Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has return to court for another day as he faces a number of charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The disgraced rapper, 55, was arrested in September and strongly denies all allegations made against him. He has been in prison since his arrest, with a number of bail requests rejected.
Combs’ former partner of 10-years Cassie Ventura will again take to the stand, with the music mogul’s defence team starting their cross-examination.
Subramanian said that the prosecution and defence teams will need to resolve issues surrounding the cross-examination before the questioning gets underway. Meanwhile, defence attorney Anna Estevao believes the cross-examination could stretch into Friday.
On Wednesday, the jury were shown text messages between Combs and Cassie over the years. These included messages about Freak Offs and threats allegedly made by Combs.
Here, we are bringing you the live updates from the courtroom as the trial continues…
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A message from 2010 pointed at fractures in the relationship. In an email from April 2010, Cassie expressed disappointment that Combs wasn’t spending time with her.
The defence has asked Cassie to read out the emails and messages she exchanged with Combs early on in their relationship.
Estevao has shared emails that Combs and Cassie exchanged in the past.
In 2008, Cassie wrote: “I love you sooo much,” after Combs thanked her for flying to Atlanta to be with him.
In August 2009, Combs told her: “I love you sooooo much it makes me cry.” Cassie replied: “U hungry pop pop?”
Cassie testified that Pop Pop was a nickname she used for Combs, while he sometimes called her Baby Girl.
Defence lawyer Estevao showed messages said to be between Combs and Cassie in the early years of their relationship.
In one, Combs said: “I’m truly a lucky man.” Cassie replied: “I’m a very lucky woman… Love you so much.”
Defence lawyer Estevao has started Cassie’s cross-examination by asking questions about her relationship with Combs.
For the fourth day, Combs’ family members have arrived in court. His mother and children arrived together in a black van.
Thursday’s court session has started with Judge Arun Subramanian setting ground rules with the lawyers about evidence.
On day three, Cassie told the court she went for dinner with Diddy in August 2018, for what she thought was a “closure conversation”.
She was seeing her now-husband at the time and Diddy drover her home. Cassie told the court: “And then he raped me in my living room. I just remember crying and saying ‘no’, but it was very fast.”
She said she wasn’t sure if Diddy knew she was crying. Cassie claims she was voluntarily intimate with Diddy on one other occasion, but said the pair had a “few check-ins” since their relationship ended in 2018.
“Just checking in, sending love, nothing crazy,” she told the court.
Yesterday, Cassie burst into tears as she spoke about suicidal feelings when going to rehab for trauma therapy in February 2023.
She told the court that while shooting a music video with another artist, she had flashbacks and was also feeling suicidal.
She said: “I didn’t want to be alive anymore at that point. I couldn’t take the pain that I was in anymore, and so I just tried to walk out the front door into traffic and my husband would not let me.”
On Wednesday, the jury were shown text messages between Diddy and Cassie over the years. These included messages about Freak Offs and threats allegedly made by Diddy.
According to allegations Combs texted Ventura in 2019 saying: “If I as you, I would get me my money.”
It’s claimed he wanted to be reimbursed by his ex after she married Alex Fine. Combs had initially hired the personal trainer for Ventura.
The texts are said to have gone on: “YOU WILL NOT BE THREATENING ME,” before he added that Ventura had “too many iPads full of skeletons”.
It’s said Ventura replied: “Do you want me to tell the truth? It’s way deeper than iPads.”
Diddy’s former partner Cassie will be cross-examined today by his defence team.
Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the jury on Wednesday.
The internet is rife with chilling conspiracies and dubious true crime tales, but this latest one has TikTok in over their heads. Tom Holland gone “missing”, Beyoncé’s involvement and incorrect anagrams: welcome to the weird world behind the viral ‘Zendaya hat theory’.
Over the past month, social media has been overrun with false yet hilarious claims that Zendaya is hiding Tom Holland in her “big hat”, that Zendaya is part of the horror Babadook universe and that Zendaya herself is somehow in on the whole conspiracy. The first thing you need to know (if you haven’t guessed) is that it is absolute nonsense. But the true story lies in where it comes from and – more importantly – how it spread.
READ MORE: Met Gala theme ‘saved’ as Zendaya pays homage to two huge stars with her 2025 look
It all kicked off after the 2025 Met Gala. Zendaya showed up in one of the event’s most striking outfits: an all-white Dior suit, designed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton. But it was her white wide-brimmed hat that stole the show – and which triggered TikTok’s conspirators. See, it’s not the first time Zendaya has worn a statement hat. The last memorable time was in 2014. And, let’s just say, it was something.
The original hat in question was resurfaced on May 1 when TikTok user @thesnakebloxx posted a video of younger Zendaya to unsettling music (the clip has since gained 24.5 million views). An interviewer asks: “What’s your favourite song by [Beyoncé]?” and the Disney star makes a gagging expression. “That’s like an impossible question,” Zendaya replies. “It’s Beyoncé. I’m gonna have to go with everything .” The video then jumps to a blurry zoom-in of Zendaya in the hat.
The hat in question was first seen at the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party in 2014, one of Zendaya’s first major red carpet appearances – and one of her most memorable looks. She can be seen in a all-black suit with a, frankly, massive bowler hat on top of her head, which was a stark deviation from her more feminine looks.
A subsequent video by the same creator said: “Zendaya wore a big white hat to the MET gala. But what does this mean for the Zendaya theory? Her outfit was an exact opposite of the original black outfit.” They then showed Zendaya wearing a snake pin on the back of her suit jacket, claiming that this was a reference to their username: snakebloxx.
But what was the relevance of the Beyoncé clip? In 2020, a clip of Zendaya from 2015 being asked about Beyoncé was edited to make it look as though her smile glitched in an unsettling way, as reported by Vulture.
The creator finished their follow-up video by stating: “We know the truth and we’ll tell you now. But, first, what do you think it all means? We definitely know but we just want to see if you guys can guess.”
But at this point, TikTokers themselves had already taken the reins. And let’s just say, the conspiracies that have developed from the original video have been outlandish to say the least. And a bamboozling number revolve around Zendaya’s boyfriend and Marvel co-star Tom Holland.
“Tom is in the hat,” one user stated, to hundreds of upvotes. Another video, which has 2.9 million views, said: “Guys.. I have a theory, stay with me here. The hat is black… Black has five letters… Tom has three letters… Five take away three equals two. There are two ‘a’s in Zendaya…” The video continues in a nonsensical way until it comes back to “Tom and Zendaya being two people, minus…the hat .”
Despite being quite transparently made up, the commenters have been expressing genuine unsettlement over the videos. “BRO THIS IS ACTUALLY GETTING SCARY,” one user wrote. “I’m shaking is this real…”
101 East exclusive: Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim talks ASEAN, transnational crime, 1MDB, Najib and finding Jho Low.
Anwar Ibrahim came to power in Malaysia soon after ex-PM Najib Razak was jailed for his role in the $4.5bn 1MDB financial scandal.
He has faced criticism after a royal pardon slashed Najib’s sentence while alleged 1MDB mastermind, Jho Low, remains at large.
Anwar leads ASEAN this year as it confronts Donald Trump’s tariffs and rising transnational crime, including a cyber-scam industry in Cambodia worth billions of dollars.
Cooling blankets are an ideal way to fend off the heat this spring, providing a cost-effective solution to higher temperatures that keep you comfortable, even in the height of summer. Whether you want to curl up under a blanket in the afternoon, but don’t want to risk overheating, or you’re looking for a way to stay cosy at night that lets you fall asleep in a cool embrace, cooling blankets are sure to be your best friend through the warmer months.
Waving goodbye to the irritating noises made by fans and air purifiers, and bidding farewell to leaving windows open, cooling blankets are a great solution to keeping your temperature down, even when the heat outside is rising. And this luxury blanket on Amazon could be just the ticket, as it’s had its already budget-friendly price tag axed in a limited-time deal.
READ MORE: ‘I put Amazon’s top-selling Belissima Styler to the test and the results were completely unexpected’
READ MORE: Oodie’s new range of cooling blankets in fresh colours and patterns is ideal for mini-heatwave
Tottenham midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is facing “at least a few months” out with a knee injury, head coach Ange Postecoglou says.
Kulusevski became the latest Tottenham player to be ruled out of next Wednesday’s Europa League final against Manchester United after having an operation on his right knee.
The Sweden international, 25, had been forced off in the 19th minute of Spurs’ 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday.
“Yeah, gutted for Deki,” said Postecoglou before his side’s trip to Aston Villa on Friday.
“Disappointing news. Initially we thought it wasn’t too serious. The medical team were worried structurally about how the knee was but it blew up the day after and we knew there was an issue there.
“He has had surgery and it will put him out for at least a few months.
“I have only got basic information at the moment in terms of recovery, but it will certainly put him out for a while.”
Spurs are 17th in the Premier League table – one place above the relegation zone and one behind United in 16th.
Both sides have endured dismal league campaigns but could still qualify for next season’s Champions League with victory in Spain.