During the commencement of the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York City, onlookers were taken aback by the mention of various other famous personalities in the process of jury selection and witness statements.
As of May 5, when prospective jurors were being interviewed, they were quizzed about their knowledge of celebrities like Kanye West and former Danity Kane artist Dawn Richard. While some of these individuals have collaborated with Diddy before, it remained unclear why other names, such as actor and comedian Mike Myers, were brought up.
Continuing into May 6, as the jury selection progressed, Judge Arun Subramanian altered his questioning approach to inquire whether potential jurors were personally acquainted with any of the mentioned celebrities, shifting from his initial query about their familiarity with the listed names.
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all of the allegations against him.fmia
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement at the time. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Since his arrest, Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His four requests for bail were denied by Judge Subramanian.
Keep scrolling for a list of every celebrity whose name has been mentioned during the Diddy trial:
Michael B. Jordan
The actor previously dated Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie. When Cassie sued Diddy in November 2023, her relationship with Jordan was referenced in the lawsuit. Diddy and Cassie settled the lawsuit out of court, and Diddy denied all her allegations.
Jordan’s name was mentioned on May 15 during Cassie’s testimony. She said she began dating him in 2015 after discovering that Diddy was allegedly spending time with one of his on-off girlfriends while she was filming a movie in South Africa. As a result, Cassie halted communication with Diddy and moved on with the Sinners actor. She also told the jury that one of Diddy’s staff members informed her that the musician knew about her relationship with Jordan. (Jordan and Cassie’s relationship did not last, as she married husband Alex Fine in 2019.)
Harve Pierre
Pierre is a record exec who has worked with Diddy’s label, Bad Boy Entertainment. In her testimony on May 19, Richard claimed that Pierre was one of several Diddy employees who witnessed him abusing Cassie during their relationship.
Mike Myers
When Myers was mentioned during jury selection, USA Today noted that there is a reference to Diddy in one of the comedian’s Austin Powers movies. On May 29, however, the jury and the public learned that he was brought up because Diddy’s former assistant “Mia” previously worked for the actor. In her testimony, Mia said that she had hours similar to a typical 9-to-5 job while working for Myers and would occasionally watch his dog on the weekend.
Dallas Austin
Austin, a record producer, previously dated Diddy’s late partner Kim Porter, who died in 2018 at age 47.
Dawn Richard
Richard was a member of the girl group Danity Kane, which formed on Diddy’s Making the Band reality TV show in 2005. She sued Diddy for sexual assault and battery in September 2024, shortly before his arrest. Diddy denied her allegations in a statement via his lawyer Erica Wolff, who said, “Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.”
Richard’s case is still ongoing. She testified in court on May 16 and May 19, claiming she witnessed Diddy physically abuse Cassie on multiple occasions.
Michelle Williams
Jurors were asked about the Destiny’s Child singer on the first day of jury selection.
Kanye West
The controversial rapper released a song with Diddy in March, months after his arrest.
Kid Cudi
The rapper, who dated Cassie during a break in her relationship with Diddy, was also mentioned in Cassie’s lawsuit. According to Cassie, Diddy became “so angry” when he found out she was dating Cudi in 2012. “Around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,” read her lawsuit. Cudi’s spokesperson told The New York Times in November 2023 that Cassie’s account of the exploding car was “all true.”
Diddy, meanwhile, denied Cassie’s accusations in a statement provided by his attorney.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” lawyer Ben Brafman said at the time. “For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
During her testimony on May 14, Cassie claimed that Diddy was “irate” when he learned of her relationship with Cudi. After learning about her connection to the rapper, Diddy allegedly lunged at her with a “wine bottle opener.” Following the alleged incident, Cassie ran out and called Cudi from her burner phone, asking him to pick her up. When she returned to a hotel room where she was staying, the space had allegedly been trashed, with urine and feces found in the bathroom and the furniture in disarray.
Cudi testified on May 22. In addition to addressing the car incident, he alleged that Diddy broke into his home in 2011 after learning of his relationship with Cassie. Cudi said nothing was damaged but claimed Christmas presents on his kitchen counter were opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom.
Cassie
Cassie, who dated Diddy off and on from 2007 to 2018, testified in the trial from May 13 through May 16. CNN’s 2024 video that showed Diddy assaulting her in a hotel in 2016 will be shown to jurors, who were asked whether they had seen the footage during selection.
Laurieann Gibson
The choreographer worked with Diddy on Making the Band as well as his short-lived TV show P. Diddy’s Starmaker. During her testimony on May 19, Richard said she once reached out to Diddy after leaving his label because she was trying to reconnect with Gibson. According to Richard, Gibson advised her to connect with Diddy first.
Lauren London
The actress has said that Diddy was a great source of support for her after the 2019 death of her longtime partner, Nipsey Hussle.
Usher
In her May 19 testimony, Richard claimed Usher and other Diddy associates were present on one occasion when Diddy allegedly punched Cassie in the stomach at a restaurant in 2010. “She immediately bent over, [Diddy] told her to leave,” Richard alleged. “No one intervened.”
Wiz Khalifa
The jury was shown photos from the rapper’s 2011 “Black and Yellow” music video, which featured Cassie. The defense attempted to use the video as evidence that Cassie’s career was not stifled by Diddy, as she claimed in her testimony.
Suge Knight
Diddy’s former assistant David James claimed that Diddy once ordered him and other members of his team to confront his rival when he was spotted at a nearby diner. Cassie corroborated the same incident in her testimony, alleging that Diddy gave her a gun to hold during the possible confrontation (which didn’t end up happening).
Another of Diddy’s former assistants, Capricorn Clark, claimed that Diddy threatened to kill her after she didn’t disclose that she’d previously worked for Knight.
50 Cent
Clark testified about Diddy’s feud with his fellow rapper on May 27, alleging that her former boss “had an issue” with the “In Da Club” artist. According to Clark, she was once with Diddy when he was doing press at MTV alongside 50 Cent. She allegedly witnessed Diddy discussing 50 Cent with an “entertainment manager” and claimed he said, “I don’t like all the back and forth … I like guns.”
50 Cent seemingly responded to his name being mentioned in the trial that same day, writing via Instagram, “Cut, CUT 🎬Wait a minute PUFFY’s got a gun, I can’t believe this I don’t feel safe 😔LOL.”
Rita Ora
Deonte Nash, a former stylist for Diddy and Cassie, claimed that Diddy once blew up at Cassie because she went clubbing without him, instead partying with Nash, Ora and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton.
Georgina Chapman
Mia testified that she worked for the Marchesa designer before becoming an assistant for Diddy.
R. Kelly
On June 2, the jury was shown text messages between Diddy and Mia where she said she had a dream that she was stuck in an elevator with the “Ignition (Remix)” singer. “I had a nightmare,” she wrote. “I was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly and you came to rescue me.” Kelly is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence on federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Prince
Mia claimed that she once witnessed security guards pull Diddy off of Cassie on the front lawn of Prince’s house, where the duo were attending a party following the 2010 Emmy Awards. Cassie, meanwhile, testified that she attempted to keep her attendance at the party a secret from Diddy because she thought he would tell her she couldn’t go.
Mick Jagger and Leonardo DiCaprio
The Rolling Stones frontman and the Oscar winner were mentioned in text messages from Mia to Diddy that were shown to the jury. Mia hinted they’d run into the stars at a party. (Neither Jagger nor DiCaprio have been implicated in any of the allegations against Diddy.
Chadwick Boseman and James Brown
During her testimony, Mia claimed that Diddy auditioned for the role of Brown in the 2014 biopic Get On Up, which eventually went to the late Boseman. When Boseman died in 2020, Mia sent Diddy a text message expressing her condolences.
Madonna
Mia testified that she worked for the Queen of Pop after her employment with Diddy ended.
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal
Jane Doe, an ex-girlfriend of Diddy’s who also testified anonymously, claimed on June 10 that she and the rapper would role-play as NBA stars during freak offs. She alleged that Diddy would play Jordan while she pretended to be the late Bryant. An escort, meanwhile, allegedly role-played as O’Neal.
Rihanna and Beyoncé
Cassie’s friend Bryana “Bana” Bongolan testified that she and Cassie were once working on a clothing line together that didn’t work. According to Bongolan, one reason the line failed was because they were competing with similar lines by Beyoncé and Rihanna.
Ne-Yo
Richard claimed during her testimony that the “Closer” singer was present in 2010 when Diddy allegedly punched Cassie in the stomach at a restaurant. Richard did not specify whether she believed Ne-Yo saw the alleged abuse.
Chris Brown
The defense questioned Cassie about an incident where Diddy allegedly took her phone because he was angry at her for dancing with Brown at a party. She told the court that she “was not dancing” with the singer.
Britney Spears
Cassie said Spears was in attendance at her 21st birthday party but noted she did not know the pop star. “That was all [Diddy],” she claimed. “I didn’t know them.”
Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey
Clark mentioned the iconic singers while discussing Cassie’s music career, saying, “Talented to me is Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. Very talented is that level of performer, entertainer. Cassie was more of a studio artist.”
Judd Apatow
In a text message shown to the court, Mia encouraged Diddy to watch the Netflix series Love. “Judd Apatow created it,” she wrote.
Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Pusha T and G-Eazy
All six artists were mentioned as people Cassie worked with during her relationship with Diddy. They were cited by the defense as evidence that Diddy did not hinder Cassie’s career as much as she claimed he did.
Jennifer Lopez
Cassie’s friend and former makeup artist Mylah Morales said she worked for Lopez, who dated Diddy from 1999 to 2001, after she stopped working for Diddy.
Barack Obama
James, a former Diddy assistant, claimed that Diddy once took ecstasy pills formed in the shape of the former president’s head.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Diddy’s former executive assistant testified that May 21, the late rapper’s birthday, is a paid holiday at Diddy’s company.
Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy
The two actors were referenced in text messages between Cassie and Diddy that were shown to the jury. Cassie cited both men as examples of men who had respectful relationships with exes while dating new partners. (Neither Willis nor Murphy have been implicated in any of the allegations against Diddy.)
Jay-Z
Clark claimed that Cassie once told her she would have dated Jay-Z if he weren’t “taken.”
Keke Palmer
Cassie’s former friend Kerry Morgan was asked to identify the people in a photograph for the court. One was Cassie, one was a music producer and one was Palmer.
Machine Gun Kelly and French Montana
Clark named the two musicians as artists who were at one point managed by Diddy’s label.
Will Smith and Pharrell Williams
James, the former assistant, claimed his ex-boss would record at a studio in Miami owned by Smith where Williams also liked to work.
Yung Miami
Jane Doe said it was “painful” for her to see photos of Diddy with the City Girls rapper after all she’d done to please him during the alleged freak offs.
Brad Pitt
Mia alleged that she once saw Diddy assault Cassie at the premiere of Pitt’s film Killing Me Softly in 2012.
Lil’ Kim
Nash, Cassie’s former stylist, mentioned the “How Many Licks?” rapper during his testimony, saying he discussed Cassie’s relationship with Diddy while he was in Miami to style Kim’s hair.
Ike Turner
Cassie testified that she once told Diddy he treated her like Ike treated Tina Turner. (Before her death, Tina accused Ike of verbal and physical abuse throughout their marriage.)
Kalenna Harper
Richard claimed that her Dirty Money bandmate was present on one occasion when Diddy allegedly abused Cassie. In September 2024, however, Harper denied a similar claim put forth in Richard’s lawsuit against Diddy.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
