Former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard took the stand in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday, May 16.
Richard, 41, took his oath late on Friday just before the court adjourned. The prosecution questioned her about a purported incident in 2009 when she witnessed Diddy, 55, threatening Cassie at his residence in Los Angeles.
“He appeared downstairs yelling, aggressive, asking about his meal, and proceeded to strike her in the head and kick her while she was on the ground in front of us,” Richard stated. She mentioned she was at Diddy’s place visiting and was in the kitchen with Cassie, 38, at the time of the alleged assault.
“He came downstairs enraged, complaining about his eggs, and berating Cassie for never getting things right and not having his food prepared,” Richard claimed. “He went to the pan with the eggs, tried to hit her on the head, and she ended up falling to the floor.”
Richard claimed Diddy continued to beat Cassie while she was on the floor then “proceeded to take his arm around her neck and dragged her by the hair up the stairs.” The following day, Diddy allegedly invited Richard and her Dirty Money bandmate Kalenna Harper to record with him in the studio, where he told them the attack they’d both seen was “passion.” Richard further claimed he threatened them, saying, “People who say something can end up missing.”
After Richard finished her testimony, Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo asked the judge to strike it from the record, arguing that it does not support the charge of sex trafficking. The prosecution, meanwhile, has argued that Diddy’s alleged abuse created a culture that allowed him to carry out more serious crimes.
Richard starred on Diddy’s MTV reality show Making the Band 3 from 2005 to 2006 and was a member of the girl group Danity Kane alongside Aubrey O’Day, D. Woods, Shannon Bex and Aundrea Fimbres. Days before Diddy’s arrest last year, Richard filed a lawsuit accusing him of manipulating, terrorizing and sexually abusing her. She also claimed that she witnessed him physically abusing ex-girlfriend Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura).
In her suit, Richard alleged that Diddy abused her by forcing her to rehearse 48 hours at a time without sleep, which led to dehydration and fatigue that caused her to develop rashes. She also claimed that he promised to advance her singing career if she complied with his demands.
Richard further alleged that Diddy demanded she come to his home in Miami, where he appeared only wearing underwear. After she asked him to put his clothes on, Diddy allegedly yelled at her, “This is my f***ing house!” She also claimed he touched her inappropriately after barging into her dressing room at his recording studio and once locked her in a car for two hours as she screamed for help.
Richard’s lawsuit included additional claims that she saw Diddy harm other people in front of her, including his late girlfriend Kim Porter in 2005. Years later, Richard claimed she saw Diddy throw Cassie against a wall before choking her in his Los Angeles home.
Diddy denied Richard’s allegations in a September 2024 statement shared via his attorney Erica Wolff. “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 payday — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour,” Wolff told Us. “If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year. It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”
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.
“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,”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 Arun Subramanian.
Before Richard took the stand this week, Cassie testified for four days about her relationship with Diddy, which lasted off and on from 2007 to 2018. Cassie also filed a lawsuit against the rapper in November 2023, accusing him of physical and sexual abuse throughout their relationship. He denied her allegations at the time, and they settled the suit out of court one day later. During her testimony, Cassie revealed that they settled for $20 million.
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.
