Rapper Child Cudi is opening up about his expertise testifying at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking and racketeering trial in Could.
The Pursuit of Happiness rapper (actual identify Scott Mescudi) advised Name Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper that he “hated each minute of it,” marking the primary time he has spoken out about his time at Combs’ trial.
Mescudi mentioned that he turned down testifying twice however needed to take the stand as soon as he was subpoenaed. The 41-year-old rapper beforehand dated Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, in 2011, and testified about their temporary relationship that happened 14 years in the past.
“I used to be simply there as a result of I needed to be,” Mescudi advised Cooper. “I hated each minute of it. I didn’t wish to do it.”
However he did make it clear that he wished to “help Cassie,” who was a key witness in Combs’ trial.
Mescudi took the stand on Could 22 and testified that Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills residence in 2011 after discovering out he was courting his ex-girlfriend, Ventura, and mentioned he was certain Combs was behind the firebombing of his automobile weeks later.
The Grammy-winning rapper advised Cooper that he felt “calm” on the stand.
“I’m desirous about like, ‘What am I carrying, man? Do I’ve to be like [in a] swimsuit or one thing?’ I used to be like, ‘Man, f— this s—. That is what I’m carrying right this moment. I’m going to this f—— s— on this. I’m not dressing up for this s—.’ Like, put on some arduous bottoms. I’m carrying some Solomon’s, and I’m coming in with my Levi’s and my leather-based jacket and that’s it, you already know?” he mentioned, describing the outfit he wore to the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
Rapper Child Cudi, centre, arrives at federal courtroom for the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, in New York, on Could 22, 2025.
AP Picture/Richard Drew
Mescudi spoke about coming to phrases with the truth that he was there to testify in help of Ventura.
“I thought of, after I was up there. I’m right here to help Cassie, and Cassie is my buddy, you already know, and I like her, and I wanna see her do effectively,” he mentioned.
“And after I noticed her get married, I used to be so completely happy for her, you already know, that she discovered somebody, her individual. Once I noticed that she was having youngsters, I used to be like, ‘Oh, that is so superior.’ You understand what I imply?”
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He mentioned that he’s “all the time simply wished to see her thrive and do effectively and be completely happy as a result of I do know she was dwelling a nightmare, and I simply was there to help her.”
“That’s what sort of gave me peace with it after I sat down in that chair. It was nearly, ‘Oh man, I gotta like, maintain homegirl down’ and like look out for her,” the Day ‘n’ Nite rapper added.
Cooper requested Cudi in regards to the interval of his life when he was courting Ventura.
“It was loopy, man,” he mentioned, earlier than taking a protracted pause. “Within the second, it was simply loopy, like I had a tough time understanding if it was actuality. I used to be like, ‘Am I in a film? What the f— is occurring?’”
“It was simply chaotic and intense,” he added. “And, you already know, I wasn’t like, I used to be already out of my thoughts coping with my very own private s— so I used to be actually identical to, f— it. I used to be simply keen to stroll into the fireplace.”
In one other interview on CBS Mornings, Mescudi mentioned the general public response to his testimony.
“The backlash was swift. I had lots of people that supported me, however there have been a couple of that had some opinions about it,” Mescudi mentioned. “It was fascinating as a result of I’m not no road dude. I don’t reside by no code, you already know? So I assume it’s as a result of I’m a rapper. Individuals simply threw that on me. However, like, my music has by no means been about that and I’ve by no means tried to fake I used to be about that.”
Talking at Combs’ federal intercourse trafficking trial in Manhattan, Mescudi mentioned that whereas he and Ventura had been courting, he took her to a West Hollywood resort to get her away from Combs. Whereas there, he mentioned, he obtained a name from Combs’ assistant Capricorn Clark. She advised him Combs and an affiliate had been in Mescudi’s home and that she had been pressured to go together with them.
Mescudi mentioned he known as Combs whereas driving residence and requested why he was in his home. He mentioned Combs calmly replied, “I wish to discuss to you.”
However Combs wasn’t there when he arrived, Mescudi testified. As a substitute, he discovered that somebody had opened Christmas presents he’d bought for his household and locked his canine in a rest room. Mescudi wasn’t certain what was happening, so he known as the police.
Just a few weeks later, Mescudi testified, his Porsche 911 convertible was broken by hearth whereas parked in his driveway. Mescudi mentioned he was at a buddy’s home when his canine sitter known as and advised him his automobile was on hearth. Jurors had been proven pictures of the automobile’s crimson leather-based inside scorched and burned, with a gap within the cloth roof. A Molotov cocktail was discovered on the passenger seat, Mescudi mentioned.
Ventura had testified the week prior that Combs threatened to explode Mescudi’s automobile and damage him after he realized she was courting the rapper.
Mescudi mentioned he didn’t have conflicts on the time with anybody apart from Combs.
“I knew he had one thing to do with it,” Mescudi mentioned, main Combs’ attorneys to object. Jurors had been advised to ignore the comment.
Mescudi advised jurors he met with Combs the following day at a Los Angeles resort to attempt to easy issues over.
“After the fireplace, I mentioned, ‘That is getting out of hand. I want to speak to him,’” Mescudi mentioned.
On the finish of the assembly, as they stood and shook palms, Mescudi mentioned he requested Combs: “What are we going to do about my automobile?” Mescudi mentioned Combs gave him a “very chilly stare” and responded, “I don’t know what you’re speaking about.”
Mescudi mentioned he thought “he was mendacity” however let it go, and there have been no extra episodes at his home. Just a few years later, Combs apologized “for every thing” after they bumped into one another at a resort, Mescudi testified.
Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He confronted federal expenses of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fuelled intercourse marathons with male intercourse employees whereas he watched and filmed them.
He was acquitted final month of the highest expenses — racketeering and intercourse trafficking — and was convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offence.
His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
— With recordsdata from The Related Press
