This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.
Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money member Dawn Richard has returned to the witness stand to continue her testimony from last week in the trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Dawn Richard testified that, before a festival in Central Park in 2009 when Diddy – Dirty Money announced their formation, she and fellow member Kaleena Harper, along with Cassie Ventura, were in Combs’ apartment getting ready.
“Puff and Cassie were in the hallway arguing. He punched her in the face. Sean Combs punched her in the face,” Richard testified. It was the latest in a number of times that Richard told the jury that she witnessed Combs physically injure Ventura.
This alleged assault “was a closed fist,” Richard testified.
Richard told the court that Ventura “came into the bathroom crying” and said Ventura’s “eye was swelling.” Richard testified that Ventura “started doing her makeup” to, Richard said, try to hide the injury.
The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Harper and Ventura at the festival wearing sunglasses.
“Why were you wearing sunglasses?” prosecutor Mitzi Steiner asked.
“To have solidarity. To be a friend. To be a support system for someone who needed it,” Richard answered, adding she advised Ventura to leave Combs.
“He didn’t like it when Kaleena and I would talk to Cass,” Richard testified, adding that Combs would allegedly tell them to “stay the f*** out of my relationship.”
Richard also testified that she felt threatened by Combs, telling the jury, “It was always, or else something bad was going to happen to you if you didn’t stay in line.” She told the court that an associate of Combs’ allegedly told her “It is dark and lonely” if she failed to listen to Combs.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard’s account of his alleged assault on Ventura changed several times.
Westmoreland also challenged a statement Richard had attributed to Combs following the alleged assault on Ventura.
“He said that she was OK and that it would be in our best interests if we didn’t say anything. He was trying to take us to the top, and that, where he comes from, people go missing if they say things like that, like, if people talk,” Richard testified.
“You didn’t tell the federal government that Mr. Combs told you ‘people go missing,’” Westmoreland said, citing several interviews Richard conducted with federal prosecutors.
Richard responded that she “spoke as best as she could remember.”
Richard also testified that she saw Combs carrying guns several times at the studio or “sometimes the club.”
“You never saw Mr. Combs pull a gun out and wave it around, right?” Westmoreland asked.
“No,” Richard answered.
“You never saw Mr. Combs pull a gun out and cock it back or anything like that?” Westmoreland asked.
“No,” Richard responded.
“Matter of fact, you’ve never seen Mr. Combs pull a gun out, period,” Westmoreland said.
“Just had it on him,” Richard testified.
Tune in to Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy twice weekly for real-time updates on the trial.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
