Explosive testimony has surfaced about music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. Former employees and associates have described a strange existence in Diddy's world, filled with paranoia, polygraph exams, and some jaw-dropping party disguises.
David James, a one-time assistant of Diddy's who worked for him from 2007 to 2009 and is the first witness to be called to testify, has recently taken the stand to characterize what he says was a high-stress working environment at Bad Boy Entertainment. Employees had been administered lie detector tests whenever something of value was lost, writes James, tests that certainly didn't feel voluntary.
"This is Mr. Combs' kingdom, and "We're all in here to work, and we are all here to play in it," James recalled being told when he got hired. And it seems that kingdom ran with a suspicious, sharpened edge. James said that he was strapped to a polygraph on more than one occasion, with monitors attached to his head, chest, and hands.
"It was hell, and I knew I couldn't say no," he said, adding that he had never felt he had a choice to say no. "Not to keep my job."
James also shared anecdotally that Capricorn Clark, a high-profile music executive and creative consultant who has worked with Diddy across his many projects, had herself been polygraphed over stolen jewelry. If something were missing, you'd get a polygraph, no questions asked.
But the testimony was not confined to workplace fear. Then things took a hard left into the surreal when the witness box welcomed Sharay Hayes, or "The Punisher," as he is known. Hayes described how he, Diddy, and singer Cassie Ventura went to orgies at high-end New York hotels, including the Trump International and the Essex House.
Diddy's first appearance at these private meetings was secretive. 'He was even in disguise,' Hayes said, donning a traditional Muslim garment: a full black niqab or face veil to prevent being identified as what Hayes called "freak-offs." After Diddy relaxed, the niqab is said to have come off and been replaced with something more casual: a baseball cap.
Hayes said he had between eight to 12 run-ins with Diddy and Cassie, suggesting excess and a sense of desperation.
Diddy's lawyers have denied all charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, but they did acknowledge that domestic violence has occurred in the past. The accusations are just the latest stack of lawsuits and federal investigations targeting the longtime hip-hop figure, whose legacy now appears increasingly tangled in scandal.
For a man who was once as famous for his catchy tunes and outsize lifestyle as he was invisible to the media, the once-salacious stories emerging in court are raising eyebrows and darkening the shadows around one of the music business's most famous and seemingly most paranoid names.
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