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Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shows up to support Sean "Diddy" Combs at trial

Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shows up to support Sean "Diddy" Combs at trial
Diddy Combs' lawyer spent Monday challenging *** former personal assistant to the hip hop mogul, *** woman by the name of Mia, who has been testifying for 3 days at Combs' sex trafficking trial. Now Mia alleges that Combs was violent toward her throughout her 8-year tenure, and she accuses him of sexually assaulting her on several occasions, including *** rape in 2010. Now Combs' lawyer Brian Steele went through dozens and dozens of text messages and social media posts in which Mia spoke fondly about Combs and shared warm memories of him. She testified that she sent those messages even after she stopped working for Combs in 2017 because she was still brainwashed. She says she was brainwashed by his power and the violence and control that she endured throughout her tenure from 2009 to 2017. Combs' lawyer Brian Steel suggesting at one point that perhaps Mia made up the sexual assault allegations against Combs so that she can get involved in what he characterized as *** me too money grab. Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and while his defense lawyers have made. Attempts to undercut the allegations against him. This is still very much the prosecution's side of the case. They are continuing to call witnesses, including former employees, including people who have dealt with combs at hotels and other venues. At some point, perhaps in 2 or 3 weeks, defense lawyers will get their turn to call witnesses of their own.
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Updated: 12:18 PM CDT Jun 13, 2025
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Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shows up to support Sean "Diddy" Combs at trial
AP logo
Updated: 12:18 PM CDT Jun 13, 2025
Editorial Standards
Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, came to the New York sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday to support the hip-hop mogul, a longtime friend.Ye, dressed in white, arrived at Manhattan federal court before noon while the trial was on a break.Asked if he was at the courthouse to support Combs, he responded "yes" and nodded. He then hustled to an elevator and did not appear to respond when a reporter asked if he might testify on Combs' behalf when the defense begins presenting its case as early as next week.Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges alleging that he used his fame, fortune and violence to commit crimes over a 20-year period.Ye's appearance at the courthouse came a day after a woman identified in court only by the pseudonym "Jane" finished six days of testimony.She testified that during a relationship with Combs that stretched from 2021 until his arrest last September at a Manhattan hotel, she felt coerced into having sex with male sex workers while Combs watched.Defense attorneys have argued that Combs committed no crimes and that federal prosecutors were trying to police consensual sex that occurred between adults.On Thursday, Jane testified that during a three-month break in her relationship with Combs, she flew to Las Vegas in January 2023 with a famous rapper who was close friends with Combs.Once in Las Vegas, Jane testified, she went with a group including the rapper to dinner, a strip club and a hotel room party, where a sex worker had sex with a woman while a half-dozen others watched.Prior to Jane's testimony on the subject, lawyers and the judge conducted a lengthy hearing out of public view to discuss what could be divulged about the January trip.Jane was asked if the rapper she accompanied along with the rapper's girlfriend was "an individual at the top of the music industry as well ... an icon in the music industry.""Yes," Jane replied.She said there was dancing and the rapper said, "Hey beautiful," and told her he'd always wanted to have sex with her in crude terms. Jane said she didn't recall exactly when, but she flashed her breasts while dancing.

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, came to the New York sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday to support the hip-hop mogul, a longtime friend.

Ye, dressed in white, arrived at Manhattan federal court before noon while the trial was on a break.

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Asked if he was at the courthouse to support Combs, he responded "yes" and nodded. He then hustled to an elevator and did not appear to respond when a reporter asked if he might testify on Combs' behalf when the defense begins presenting its case as early as next week.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges alleging that he used his fame, fortune and violence to commit crimes over a 20-year period.

Ye's appearance at the courthouse came a day after a woman identified in court only by the pseudonym "Jane" finished six days of testimony.

She testified that during a relationship with Combs that stretched from 2021 until his arrest last September at a Manhattan hotel, she felt coerced into having sex with male sex workers while Combs watched.

Defense attorneys have argued that Combs committed no crimes and that federal prosecutors were trying to police consensual sex that occurred between adults.

On Thursday, Jane testified that during a three-month break in her relationship with Combs, she flew to Las Vegas in January 2023 with a famous rapper who was close friends with Combs.

Once in Las Vegas, Jane testified, she went with a group including the rapper to dinner, a strip club and a hotel room party, where a sex worker had sex with a woman while a half-dozen others watched.

Prior to Jane's testimony on the subject, lawyers and the judge conducted a lengthy hearing out of public view to discuss what could be divulged about the January trip.

Jane was asked if the rapper she accompanied along with the rapper's girlfriend was "an individual at the top of the music industry as well ... an icon in the music industry."

"Yes," Jane replied.

She said there was dancing and the rapper said, "Hey beautiful," and told her he'd always wanted to have sex with her in crude terms. Jane said she didn't recall exactly when, but she flashed her breasts while dancing.