Kid Cudi was called as a witness in Diddy’s federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in New York on Thursday. While on the stand, Cudi was asked about his and Cassie’s brief relationship, which he said ultimately came to a close due to alleged harassment from Diddy and related “drama.”
Per reporting from Complex’s Shawn Setaro, Cudi said during his questioning by prosecutor Emily Johnson that he and Cassie first met in 2008 but didn’t date until 2011. Cudi, who last week released his new song “Neverland” and is soon to roll out his memoir, went on to recount an alleged break-in at his home and harm inflicted on his dog amid his and Cassie’s relationship.
Expectedly, an alleged Molotov cocktail-started fire that damaged a Porsche owned by Cudi was also discussed, as was a meeting at Soho House in Hollywood during which, in Cudi’s words, Diddy looked like “a Marvel supervillain.”
During cross-examination, Brian Steel, an attorney for Diddy whose name should be familiar to frequent Complex readers, argued that Cassie had not been “frank” and had instead “played” Cudi during their time together. Cudi offered a “yes” in agreement with this assessment, later saying that he and Cassie first discussed her relationship with Diddy around Thanksgiving of 2010. According to Cudi, Cassie did inform him at one point of Diddy’s alleged physical abuse; alleged sexual abuse, however, was not discussed by the two.
Steel also tried to paint Cassie as someone who “played” both Cudi and Diddy. Cudi replied “true” when Steel asked if he believed “Ms. Ventura was living two different lives.” This is in line with the approach Diddy’s legal team took during their cross-examination of Cassie earlier into the trial.
Last week, Anna Estevao, another attorney for Diddy, had Cassie read through numerous text messages, many about the “freak-offs” that she and prosecutors have argued were often facilitated through various forms of coercion. Diddy, meanwhile, has denied the allegations against him in the case, which first kicked into motion upon his arrest last September. If convicted as charged, he faces the possibility of life behind bars, though that maximum sentence, regardless of the outcome, isn’t widely believed to be likely.
