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) — Jurors in the federal trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs were shown a video Monday of the music mogul allegedly dragging and beating his girlfriend in a hotel.

Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, Combs’ former partner, is expected to testify as early as Monday as the prosecution’s lead witness.

The video from 2016 allegedly shows Combs dragging and beating Ventura inside a Los Angeles hotel hallway. In the video, Ventura is at the elevator doors before Combs appears, allegedly striking her and throwing her to the ground before dragging her back to their hotel room.

Jurors were shown five videos Monday: two from a cell phone and three from hotel surveillance videos.

Combs shook his head slowly as the videos were played, The Associated Press reported. The courtroom fell silent as jurors watched without discernible, visible reactions.

Combs’ defense team had tried to get the video thrown out ahead of trial but was unsuccessful.

Former hotel guard, male stripper testify against Diddy

A former hotel security officer testified that when he responded to the complaint that a woman was in distress, Combs offered him a stack of money, telling him he didn’t see anything.

Israel Florez, who is now a police officer, said he told Combs, “I don’t want your money. Just go back into your room.”

He testified that he took a video with his cell phone to show his wife, who he thought wouldn’t believe him without evidence.

Another witness, Daniel Phillip, told the court he was a male stripper who was hired to have sex with Ventura multiple times, starting in 2012. He said Combs would give him instructions each time, recounting on one occasion, he said Combs, “You need to rub more baby oil on each other. You don’t have enough on.”

He testified he witnessed Combs assault Ventura in her apartment.

“I saw a liquor bottle fly across the room and hit the wall,” Phillip said. “Then Mr. Combs grabbed Cassie by the hair and started dragging her. … Mr. Combs pulled her into the bedroom. It sounded like him slapping her.”

Diddy’s trial: Cassie video ‘tip of the iceberg’

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told the jury in her opening statements that Combs was “larger than life” to the public, but there was “another side to him, a side that ran a criminal enterprise.”

“To the public, he was ‘Puff Daddy’ or ‘Diddy.’ A cultural icon. A businessman. Larger than life,” Johnson said. “But there was another side to him. A side that ran a criminal enterprise.”

“During this trial, you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes. But he didn’t do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up.”

Johnson told the jury that the 2016 video with Ventura was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“For 20 years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime. That’s why we are here today. That’s what this case is about,” Johnson said.

Johnson claimed Combs’ inner circle went to great lengths to suppress that video, alleging that a security guard was given a bag with $100,000.

“This is far from the only time that the defendant’s inner circle tried to close ranks and do damage control,” Johnson said.

The Associated Press reported that Combs leaned back in his chair as Johnson spoke.

Johnson said Combs’ drug-fueled sex parties, called “Freak-Offs,” were highly orchestrated in hotel rooms across the globe. In those parties, she claimed Combs compelled women, including Ventura, to have sex with male escorts, some of which were recorded.

Johnson said another victim, identified by the pseudonym “Jane,” was brutally beaten when she confronted Combs about the “Freak-Offs.”

“Like with Cassie, the defendant’s violence had gotten him what he wanted,” Johnson said.

Diddy’s defense: Case is about ‘love, jealousy, infidelity and money’

Combs’ defense attorney, Teny Geragos, told the jury that the prosecution was trying to turn sexual relations between consenting adults into a sex trafficking case.

“There has been a tremendous amount of noise around this case over the past year,” Geragos told jurors, noting immense news media coverage and social media chatter. “It is time to cancel that noise.”

Geragos noted that Combs can be extremely jealous and has a temper, telling jurors that alcohol or “the wrong drugs” would make him angry.

She stated, “Domestic violence is not sex trafficking,” and continued that being mean is not the same as running a racketeering enterprise.

Geragos acknowledged that some of the jurors may not approve of “his kinky sex and his preferences for sex” but urged them to judge with an open mind.

The defense team did note that the prosecution’s evidence may show other crimes that Combs committed, like domestic violence.

Geragos called the video with Ventura “horrible, dehumanizing violence,” but “it is not evidence of sex trafficking. It is evidence of domestic violence.”

She told jurors there would be “closure” between Combs and Ventura when she took the stand later in the trial.

For “Jane,” Geragos claimed the fight began with her slamming Combs’ head in a jealous rage. She also said the accusers were motivated by money, pointing to the civil lawsuits against him.

“We’ll fight for his freedom throughout the next eight weeks,” Geragos said.

Who is at Diddy’s trial?

Several members of Combs’ family arrived in court Monday, including his mother, Janice Combs, and all six of his children — Quincy Brown, Christian Combs, Justin Combs, D’Lila Combs, Jessie Combs and Chance Combs — along with a cousin.

Combs entered the courtroom with a big smile after seeing his family, and his daughter made a heart sign with her hands as he entered. Before the day’s proceedings took place, Combs read his Bible until the judge entered.

Rapper Lil Rod, who accused Combs of sexual assault last year, arrived in court Monday morning along with his attorney, Tyrone Blackburn.

“He’s having his day, we trust the justice system,” he told NewsNation. “God is good.”

Other notable arrivals Monday morning included Mark Geragos, the father of Teny Geragos and singer Jaguar Wright.

What is Diddy accused of?

Combs faces federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The music producer has been held without bail since his September 2024 arrest, which came after two of his homes were raided by federal investigators seven months earlier. 

Prosecutors have alleged Combs used the resources of his music empire to create “a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

Diddy’s trial: What happens next?

Opening statements set the stage not only with evidence but also with potential witnesses that will testify during a likely emotional trial. 

Footage reportedly showing Ventura being assaulted by Combs has been called a “smoking gun” by legal experts.

Ventura is one of three witnesses scheduled to testify.

Many prospective jurors had been dismissed during the selection process due to their opinions about the footage.

If Combs is convicted on all charges, he could remain behind bars for life.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.