnesses are also expected to include sex workers who were recruited for the "freak offs."

Combs was attentive during Friday's court conference, the penultimate one before jury selection begins on May 5.

The hip-hop artist wore khaki jail garb and what appeared to be laceless Vans slip-on shoes.

Before the start of the hearing, Combs hugged his three female attorneys and then shook hands with one of his male lawyers. Throughout the conference, he sipped water from an unusually small plastic cup on the defense table before him.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing Combs' criminal case, asked prosecutors to provide legal justifications for sealing the "freak off" videos, which would become court records if they were to be entered into evidence.

Prosecutors said they'd file a letter providing examples where similar procedures were followed in other cases. In R. Kelly's trial in Brooklyn, the court had jurors watch videos of sexual abuse on small screens in front of their jury seats while wearing earphones, while journalists and members of the public were kept out of the courtroom.

A victim's 'medical procedure'

During Friday's hearing, prosecutors also said they wanted an accuser to testify about a "medical procedure" that they said was a result of a "freak off."

Combs's defense attorneys argued that the procedure wasn't sufficiently related to the conduct described in the indictment, and that the accuser shouldn't be able to testify about the experience.

Submaranian ultimately concluded that he'd wait and see what else the victim would testify about before deciding if prosecutors could ask questions about the purported medical procedure.

The judge also issued a ruling narrowing the scope of what Dawn Hughes, an expert on interpersonal relationships, would be allowed to testify about. Hughes, who previously testified in the trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and is expected to testify in Harvey Weinstein's ongoing trial, is expected to testify on behalf of Combs. Combs's lawyers have said she would partly testify about the "swingers" lifestyle the singer participated in.

Subramanian previously resolved most of the other legal issues ahead of the trial, which is set to take place in the same lower Manhattan courtroom where Combs's jailmate Sam Bankman-Fried had his trial.

The judge allowed Combs's team to obtain drafts of Ventura's memoir for cross-examination, but did not allow them to obtain other notes, emails, or bank records they had requested.

Subramanian also forced Warner Bros. to give Combs' lawyers interview footage with two accusers taken for a Max documentary, "The Fall of Diddy." An attorney for Combs said in Friday's hearing that they expected to receive the footage next week.

The contents of Ventura's memoir have never been made public, and little information about it is known.

Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo discussed the memoir in a September court hearing, where he unsuccessfully asked a judge to allow Combs to stay out of jail ahead of the criminal trial.

Agnifilo said Combs and Ventura had a consensual, if complicated, 10-year relationship, and that she essentially tried to extort him with the memoir draft after it ended. In November 2023, Combs settled a civil sexual abuse lawsuit that Ventura brought against him.

"'My client has written a book, and she is going to publish it, but if you want to buy the rights, then you will have the exclusive rights, and she won't be able to publish it.'" Agnifilo said, characterizing an offer from one of Ventura's previous lawyers. "'And you know what, you can buy the rights for $30 million.'"

Later, Ventura retained a different lawyer and sued Combs under New York's Adult Survivors Act, alleging sexual abuse,

"'I am not really here to embarrass you anymore to the tune of $30 million; I am going to bring this civil sex claim against you,'" Agnifilo said, purportedly quoting Ventura's other attorney.

Agnifilo's arguments were not successful. Combs has been detained in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since September.