Witness testifies Usher was present when Diddy allegedly assaulted Cassie in the stomach

Singer and songwriter Dawn Richard took the stand in Manhattan federal court on May 19 2025, offering dramatic testimony about Usher when describing the relationship between Sean 'Diddy' Combs and his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.

Richard, who rose to fame as part of Danity Kane and later performed in the trio Diddy - Dirty Money, told jurors she witnessed the music executive lash out at Ventura on more than one occasion.

Richard began by describing a 2010 dinner at a fashionable West Hollywood spot. A quiet disagreement between Combs and Ventura suddenly turned physical, she said, when Combs "punched her in the stomach."

According to Richard, the table was hardly anonymous: Usher, Ne-Yo, and industry titan Jimmy Iovine were among those close enough to see the blow. Despite the public setting, "no one intervened," Richard testified.

After the party left the restaurant, Richard rode in a car with Combs and Ventura. She recalled Combs grabbing Ventura by the neck, then slapping her face while berating her.

"He told her she needed to listen to him," Richard said, adding that Ventura remained silent and visibly shaken.

Richard also recounted a separate confrontation in 2009, one she called "far worse." On that occasion, Combs allegedly struck Ventura with a skillet. Richard testified that when she and another witness reacted with horror, Combs warned them that "we could go missing" if they ever spoke of what they had seen.

Asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner what she believed those words meant, Richard answered without hesitation: "That he would kill us."

The Defense pushes back

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering and sex trafficking. His lead attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, moved swiftly to undermine Richard's credibility.

Westmoreland pointed out that Richard continued to pursue professional opportunities with Combs in 2011-after the alleged assaults. The defense suggested this undermined any claim that Richard felt threatened.

Westmoreland further emphasized minor discrepancies between Richard's earlier interviews and her sworn testimony, implying that memory lapses or exaggerations might be at play. Richard responded that traumatic events often surface in fragments and that fear for her career - and her safety - kept her silent for years.

Although Combs has faced civil allegations in the past - including Ventura's own lawsuit, settled in 2023 - this federal criminal trial marks the first time prosecutors have presented multiple witnesses to claim a broader pattern of violence, intimidation, and sex trafficking. Legal analysts note that Richard's first-hand could bolster the government's portrayal of Combs as the central figure in an organization that facilitated abuse behind the glamour of Bad Boy Records.

Other witnesses are expected to follow. Prosecutors have said they intend to call former employees, bodyguards, and at least one medical professional who treated Ventura after an alleged assault. The defense, in turn, has hinted at celebrity character witnesses ready to challenge the prosecution's narrative and depict Combs as a demanding-yet non-violent-executive.

If convicted, Combs faces the prospect of decades in prison and the unraveling of a career that helped define late-'90s and early-2000s hip-hop. Beyond the courtroom, the case has reignited debate about power imbalances in the music industry and the pressure many artists feel to remain silent.

For Richard, testifying was a fraught decision. "I still love music," she told the court, her voice steady, "but I couldn't stay quiet anymore." Her words, alongside the claims of others, now form a centerpiece of a trial poised to reverberate well beyond the witness stand.