Diddy Protege: I Was Threatened Into Silence

Dawn Richard, a former member of Danity Kane, the pop group Sean 'Diddy' Combs formed on Making the Band 4, got to experience the music mogul when he wasn't in front of cameras, and what she saw was disturbing. As Richard resumed the stand in Combs' sex trafficking trial on Monday, she described seeing the rapper and Bad Boy Records executive beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura over and over again. "I saw him punch her, choke her, drag her and kick her," Richard testified of Diddy, with whom she performed as part of the trio Diddy-Dirty Money, per USA Today. She said she saw Combs punch Ventura in the stomach during a dinner. Another time, he punched her in the face, Richard testified.

On a third occasion, in 2009, Ventura was making eggs when Combs grabbed the frying pan and tried to hit her with it, Richard testified. He then dragged Ventura by the hair up a flight of stairs, Richard said. If Ventura spoke up for herself, "he would hurt her for it," Richard continued. She said that when Ventura confronted Combs about punching her during a dinner, Combs hit her in the mouth. If others spoke up for Ventura, they received the same treatment, Richard said. "We would pay for it," she testified. "We could go missing" and "we could die," she added, noting she saw Combs carrying a gun on a few occasions.

Richard alleges Combs threatened her life when she tried to intervene to help Ventura. She was among the women to sue Combs last year, alleging the music mogul groped, assaulted, and imprisoned her. Combs faces five charges: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He denies all charges. Combs' attorneys have tried to poke holes in Richard's testimony, suggesting she's changed her story over time. Richard admitted she "tried to erase" certain events from her memory because "the environment was traumatizing," per NBC News. But "as time progresses, I get better at knowing what went on," she said. (More Sean Combs stories.)