Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
(NewsNation) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex crimes trial continued in Lower Manhattan on Monday.
A former assistant to the hip-hop mogul, who is testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” continued her testimony Monday.
Diddy’s defense digs into Mia’s texts, social media posts
Combs’ lawyer, Brian Steel, presented several texts that Mia sent, showing admiration and love for Combs, during cross-examination Monday.
Steel presented a text from Mia to Combs on January 15, 2019, where she wrote that she had a nightmare featuring R. Kelly, and Combs came to the rescue.
R. Kelly was convicted on RICO charges in 2022, including charges of sexual exploitation of children.
The defense attorney questioned why she would consider her alleged abuser as her “savior” and why she would share this dream with him.
Another text message was sent after the passing of the rapper’s former longtime partner and mother of some of his children, Kimberly Porter, who died unexpectedly from pneumonia.
Mia reached out expressing her concern and support. Steel, however, noted that the messages were sent five months after Porter’s death, to which she retorted, “I don’t believe five months is that long.”
In that back-and-forth with Steel, she detailed how she “did love that dude,” referring to Combs, and during that time, the public still adored the mogul.
During the prosecution’s re-direct, she told the jury that social media was part of her job for Combs. She added that Combs wasn’t “always terrifying” but that his moods could “dramatically shift.”
Mia cross-examination gets contentious
In a more tense exchange with Steel, he asked if Mia had any supporting evidence in real-time of her allegations against Combs.
“Do you have anything where you contemporaneously wrote (about abuse?),” Steel questioned her.
She replied that she would not do that during that time and shared she never told anyone about the alleged abuses she suffered.
As the defense questioned her about the seemingly friendly messages to Combs, Mia stood firm that, “I have never lied in this courtroom, and I will never lie in this courtroom,” adding, “Everything I’ve said is true.”
Tamara Holder, a Chicago-based women’s rights and sexual abuse attorney, spoke to NewsNation on Monday about Mia’s contentious cross-examination.
“Mia has done a great job explaining to the jury that when Combs was happy, she was safe. She explained the highs and the lows,” Holder said.
“It is important for the jury to separate her feelings from his conduct. She very much appears to be a victim of trauma bonding where she wanted to please him and be rewarded. That does not mean that what he did was OK or did not happen. Many victims of long-term abuse have moments of love and adoration for their abusers. She has come prepared for the defense,” Holder said.
Moments before she left the witness stand Monday, she told the jury that testifying about the alleged sexual assault was “the worst thing I’ve ever had to talk about in my life.”
Mia testifies she was ‘brainwashed’ by Diddy
The ex-assistant explained those seemingly affectionate texts to the entertainment mogul as part of the “brainwashing” she endured from him and said she was “still untangling” from the experience.
She said that she only came forward years later because she felt a “moral obligation” as Combs was being held accountable for other accusations.
Diddy defense questions if testimony is part of ‘MeToo Moneygrab’
Steel noted in his cross-examination that Mia retained a lawyer in 2024 and that she claimed she did not reveal the sexual assault to anyone prior, asking if she was seeking compensation while calling it a “MeToo Moneygrab.”
The comment was met with an immediate objection by the prosecution and was sustained.
When asked if she was suing Combs, she said she received $400,000 in “mediation.”
Ex-assistant says Combs raped her while she worked for him
Mia took the witness stand Thursday and Friday last week, lodging allegations of sexual assault and abuse against Combs. She worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017.
Mia said she witnessed Combs violently assault his former partner, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, multiple times and described an incident that left the singer with a deep gash over her eyebrow requiring medical intervention.
The judge ordered that no courtroom sketches be permitted of the former assistant.
Mia completed her testimony on Monday and was followed by Sylvia Oken, area director of sales and marketing at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Enrique Santos, a radio personality, and Eddie Garcia, former security for the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs violently assaulted Ventura, are expected to testify next.
Combs has been charged with criminal federal racketeering and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.