Kanye West appeared at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial in New York.
Wearing all-white and dark sunglasses, West passed through security alongside Combs’ youngest son, Christian “King” Combs, but without his Australian wife, Bianca Censori.
The controversial rapper was greeted by Combs’ attorney, Xavier Donaldson, and Charlucci Finney, Combs’ close friend and self-proclaimed godbrother who has attended each day of the trial. However, West didn’t enter the main courtroom and was instead taken to an overflow room alongside the public and press to watch the events in the courtroom on a large screen.
A source confirmed to Rolling Stone that court staff discussed the possibility of West’s arrival the day before. On both days, West was not on the official list of Combs’ close family and associates who receive reserved seating in the main courtroom.
West stood in the room as Combs’ former personal assistant Jonathan Perez testified about the alleged freak-offs, which he knew as “king nights” and said to help organise for Combs. His presence added another layer of spectacle for the trial, with curious spectators flocking to the room to get a glimpse of the rapper.
Shortly after, West motioned to Christian that he was ready to leave, and he swiftly left the Manhattan courthouse within an hour of his surprise arrival.
West is one of the few remaining celebrities to voice strong support for Combs amid the music mogul’s trial, now in its fifth week. West, who now goes by Ye, recently featured parts of a jail call with Combs in his song “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine.”
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“This shit is wicked, wicked, wicked. So you be careful,” Combs said in video of the jail call obtained by the Shade Room.
He thanked West for acting like a “big brother father figure” to Christian while in custody and described feeling like he was “left for dead,” with “only one person coming to do anything” to support him.
“I’m Puff Daddy in jail. This shit is fucking sad as a motherfucker,” Combs said.
Perez was one of two witnesses to testify before the trial today. He told the court that he worked for Combs from December 2021 up until his arrest in September 2024, during which he claimed to have helped maintain a supply of cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, Adderall, and Xanax kept in a Gucci pouch for Combs. Perez was granted immunity for purchasing or carrying illicit drugs for Combs before answering questions on the stand.
He alleged that another part of his job was to organise hotel rooms for Combs’ alleged freak-offs. Perez also confirmed Combs was in a relationship with Victim-2 in his indictment, who went by the pseudonym “Jane”, during his tenure and called her a “companion.”
Prosecutors showed him messages exchanged between him, another assistant, and his direct supervisor and Combs’ former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram.
In one exchange, Perez said he was heading to a sex store to purchase clothing for Jane. Another from May 2023 featured another assistant saying they “slipped & fell twice” while cleaning up a room after an alleged freak-off.
Both Jane and Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura previously testified that he wanted them dressed in lingerie and lathered in baby oil during their marathon sex sessions with male escorts.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September and has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. If convicted as charged, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
