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“Jane,” the third woman accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual misconduct at his Manhattan federal sex-trafficking trial, told jurors that an iconic rapper asked her to recommend a male escort for him and his female lover. The bombshell revelation came during Jane’s third day of cross-examination, during which Diddy defense attorney Teny Geragos asked about a jaunt to Las Vegas. Jane said that she went to Las Vegas in early 2024, during a break with Diddy. Geragos asked Jane: Did you go to Las Vegas on a “very successful rapper’s private plane?” For the rapper’s girlfriend’s birthday? Jane said yes. “That rapper is very close to Mr. Combs?” Jane answered in the affirmative again. Jane recalled that she went to dinner with the rapper and his paramour, who had been referred to in court as a girlfriend or wife.
At the dinner, Jane saw Anton — one of the male entertainers who had participated in sexual encounters with her while Diddy watched and who has been mentioned in testimony previously. Jane was surprised to see Anton, but came to understand that he had a relationship with the rapper. After dinner, the group went to a play, then a strip club, and ultimately to a hotel room. In the hotel, Anton had sex with a woman. About seven or eight people were there watching. Geragos asked Jane whether there was “flirtatious banter” between her and the rapper. Did he have a crush on her? “I think he said something along the lines of, he thought I was beautiful and always wanted to ‘blank’ me.” At some point, Geragos asked, did Jane discuss another entertainer with the rapper and his partner? “They were asking me if I knew anybody else in the lifestyle,” Jane said. “They were looking for someone.” Geragos asked Jane why she thought they were asking her about this. Jane thought they “picked up the energy from me or just got the [impression]” she and Diddy had similar tastes.
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The rapper was not named in open court. Prior to Jane’s testimony resuming, the defense and prosecution sparred over whether to publicly name some people who might come up in cross. The defense wanted these names to be public, whereas the prosecution said identifying these people would just serve as a way to “harass” Jane. Diddy, who was wearing a caramel-colored sweater and khakis, appeared attentive during Jane’s testimony. At one point, he seemed to clean his glasses by exhaling onto the lenses and wiping them with a tissue. Diddy has not tried to hide that he uses readers, and it is visible to jurors.
Geragos has tried to portray Jane as a willing participant in encounters with male escorts and entertainers while Diddy watched, to undermine prosecution claims that she was coerced and trafficked. Geragos, through questioning, also suggested that Jane and Diddy had a real relationship. Geragos questioned Jane about affectionate exchanges with Diddy, for example, and gifts he lavished upon her. During Jane’s direct testimony, she alleged that Diddy lured her into his orbit around early 2021, by posturing as if he wanted a romantic relationship. After several months, however, Diddy broached the idea of her having a sexual encounter with an entertainer in his presence. While Jane thought the first “hotel night” was a pleasant one-off experience, and that maybe there would be sporadic other encounters of this nature, they became routine — something, Jane claimed, she did not want.
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