Kid Cudi says his DOG was traumatized by Molotov cocktail car explosion after Diddy threats

The loudest laughs of the trial so far came with the jury out of the room on Thursday when lawyers discussed the behavior of a dog at Kid Cudi’s residence after a break-in occurred there.

At one point, Judge Arun Subramanian asked about anticipated testimony by the rapper, saying: 'He’s not going to testify about what the dog thought?'

Loud laughs echoed through the courtroom each time lawyers or the judge mentioned the dog afterward, including when the judge said 'I agree it’s a serious issue' and when Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson noted that 'unfortunately the dog is no longer with us.'

The serious legal point that inspired the discussion was whether claims that the dog wasn’t the same after the break-in are prejudicial and should be excluded from testimony.

Cudi did end up testifying from the stand that the dog became 'Very jittery and kind of on edge all the time' after the bombing incident.

To hear all the explosive testimony from singer Cassie Ventura and the other witnesses in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial, tune in to Daily Mail's hit podcast The Trial.

From sworn testimony to video evidence and the rapper's every subtle move, our team of journalists take you inside the courtroom of the world's biggest celebrity case.

Daily Mail has been following Diddy's downfall from the very beginning. Join us as we hear from experts involved in the case, and members of the rapper's inside circle.

On Tuesday, prosecutors say they’ll call Capricorn Clark, who was an assistant to Combs and a member of his marketing team.

They said they also expect to call witnesses from the Los Angeles police and fire departments.

Williams previously claimed that she was fired from popular New York City radio show Hot 97 in 1998 after sharing her belief that Combs was gay.

She supposedly claimed to have a photo of Diddy being intimate with a man.

She also made scandalous remark about the percentage of gay entertainers during a Hot 97 segment addressing the allegations that then-basketball star Eddy Curry had made sexual advances at his male driver.

Williams, during the broadcast, cited her 'inside' experience in the entertainment industry as evidence to support self-proclaimed statistics for the percentage of rappers and pro-athletes who were gay.

She claimed that 'two out of ten' players and 'five out of ten in music' were gay.

Once one of the most powerful music moguls in the world, Sean 'Diddy' Combs is now relying on a $10 million team of legal heavyweights to rescue his ruined reputation as his sex trafficking trial rolls on for another six weeks.

The defiant Grammy Award winning rapper is used to commanding a crowd - but he has been sitting silently on the defense benches while eight key defense attorneys take center stage during the blockbuster case in Manhattan federal court.

His leading lawyers are Marc Agnifilo, 60, a former Manhattan District Attorney who has tried more than 200 cases during his 30-year career, and millennial 'nepo baby' defender Teny Geragos, 34, who has been using TikTok to argue Diddy's case.

Diddy is charged with racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors claim Diddy coerced victims into drug-fueled sex parties using sex and violence. The rapper has denied all accusations, saying all sex acts were consensual.

As the 55-year-old music mogul faces at least another six weeks of grilling, the Daily Mail unpacks the drama which has unfolded in the Manhattan federal courtroom so far.

Incendiary images shown in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial reveal the disgraced rap mogul was preparing for a hotel 'freak off' despite knowing he was about to be arrested, prosecutors say.

The shocking images were to jurors as Diddy's ex-girlfriend Cassie testified at his federal trial on Monday - after she previously alleged how she was coerced into a life of manipulation and abuse.

On Monday, prosecutors brought up a set of images taken by law enforcement when Diddy was arrested at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan in September 2024.

Cassie Ventura and Sean 'Diddy' Combs looked like the perfect couple on the red carpet throughout their 11-year relationship.

But underneath the singer's glamorous appearance were bruises and scars allegedly caused by the rapper's horrific abuse.

Ventura, 38, testified over four days during Comb's sex trafficking trial that she was subjected to years of abuse and drug-fueled sex marathons known as 'freak-offs'.

Kid Cudi testified that his Porsche 911 convertible was destroyed by fire in the driveway of his Hollywood Hills home after Diddy threatened him in 2012.

Cudi said he was about 45 minutes away at a friend’s house when his dog sitter called and 'told me my car was on fire.'

Pictures shown to the jury showed a hole cut in the fabric roof and a Molotov cocktail was found in the passenger seat.

Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury on Thursday that the had earned a four-day weekend, ahead of Memorial Day on Monday.

He instructed them not to speak to anybody about the case.

'This is an immense public service, we are right on schedule,' he said,

'Enjoy the long weekend, you all really deserve it.'

Croft is testifying about how electronic evidence was extracted from Cassie's devices - three laptops.

Frédéric Zemmour, the general manager of the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel, is testifying after Morales.

He testified that Diddy frequently stayed at the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills using aliases such as Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie said he used when checking in for 'freak-off' sexual encounters.

Zemmour said Combs’ guest profile noted that 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.”

'Please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages,' Combs’ guest profile said.

Cassie's former make-up testified that Diddy brutally assaulted the singer at the Beverly Hills hotel the same weekend that a Prince party was happening.

Mylah Morales, pictured below, said an enraged Diddy entered the hotel suite and shut the bedroom door before she started hearing 'yelling and screaming.'

Cassie then emerged from the room with 'a swollen eye, a busted lip and knots on her head.'

Cassie previously testified that she fled a party at Prince's house because she was scared that Diddy would be there.

'It was a once in a lifetime experience,' Cassie said of wanting to attend the party, adding that she 'knew [Diddy] would say no.'

'I caught a glimpse of him, left the party and ran out as fast as I could,' Cassie told the court. 'I knew he was angry at me.'

Cassie added: 'and then he came after me.'

Diddy and Cassie's former makeup artist told the courts of the first time she saw Cassie beaten and bruised over the Grammys weekend in 2010.

'We did a photo shoot, went to dinner, then went to Cassie’s hotel, just the two of us. Beverly Hills Hotel,' she told jurors.

She claimed she was a light sleeper and woke up to a bit of 'commotion.'

'Diddy came in immediately after and asked where [Cassie] was.

[He said] Where the fuck is she.'

After storming out of Cassie's bedroom, Morales tesitifed that the singer 'had a swollen eye, a busted lip and knots on her head.'

Diddy and Cassie's former makeup artist Mylah Morales is taking the stand next.

Morales has previously worked with the likes of Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez on photo shoots and red carpets.

She met Cassie on a photoshoot in Brooklyn when the singer was just 16 years old.

'We were close. She was like a little sister to me,' Morales told the court.

Cudi testified that when he started dating Cassie in late 2011, she’d led him to believe that she and Combs were broken up.

In reality, she testified, she was still seeing Combs for so-called 'freak-off' sex marathons and using a burner phone to contact Cudi and keep their relationship secret from Combs.

'She told me they were broken up and I took her word for it,' Cudi said, recalling for jurors what he told Combs when they met to clear the air in January 2012.

'Ms. Ventura was living two different lives, is that true?' Steel asked.

'Yes,' Cudi replied.

As Diddy's lawyer cross-examined Kid Cudi, the rapper said he felt 'played' by Cassie.

'Yes,' he replied when asked if 'Cassie played him.'

Cudi said Cassie was not honest with him about her relationship with Diddy, which he thought was over.

He said he was upset to find out Cassie went back to dating Diddy after their romance.

When asked if both Diddy and himself were 'played' by Cassie, Cudi replied: 'Yes.'

Kid Cudi said on the stant that 'he knew [Diddy] had something to do' with his car blowing up.

Diddy's lawyers objected to the comment, and the judge sustained the objection.

The rapper said he reached out to Diddy a couple days after his car blew up because things 'were getting out of hand.'

Cudi and Diddy then met at Soho House in Hollywood.

'He was standing there staring out the window with his hands behind his back like a Marvel Supervillain,' Cudi said of Diddy.

Cudi added that Diddy's calm demeanor as they discussed his relationship with Cassie was 'very off putting.'

Cassie eventually joined the meeting, Cudi added.

When asked how the meeting ended, he said:

'We stood up, shook hands. As I was shaking his hand I said, what are we going to do about my car. I asked him when our hands were clasped together…he looked back at me with a cold stare and said, "I don’t know what you're talking about."

The rapper told the court that in January 2012, after his relationship with Cassie had ended, he learned that his Porsche had been set on fire in his driveaway when he was not home.

'My dog’s babysitter called me in the morning... Told me my car was on fire,' he said.

The jury was then shown pictures of the burned-down vehicle in Cudi's driveway.

'Looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open, that’s where they inserted the molotov cocktail,' Cudi said of one of the images shown to the jury.

Another image showed what appeared to be the molotov cocktail used in the arson.

Cudi told the jury on Thursday about receiving a call from Diddy's assistant Capricorn Clark before his home was burglarized.

'[She was] very scared. Sounded like she was on the verge of tears. [She said] that Sean Combs and affiliate were in my house and she was in her car. She was forced to go along with them over there.

Clark reportedly made the call from outside Cudi's mansion.

The jury was then shown images of the rapper's home after it was burglarized, showing the front door.

Cudi said he then drove to his home and called Diddy on the way.

'I said mottherf***er you in my house. He’s like, "what's up."

Diddy, in a calm tone, reportedly told Cudi that he was waiting for him at the house.

Cudi said he asked Combs why he was in the house. He said Combs calmly replied, 'I want to talk to you.'

Describing the damage done to his home, Cudi added: 'some gifts I’d bought for my family were opened.

'Some stuff I got from Chanel. My dog was locked up in my bathroom. Gifts were on the kitchen counter. I can’t remenber what but it was stuff from Chanel.'

Kid Cudi told the jury that in 2011 he received a call from a panicked Cassie who claimed Diddy had found out about their romance.

'She asked me to pick her up,' the rapper said. 'She sounded really stressed, nervous, scared so I went to pick her up.'

'She was also worried he would come to my house because he asked for my address and she gave it to him,' Cudi added.

'[She] didn’t know what Sean Combs would do.'

Cudi said he then took Cassie to the Sunset Marquis hotel in LA, saying he 'wanted to put her somewhere off the radar. Safe, away from him.'

The rapper, wearing a leather jacket, jeans and white T-shirt, entered the courtroom around 10.45am.

He sat down in the witness stand, stood to be sworn in and then sat down to begin his testimony.

He identified himself as Scott Mescudi - an actor and musician - and noted he’s known by another name: Kid Cudi.

The star told the jury he met Cassie in 2008 at an event in New York and they dated in 2011.

Cudi said at the time, he understood that '[Cassie] and Sean Combs had had some problems and they were not dating anymore.'

Last week, another of Diddy's former assistants took the stand for the prosecution.

David James, Combs’ personal assistant from 2007 to 2009, testified that the job seemed to have increasing perils. He said he quit when he realized Combs had put his life in danger by forcing him to drive a car as the angry rapper sat in the back with three handguns on his lap.

James said his job sometimes required him to ensure that hotel rooms where Combs stayed under the name 'Frank Black' were stocked with the musician’s comforts, including fresh underwear, an iPod, apple sauce, vodka, baby oil, Viagra and condoms.

George Kaplan revealed that May 21, the birthday of Combs’ late protege Biggie Smalls, is a paid holiday at Combs Enterprises.

Smalls, who was also known as The Notorious B.I.G., signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records label in 1993.

The rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was fatally shot in Los Angeles in 1997.

Diddy's former assistant George Kaplan told jurors that his tenure with Combs has 'proven to be one of the most complicated pieces of my life.'

'I’m a young man and this is a God among men talking to me,' said Kaplan, who served as an assistant for Combs and his Combs Enterprises company from 2013 to 2015.

'He not only pushed me to my depth he pushed me to depths I didn’t even know I had,' Kaplan said, explaining he 'never worked harder in my life.'

Despite leaving the job after seeing Combs abusing Cassie, he said he still thinks fondly of many aspects of their work together and wishes the hip-hop mogul well on his birthday — blurting 'Nov. 4,' unprompted.

Newly released images from a raid on Diddy's Miami mansion appear to show how the music mogul's normally jet-black hair is a dye job.

A box of 'Just for Men' black hair dye was among a cache of guns, drugs and 'freak off' paraphernalia found in the rapper's mansion when it was raided by agents in March 2024.

Before his arrest months later, Diddy, 55, had always sported a more youthful jet-black hair and beard despite his advancing age.

Diddy nodded along during cross-examination as George Kaplan praised him for teaching him work ethic.

'Mr Combs is a business mogul across numerous industries,' Kaplan said when asked why he liked to work for Diddy.

'I’d been a fan of his since I was a child and to be frank keep lessons from him to this day from a business perspective. He taught me to have the work ethic…no job is too big or too small.

'When I interview young people none of these people understand that and I’m very grateful for these lessons.'

Diddy's ex assistant George Kaplan told the jury about a time he witnessed the mogul attacking one of his girlfriends, Gina Huyhn.

Mr Combs was very angry and was throwing these apples that lived in a decorative vessel in an entryway. [Throwing them] at Gina. Hard. He was very angry

'(Gina) was trying to shield herself with her arms, moving away from him. I left.'

When asked why he did not intervene, Kaplan replied: 'All the same reasons as before, a young kid trying to make it in the entertainment industry.

'This was my first professional endeavour and I thought this was normal and this is what I could expect if I wanted a career in this industry.'

Kaplan said shortly after the incident he quit his job and moved bacjk in with his mother.

He said he 'I liked Mr Combs and wanted to continue having a relationship with him.'

Kid Cudi was met by US marshals and Homeland Security agents who escorted him into the courthouse on this rainy morning in New York City.

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.

Diddy's former assistant George Kaplan told the court on Thursday he witnessed the mogul assaulting Cassie on his private jet in 2015.

I heard a glass break, behind me... It was a glass crash, shatter. I looked over my right shoulder and saw Mr Combs standing over Cassie.

She was on her back and her legs were extended up that indicated she was tyring to create space between the two of them. He was standing above her. He had a glass in his hand and he was holding it up. It was a whiskey rocks glass.

There was tremendous commotion and scuffle and after the glass crashed Cassie screamed: ‘Isn’t anybody seeing this?’

Kaplan told the jury no one aboard the private jet intervened.

When asked what he did, he replied: 'Nothing. I looked away.

'I was 23 years old, all I wanted to do was have a great job in the entertainment industry. I couldn’t believe my fortune working for an icon...

'The last way I thought I would be successful was to compromise his wellbeing in any way.'

Judge Arun Subramanian ruled on Thursday that Kid Cudi can tell the jury about an incident of arson after he was threatened by Diddy over his romance with Cassie.

Cassie previously testified that Diddy threatened to hurt her and Cudi after he learned they were dating.

Cassie said she began a brief relationship with Kid Cudi 'during a rough patch' with Diddy.

She claimed Diddy went through her phone and found emails between her and the American rapper and became enraged.

Diddy allegedly placed a manual corkscrew in between his fingers and lunged at her, according to the lawsuit and she ran away to stay with Kid Cudi, according to the suit.

Cassie later returned and the music executive allegedly hit her several times, and then kicked her in the back as she tried to run out the door, the filing claims.

During Paris Fashion Week, she claims Diddy told her he was going to blow up Kid Cudi's car and that he wanted to make sure he was home with his friends when it happened.

'Around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,' the lawsuit stated.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are discussing the upcoming testimony of Diddy's former assistant George Kaplan.

Diddy's defense said on Thursday they expect Kaplan to say he witnessed Diddy being violent to his ex-girlfriend Gina Huyhn in 2015.

Lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked the judge to not allow that part of the testimony, saying: 'He’s going to say he saw Mr Combs throwing apples at Gina and wasn’t sure if any of the apples struck her.... That, without a date, is a far cry.'

Gina Huynh, who says she dated the 54-year-old music executive for five years, described in a resurfaced interview from 2019 a time at which he allegedly became violent with her.

The model told the controversial blogger Tasha K that he allegedly 'stomped' on her stomach and repeatedly punched her in the head during one disturbing encounter.

Prosecutors said they will next call Kid Cudi to the stand after she claimed Diddy threatened him when the two were dating.

Cassie's former make-up artist Mylah Morales is supposed to take the stand after Cudi, and she will be followed by a 'hotel witness.'

Former Combs Enterprises CFO, music executive Tony Abrahams, is also expected to testify for the prosecution.

The music mogul's staggering downfall began when Cassie, real name Cassandra Ventura, filed a bombshell lawsuit in 2023 detailing terrifying claims of sexual abuse and violence.

The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount just a day after it was filed, but it was too late for Diddy's reputation, and the rapper was then hit with dozens of lawsuits including similar claims.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is currently in the fight of his life in federal court as he stares down the prospect of decades behind bars.

The disgraced rap mogul, 55, has been charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering.

According to prosecutors, the rapper used his 'multi-faceted business empire' to carry out a 'criminal enterprise' for years, allegedly coercing victims into sexual 'freak off' marathons and threatening them into silence.

The racketeering and sex trafficking charges carry a minimum sentence of 15 years each, while transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum of 10 years behind bars.

Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to testify at the Diddy trial this week, taking the witness stand to tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with the mogul's ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie.

Prosecutors say Combs was so upset about the relationship that he arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed, according to court filings.

Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, won’t be called to the stand before Thursday, prosecutors informed the judge on Wednesday.

George Kaplan is expected to continue his testimony on Thursday.

He invoked the fifth amendment on Wednesday in court, asking for immunity before testifying in Diddy's sex trafficking trial.

The former employee told the court Diddy often threatened his job and became enraged over minor issues.

One time, the mogul allegedly became angry and got in Kaplan's face because he had bought him the wrong kind of bottled water.

First week on the job and he asked me to go to Whole Foods to get a BPA free gallon water bottle. They didn’t have it and I didn’t want to be late.

I got two half-gallon bottles and that was insufficient. He told me I did not bring him what he asked for. He was angry. He was very close to my face.

Kaplan said he was in charge of setting up Diddy's hotel rooms in LA, New York and Miami.

He said 'a hotel bag that had seemingly what was needed for hotel stays.'

The bag contained clothes, a speaker, candles, liquor, baby oil and astroglide.

When Diddy was done with the hotel rooms, Kaplan said it was his job to clean them up.

Kaplan said there would be 'Lots of empty bottles, gatorade bottles, liquor bottles, often baby oil, on the table, on the floor, around the bed.'

Former talk show host and radio star Wendy Williams claimed in the past that she was fired from Hot 97 in 1998 after she shared her belief that Diddy was gay.

Williams had supposedly said she had a photo of Diddy being intimate with a man.

The mogul's former security guard Gene Deal seemed to confirm the claim in 2022.

'[Diddy] got one of the hottest DJs off Hot 97 because she wanted to put up a picture of him getting his pants pulled down,' Deal said, according to Vibe.

Wendy went on to become a superstar talkshot host, but famously continued sharing claims about Diddy.