Sean “Diddy” Combs viewed Cassie Ventura as “young” and “moldable” during their formative encounters, according to testimony from his former personal assistant in the ongoing federal sex trafficking trial. This revelation opens a troubling window into the power dynamics that allegedly defined their relationship from its earliest days.
David James, who served the Bad Boy Records founder from 2007 to 2009, takes the witness stand at the US District Court in Lower Manhattan, becoming the third prosecution witness in the high-profile case. His testimony peels back layers of the complex relationship structure surrounding the music mogul nearly two decades ago.
“I’ve got [Ventura] right where I want her, she’s young,” James recalls Combs saying after their first meeting in Miami. “He said she was very moldable,” the former assistant adds, his words hanging in the courtroom air like an unsettling confession.
Beyond these concerning characterizations, James paints a portrait of a man juggling multiple romantic entanglements. While Kim Porter—mother to four of Combs’ seven children—occupied the position of “main girlfriend,” James testifies that the mogul simultaneously maintained relationships with at least three other women: “Sarah,” “Tara,” and “Cassie.” Porter later passed away from pneumonia in 2018 at age 47.
Perhaps most revealing is a 2007 conversation James recounts having with Ventura during a trip to Combs’ exclusive Star Island property. After Ventura remarked on the “crazy” nature of her lifestyle, James posed the question many now wonder: why didn’t she leave? Her response illuminates the concerning level of dependency allegedly cultivated in their relationship: “I can’t get out. Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life.”
James’ testimony suggests this control extended beyond emotional manipulation into financial dominance. According to the former assistant, Combs controlled Ventura’s music career, paid for her apartment, and dispensed an “allowance”—creating a web of financial dependence that potentially complicated any thoughts of departure.
The testimony represents just one piece of a much larger legal puzzle. Combs, now 55, faces serious charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and fraud, with a minimum 15-year prison sentence if convicted. He remains in custody without bail as the trial unfolds.
As James prepares to continue his testimony when proceedings resume Tuesday morning, his revelations stand as troubling indicators of the power imbalances that can silently shape relationships within the entertainment industry—where professional opportunity, financial security, and personal autonomy can become dangerously entangled.
The case continues to illuminate not just alleged individual wrongdoing, but broader questions about power, control, and vulnerability in an industry where dreams and dependencies often share the same stage.
