(NewsNation) — Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s mother told jurors Tuesday that Sean “Diddy” Combs demanded $20,000 to stop him from releasing sex tapes of her daughter, leading her to take out a home equity loan.
Regina Ventura took the stand for the prosecution, detailing the control Combs maintained over Cassie Ventura.
She testified that Combs threatened to release sex tapes after learning the singer was dating entertainer Kid Cudi.
Regina Ventura said she received an email from her daughter in 2011 saying Combs was going to publish sexual material of her, and the knowledge of this made her “physically sick.”
In her less than 30 minutes on the stand, Regina Ventura said, “I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me.”
Regina Ventura testified that Combs demanded $20,000 in order “to recoup money he had spent on (Cassie) because he was unhappy she was in a relationship with Kid Cudi.”
She added that the music label executive “was angry that he had spent money on her and she went with another person.”
In order to come up with the hefty sum, Regina Ventura took out a home equity loan because she was “scared for my daughter’s safety.”
“We took a home equity loan, and that was the only way we could get the money,” she said.
The money was less than a week later, and Combs and Cassie Ventura reconciled.
Combs’ defense attorneys opted not to cross-examine here, leaving intact potentially damaging testimony.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.