Diddy trial: Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard testifies

Singer Dawn Richard testifies Diddy threatened her life

Singer Dawn Richard testified Monday in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, saying she frequently saw Combs physically assault Cassie Ventura multiple times.

NEW YORK - Singer Dawn Richard testified Monday in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial, stating that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her if she told anyone she saw him physically abusing his longtime girlfriend.

The case continues to shed light on an allegedly dark and abusive relationship that lasted over a decade. Combs’ sex trafficking trial in Manhattan is expected to last about two months.

Dawn Richard testifies at Diddy trial

Richard testified that Combs made the threat the day after she witnessed the Bad Boy Records founder punch and kick Casandra "Cassie" Ventura after taking a swing at her with a skillet. Richard said he told her and another woman who saw the attack that "we could go missing" if they didn’t stay quiet.

What they're saying:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner asked Richard what she took "we could go missing" to mean.

"That we could die," Richard responded, saying she was shocked because all of this happened just as she was beginning to record with Diddy — Dirty Money, a musical trio with Combs and another R&B singer.

FILE - Side by side image of Dawn Richard and Sean "Diddy" Combs. (Getty Images)

Richard disclosed the alleged threat as she returned to the witness stand to kick off the second week of testimony in Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court.

Before day’s end, Cassie’s best friend of 17 years and a former personal assistant to Combs testified that she felt trapped as prosecutors tried to uncover proof that Combs was operating a criminal racketeering organization that relied on employees to help him control Cassie and other women in his life.

Who is Cassie?

The backstory:

Cassie is an R&B singer, model, dancer, and actress who broke into the industry in 2005. She met Combs then when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating and were in an on-and-off relationship from 2007 to 2018. 

Federal prosecutors accuse Combs of exploiting his status as a powerful music executive and entrepreneur to violently force Cassie and other women to take part in these encounters with sex workers, which he called "freak-offs."

Sex trafficking trial for Sean "Diddy" Combs resumes

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Combs denies all the allegations and has pleaded not guilty. Combs, 55, has been jailed since September. He faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

EARLIER: Diddy trial: Cassie testifies more about relationship, 2016 hotel attack

Cassie sued Combs in 2023, accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse. Within hours, the suit was settled for $20 million — a figure Cassie disclosed for the first time last week — but dozens of similar legal claims followed from other women.

In May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance video from 2016 showing Combs attacking Cassie — grabbing, punching and kicking her in a hallway. After the video surfaced, Combs issued a public apology, admitting to the incident.

The video will serve as a key piece of evidence in the trial. 

How long could ‘Diddy’ be behind bars if convicted? 

Dig deeper:

If convicted on all charges — which also include transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution — Combs faces a possible sentence of decades in prison.

Combs is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop, but his indictment further clouds his legacy. For some, it may change their relationship to his music.

Some experts believe the severity of the alleged crimes may tarnish his career moving forward.

"The chance to just be looked at strictly in musical terms, and that being the defining part of his legacy, is pretty much gone," said Peter A. Berry, a music journalist with work in XXL and Complex.

"You can’t look at Diddy’s music in a vacuum the same way you did before," he added.