Rapper Kid Cudi says his car was set on fire weeks after Sean 'Diddy' Combs broke into his home - World News
UPDATE: 1:20 p.m. Rapper Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Sean “Diddy” Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011 after finding out he was dating Combs' ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, and that someone set fire to his car weeks later.
Photo: The Canadian Press
Rapper Kid Cudi leaves Federal Court after testifying at the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025.
UPDATE: 1:20 p.m.
Rapper Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Sean “Diddy” Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011 after finding out he was dating Combs' ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, and that someone set fire to his car weeks later.
Speaking at Combs' federal sex trafficking trial in Manhattan, Cudi said that while he and Cassie briefly dated, he took her to a hotel to get her away from the seething Combs. While there, he said, he got a call from Combs’ assistant, Capricorn Clark, who told him Combs and an affiliate were in Cudi's house and that she had been forced to go with them.
Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, said he called Combs while driving home and asked why he was in his house. He said Combs calmly replied, “I want to talk to you.”
But Combs wasn’t there when he arrived, Cudi said. Instead, he found that someone had opened Christmas presents he’d bought for his family and locked his dog in a bathroom. Cudi said he wasn’t sure what was going on, so he called the police.
Cudi's car is set on fireA few weeks later, Cudi testified, his Porsche 911 convertible was destroyed by fire while parked in his driveway. Cudi said he was at a friend’s house when his dog-sitter called and told him his car was on fire. Jurors were shown photos of a hole that had been cut in the car’s fabric roof. A Molotov cocktail was found on the passenger seat, Cudi said.
Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified last week that Combs had threatened to blow up Cudi’s car and hurt him after he learned she was dating the Grammy Award-winning rapper, who is known for his alternative hip-hop style.
Cudi told jurors that Combs denied involvement in the car fire when they met to try to smooth things over the next day at a Los Angeles hotel. He said he sought the meeting because “after the fire, I said this is getting out of hand. I need to talk to him.”
Cudi said he didn’t have conflicts at the time with anyone other than Combs.
“I knew he had something to do with it,” Cudi said, leading Combs’ lawyers to object. Jurors were told to disregard the remark.
Combs denies involvement in the blazeAt the end of the meeting, as they stood and shook hands, Cudi said he asked Combs: “What are we going to do about my car?” Cudi said Combs gave him a “very cold stare” and responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cudi said he was annoyed by Combs’ answer but let it go, and there were no more episodes at his house.
A few years later, Combs apologized “for everything” when they ran into each other at a hotel, Cudi testified.
Combs seemed subdued as Cudi testified. Although he looked toward the witness stand, neither man seemed to react to the other. Cudi didn’t look at Combs when he left the stand. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, Cudi arrived at the courthouse smoking a cigarette while someone held an umbrella over him in the rain. He didn’t stop to speak to reporters while leaving.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He denies using threats or his music industry clout to abuse women and others, and denies forcing Cassie or anyone else to take part in drug-fuelled sexual performances called freak-offs.
Combs' lawyer says Cassie was living ‘double life’During the defence cross-examination of Cudi, Combs' lawyer Brian Steel painted Cassie as the villain in her relationships with Combs and Cudi, suggesting she had played both of them and had been living a “double life.”
Cudi testified that when he started dating Cassie in late 2011, she led him to believe she and Combs had broken up.
In reality, Cassie testified earlier, she was still seeing Combs for freak-offs and using a burner phone to contact Cudi and keep their relationship secret from Combs.
“Ms. Ventura was living two different lives, is that true?” Steel asked.
“Yes,” Cudi replied.
Cudi said he was upset to find out she later decided to go back to Combs.
The federal investigation of Combs began in November 2023, a day after Cassie sued him alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. The lawsuit was settled by Combs for $20 million the next day.
Jury hears more allegations that Combs abused CassieIn four days of testimony last week, Cassie said Combs physically abused her during most of their relationship from 2007 through 2018.
She said she ended her relationship with Cudi in late 2011 after only a few weeks because Combs learned about it.
George Kaplan, Combs' personal assistant from 2013 to 2015, testified earlier Thursday that he saw Combs be violent with Cassie once, on a 2015 trip to Las Vegas on Combs' private jet. He said no one helped her as she screamed: “Isn't anybody seeing this?” Kaplan said he didn't intervene because he feared losing his dream job, but quit after that attack and a later episode in which he saw Cassie with a bruised eye.
After Cudi, jurors heard from makeup artist Mylah Morales, who’s worked for Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and other stars. She said Combs stormed into Cassie's bedroom at a hotel on the weekend of the 2010 Grammy Awards. Combs shut the door, and she heard “yelling and screaming." Then she saw Cassie with a “swollen eye and a busted lip, and knots on her head.”
Later, the general manager of the ritzy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel testified that Combs frequently stayed there using aliases such as Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie said he used when checking in for freak-offs.
Frédéric Zemmour said Combs’ guest profile noted he “ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.” The profile instructed staff to “place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”
The trial is set to resume Tuesday.
ORIGINAL: 6:05 a.m.
Rapper Kid Cudi is set to testify Thursday at the New York sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. He follows a former aide to the music mogul who told the jury about the threatening world he said Combs created for his inner circle.
Prosecutors allege that Combs, a three-time Grammy winner, used his fame and fortune to create a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and beatings. Combs' lawyers argue that all the sexual acts were consensual, and although he could be violent, he never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering.
Kid Cudi is expected to testify about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs’ ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. She spent four emotional days on the witness stand responding to questions about the most disturbing secrets of her sex life, and describing being beaten and raped by a man she once loved.
What is Kid Cudi’s involvement with Combs and Cassie?
Last week, Cassie testified that Combs arranged for her to meet Cudi in 2011 to work on music. The two began dating soon after, and she said she got a burner phone to communicate with Cudi in secret.
Cassie said she and Combs had broken up at the time, although they still engaged in sex parties that Combs orchestrated. It was during one of these that Combs looked at her phone and learned of the Cudi relationship, Cassie testified.
In response, she said he lunged at her with a corkscrew and kicked her in the back.
When Cassie and Combs were out of the country in 2012, Combs told her that Cudi’s car would be blown up and Combs wanted Cudi’s friends there to see it, Cassie testified.
On Tuesday, Cassie’s mother, Regina Ventura, testified that Cassie told her Combs was so angry about her relationship with Cudi that he planned to release sexually explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt Cassie and Cudi.
Who is Kid Cudi?
The Cleveland born-and-raised, skinny-jean wearing, Grammy Award-winning rapper has long been celebrated for his alternative hip-hop, emotional music that effortlessly weaves genres together in surprising ways.
Cudi began as something of a protégé of Kanye West, when the then-uncontroversial rapper signed Cudi to his G.O.O.D. Music label in 2008. Cudi left in 2013.
He is featured on Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” and West’s landmark “808s & Heartbreak.” Cudi has always had an eye and ear toward innovation. In 2022, his album “Entergalactic” was released alongside a Netflix adult-animated romantic comedy of the same name, which he told The Associated Press allowed him to “explore the abstract.”
Kid Cudi expected to take the stand
Cudi’s turn on the witness stand will come immediately after George Kaplan, a former personal assistant to Combs, finishes his testimony. A prosecutor said testimony by Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, was not expected to be lengthy.
Cassie testified last week that Combs threatened to blow up Cudi’s car and hurt him after he learned she was dating the rapper and actor.
Cudi is to follow Kaplan to the witness stand after the personal assistant to Combs from 2013 to 2015 finishes telling about what he experienced during 80- to 100-hour work weeks.
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