Ex-Danity Kane member Dawn Richard details Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ‘violent and volatile’ behavior
By Eileen Reslen, Tamantha Ryan and Jack Morphet
Singer Dawn Richard — who is suing Sean “Diddy” Combs for sexual abuse — testified about the alleged abuse Casandra “Cassie” Ventura endured from the rapper in his ongoing sex-trafficking trial.
“Mr. Combs didn’t like that we talked to Cassie and oftentimes we would pay for it,” the former Danity Kane member, who was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records label from 2004 to 2012, testified Monday in Manhattan federal court.
When asked what Combs would say to Ventura in those discussions about advancing her career, Richard told the jurors, “It would be on his time. He owned her. Very much like, ‘When I’m ready for you, you’ll do it.’ She had to wait for her time.”
Richard also recalled different occasions in which she allegedly saw Combs get “violent or volatile” toward Ventura.
“He would drag her and kick her and punch her in the mouth,” she told the jury Monday, alleging that the singer would be attacked when she “would speak up for herself.”
Dawn Richard arriving at federal court on May 19, 2025
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Dawn Richard returned to the stand Monday in the disgraced rap mogul’s ongoing sex-trafficking trial at Manhattan federal court.
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A court sketch of Dawn Richard
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“Mr. Combs didn’t like that we talked to Cassie and oftentimes we would pay for it,” the singer testified Monday.
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In another incident, Richard claimed Combs “punched Cassie” and “she came into the bathroom crying.”
“You could see her upset. Like, she was hurt,” she alleged.
Though Richard and several other Bad Boy Records employees, including Harve Pierre, allegedly witnessed the abuse, none of them intervened at the time.
“When we drove back to LA, he slapped Cassie in the mouth and told her to ‘Shut the f–k up,'” Richard testified. “We stayed silent the rest of the ride.”
Ventura’s former best friend, Kerry Morgan, also took the stand Monday, testifying that she witnessed Combs attack the pop star on two different occasions.
When they were in Los Angeles, Morgan, 39, claimed Combs would call her “50 times in a row” looking for Ventura.
A sketch of Sean Combs in court
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“It would be on his time. He owned her. Very much like, ‘When I’m ready for you, you’ll do it.’ She had to wait for her time,” she testified.
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Dawn Richard outside the federal court
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Richard also explained different occasions on which she allegedly saw Combs get violent toward Ventura.
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After Combs allegedly pushed and hit Ventura, Morgan said she and her BFF left the house and hid on people’s front steps for “approximately 30 minutes.”
“We were whispering. We could hear Sean and Reuben [Combs’ bodyguard] driving by looking for us,” she testified.
“I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to stay there until everyone calmed down.”
Richard — who met Combs when she was a contestant on MTV’s “Making The Band” and subsequently joined the popular girl group Danity Kane — first took the stand in Combs’ sex-trafficking trial last Friday, testifying that she saw her former boss get violent with Ventura on various occasions.
She told jurors she witnessed the music mogul attack Ventura in 2009, apparently in a rage over his breakfast.
“He came downstairs angry and was saying ‘where the f–k was his eggs,’” Richard recalled.
Kerry Morgan arriving at court in 2025
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Ventura’s former best friend, Kerry Morgan, also took the stand Monday, testifying that she witnessed Combs attack the pop star on two different occasions.
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Kerry Morgan arriving at court in 2025
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After Combs allegedly pushed and hit Ventura, Morgan said she and her BFF left the house and hid on people’s front steps for “approximately 30 minutes.”
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At the time, Danity Kane was recording in the studio of Combs’ Los Angeles mansion, when Richard allegedly witnessed him try to hit Ventura over the head with a skillet.
She claimed Ventura partially deflected the blow from the pan, but Combs continued his vicious beating. “He started to punch and kick her … body and her head,” Richard testified.
Last week, Ventura testified about her abusive history with the rapper, sharing details about their raunchy “Freak-Offs,” the medical issues she suffered as a result of the romps with escorts and more.
The “Me & U” singer — who is eight months pregnant — also had to endure a ruthless cross-examination about sexual texts she sent Combs and her rape claim was even brought into question.
Richard, for her part, first made her sexual abuse claims about the Bad Boy Records founder known in the aforementioned lawsuit she filed in September 2024.
Dawn Richard.
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Richard sued Combs for sexual abuse last September.
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Dawn Richards, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kalenna.
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She was signed to Bad Boy Records from 2004 to 2012.
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The singer claimed in her complaint that her former boss sexually assaulted her numerous times between 2009 and 2011.
Richard had quit Danity Kane at that point and was part of a trio with Combs called Diddy-Dirty Money.
She alleged in the suit, obtained by Page Six, that he touched her near her breasts and butt while she was undressed in a changing room and allegedly said, “Although she was ‘too skinny,’ she had an ‘ass.'”
Richard also claimed she saw Combs “and several other males gang-banging” his former female assistant at a hotel pool in Glasgow, Scotland.
Combs’ attorney Erica Wolff told Page Six in response to the suit at the time, “In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.”
Dawn Richards, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kalenna.
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Richard claimed Combs assaulted her numerous times when she was part of the Diddy-Dirty Money trio.
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Diddy.
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Combs has denied Richard’s allegations.
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Kalenna Harper, who was also part of the Diddy-Dirty Money trio, shut down her former band member’s allegations.
When Combs, 55, was arrested for his federal sex trafficking in September, Richard’s lawyer Lisa Bloom told Page Six in response, “Given Sean Combs’ brutal beating of his girlfriend caught on video and the eight people who have now accused him of abuse in court filings, including my brave client Dawn Richard, this arrest seems long overdue.”
She added, “It’s a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning. May justice be delivered to Mr. Combs. We implore other accusers to come forward in solidarity and join us in this fight.”
Dawn Richard.
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Richard is the second famous face to testify against Combs. Her testimony followed that of his ex Cassie Ventura.
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A court drawing of Diddy.
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Combs’ federal sex-trafficking trial has been underway for three weeks.
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Combs has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, but has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to last two months and if convicted, he could face life in prison.
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