Sean Combs’s former girlfriend, who has said she was subjected to a pattern of degrading sex marathons with male escorts, was confronted by the defense on Wednesday with a stream of text messages surrounding those encounters.
The woman — who is testifying under the pseudonym Jane — is on her second day of cross-examination as Mr. Combs’s lawyers seek to portray her as a willing participant in the sex nights. Mr. Combs is facing charges of sex trafficking Jane and another former girlfriend, as well as racketeering conspiracy, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In one exchange in late 2021, a pornographic actor who was a regular participant in what the couple referred to as “debauchery” or “hotel nights” texted Jane to marvel that a recent encounter had been the “roughest sex we ever had.”
Jane responded that it was “def one for the books,” alongside a series of emojis, including what Jane described as a “mind-blown” emoji.
Prosecutors say Mr. Combs coerced Jane into these nights, and she has testified that they left her feeling disgusted, used and sometimes physically sick, saying that Mr. Combs tended to be dismissive when she voiced her aversion to them.
While questioning Jane, the defense highlighted messages from Mr. Combs in which he appeared to be solicitous about what she wanted to do sexually.
In a 2022 exchange with Mr. Combs, Jane said she wanted to “make love” to him alone, writing, “I haven’t selfishly had you to myself for five months.” She has testified that she only endured the sex with escorts in order to get alone time with him.
“I’m fine with the other stuff but I really just need you right now,” she wrote to him.
Mr. Combs responded, “Whatever you want.”
Jane has testified that she often read “undertones” of expectation in her boyfriend’s messages, leading her to be agreeable or try to cater to the kind of voyeuristic sex that he often requested.
“I know my partner and what he likes and what he wants,” she testified on Tuesday.
Mr. Combs’s lawyers have denied that he coerced Jane and Casandra Ventura, another former girlfriend who testified at the start of the trial, into sex. The defense has also asserted that members of Mr. Combs’s staff, including security guards and high-ranking employees, were members of lawful businesses — not a criminal conspiracy.
Under questioning from the prosecution, Jane has described the drug-fueled nights of sex as “performances” and said she continued to participate to please Mr. Combs and to secure time alone with the man she loved. But in 2023, the dynamic shifted when he began paying her $10,000-a-month rent in Los Angeles. She testified that Mr. Combs started to use the house as “leverage” for her to continue participating in sex with escorts.
She has also described a violent brawl with Mr. Combs in 2024, when he was under criminal investigation. She testified that afterward, when she had welts and a black eye from his blows, he demanded she perform oral sex on an escort despite her protests. She said she took the Ecstasy pill he gave her and complied.
Olivia Bensimon contributed reporting.
