NEW YORK (AP) — A former top aide to Sean “Diddy” Combs testified Tuesday that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her during her first day on the job and waved a gun as he kidnapped her years later in an angry rush to find and kill rapper Kid Cudi.
Capricorn Clark’s account of Combs’ volatility and violence launched the third week of testimony at his Manhattan federal sex trafficking trial.
Prosecutors called Clark, the former global brand director for Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, to support a charge that he led a two-decade racketeering conspiracy that relied on beefy bodyguards, death threats and the silence of frightened staff to ensure he got what he wanted.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to an indictment alleging he abused his longtime girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, and others. If convicted, he could face 15 years to life in prison.
Clark’s tearful testimony came days after Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, testified that Clark called him from a car outside his home in December 2011 and told him Combs had forced her to accompany him to Cudi’s house.