The federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs concluded its third week Friday with dramatic testimony from a former employee who alleges years of abuse at his hands. Testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” the woman faced intense cross-examination from the defense, which questioned her decision to remain employed by Combs for nearly a decade despite the alleged mistreatment.
The prosecution has accused Combs and his inner circle of operating a criminal enterprise involving threats, violence, forced labor, drugs, bribery, arson, and coercion, particularly targeting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. While acknowledging that Combs may have engaged in violent behavior, the defense argues the allegations do not rise to the level of a racketeering conspiracy and has questioned the credibility and motives of those testifying.
On the witness stand Thursday, Mia detailed alleged physical and sexual abuse, emotional manipulation, and grueling work conditions during her tenure with Combs, which began in 2009 and ended in 2017. On Friday, defense attorney Brian Steel pressed Mia to explain why she remained at the job if the environment was as abusive as she described.
“In an abusive relationship, there’s a cycle of violence,” Mia testified. “I was young and manipulated and eager to survive. Nobody was there to say these things that were happening were wrong.” She emphasized the psychological toll of the experience, saying she now understands the abuse more clearly through therapy.
Steel repeatedly suggested Mia fabricated her sexual assault allegations, pointing to dozens of affectionate social media posts she had made over the years, praising Combs as her “mentor,” “inspiration,” and “legend.” In one instance, Mia reposted a birthday photo with the caption, “Love you, you’ve shown me the world,” despite claiming Combs had threatened her the night before.
Challenged about these inconsistencies, Mia explained that maintaining a positive public image was part of her role. “Social media is about showing how great your life is, even if it isn’t true,” she said. “The highs were high, and the goods were good. You just fought so hard to stay in that.”
Mia also described living in constant fear of Combs’ anger. “I was in fear any time Puff was not happy because I wanted to make sure that he was, because then I was safe,” she said.
Her testimony further revealed the psychological consequences of her employment. She said she now suffers from severe PTSD and is unable to maintain a job. “I would be triggered by really normal situations with an overwhelming sense of fear of being in trouble,” she told the court.
Steel also referenced a period in December 2016 when Mia became distraught upon learning her primary project, Revolt Films, was being shut down. She admitted to threatening suicide, not because she wanted to stay with her alleged abuser, but because she felt her career was finally taking off despite the abuse.
“I didn’t want to leave the company that I built,” she said. “In hindsight, fantastic. But at the time, it felt like the worst thing in the world.”
Mia said she ultimately sought legal representation in 2017 to negotiate unpaid severance and bonuses. She testified that the months-long negotiations resulted in a settlement of approximately $400,000, of which she received about half. Combs allegedly viewed the move as a betrayal.
Her relationship with Combs officially ended in the fall of 2016 after she was informed, not by Combs but by another executive, that her division would be shut down. Mia said she felt betrayed and cut off from the project she had helped build.
Mia also testified that after Ventura filed her lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, she received several messages from Combs and a security guard asking her to get in touch. She interpreted this as an attempt to ensure she wouldn’t speak out.
“I just didn’t want anything to do with him at all,” she said. “He was the person I was traumatized by.”
Mia is expected to resume her cross-examination on Monday as the high-profile trial continues in federal court.
Written By Rodney Mbua
