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Kerry Morgan testified that her former best friend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura looked “numb” when Sean Combs showed up at her home, banging on the door with a hammer and looking for Ventura following the infamous InterContinental hotel assault.
Morgan testified at Combs’ sex trafficking trial on Monday, recalling the aftermath of the March 2016 assault, which was captured on surveillance video. Morgan said she was staying at Ventura’s apartment, when the R&B singer showed up days before her first big movie premiere with a black eye. Not long after Ventura arrived, Morgan claimed, Combs appeared, banging on the apartment’s wooden door with a hammer, trying to be let in.
Morgan said she was terrified, but Ventura was not. She described Ventura as “numb,” adding that it didn’t look like she would care if Combs “came in and killed her.”
Eventually Combs left, and the police arrived some three hours later (Morgan said she could not remember who called them). Their visit, however, was short, as Morgan said Ventura would not cooperate and refused to identify herself or speak to them.
Morgan described herself as Ventura’s best friend since the two were in high school, meeting while both modeling in New York City. Over the course of Ventura’s decade-long relationship with Combs, Morgan claimed she witnessed Combs frequently criticize Ventura, who shrunk into herself and her “very confident” personality vanished. Ventura “lost her spark,” Morgan said.
Elsewhere in her testimony, Morgan said she saw Combs assault Ventura on at least two occasions, once in Los Angeles and once on vacation in Jamaica in 2013. Both times, she said, she and Ventura had to run and hide to get away from Combs.
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In the Jamaica incident, Morgan said Combs complained that Ventura had been in the bathroom too long and went to search for her. A few minutes later, Morgan testified that she heard Ventura let out a “guttural, terrifying” scream. Morgan said she ran over and witnessed Combs dragging Ventura by her hair down a long hallway. He later allegedly pushed Ventura to the ground, where her head hit the brick pavement. “I thought she was knocked out,” Morgan said.
Morgan said she encouraged Ventura on numerous occasions to leave Combs, but Ventura replied that she couldn’t because Combs “controlled everything” in her life.
David James, Combs’ executive personal assistant from May 2007 to May 2009, also testified during his direct examination on Monday, that Ventura made similar comments to him. “I can’t get out,” Ventura allegedly told James early on in her relationship with Combs.
Morgan further alleged that the few other friends Ventura had were all part of Combs’ circle or his employees; and after hanging out with them, Morgan claimed, Ventura would no longer want to leave Combs. They “were convincing her [the relationship] was OK,” Morgan said.
Morgan and Ventura’s friendship ultimately ended in 2018, after Combs allegedly assaulted Morgan at Ventura’s apartment. Morgan testified that Combs let himself into Ventura’s home with a key that Ventura allegedly did not know he had. Ventura was in the bathroom when Combs arrived, and upon hearing him enter, she locked the door.
Morgan said that Combs then came up to her and choked her, leaving fingerprints on her neck. He suspected Ventura of cheating and, she testified, demanded Morgan give him a name. Morgan told him she had no idea what Combs was talking about. Morgan then said Combs “boomeranged a wooden hanger at my head,” leaving her with a concussion and vomiting.
Afterwards, Morgan said she hired a lawyer and considered suing Combs for the incident. “I draw a line at physical abuse,” she told the jury. About a month later, Morgan said she met up with Ventura at a random pizza restaurant where Ventura offered Morgan $30,000 to “close” the matter. Attached to the money was a non-disclosure agreement. Morgan said she signed the NDA and received the money, which she understood that Combs was giving her through Ventura.
When Combs’ attorneys took over for the cross-examination, Morgan wound up speaking about some of the dynamics in Combs’ and Ventura’s relationship. In particular, she mentioned that Ventura was sometimes jealous of Kim Porter — Combs’ ex and the mother of three of his seven children — while Morgan also said that Combs was jealous of Ventura’s fleeting relationship with actor Michael B. Jordan.
Ventura, during her own testimony, acknowledged she started a brief romantic relationship with Jordan after learning in 2015 that Combs had been spending time with another woman. Jordan was also the actor alluded to in Ventura’s November 2023 lawsuit against Combs, in which she also claimed that Combs “called the actor and threatened him” when he found out.
Morgan recalled this moment during her time on the stand, saying, “What I remember was that she was speaking to Michael B. Jordan and they hung out together. And [Combs] was jealous of it.” (Jordan will not be called as a witness during the trial, Rolling Stone previously confirmed.)
This article was updated on Monday, May 19 at 4:21 p.m. to include details from Kerry Morgan and David James’ testimony.
From Rolling Stone US
