During an at times emotional day of testimony, a former employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs opened up about the former hip-hop icon’s alleged retaliation that prevented her from employment in the music industry.
On May 27, Capricorn Clark – a personal assistant who worked in various other roles for Combs and his businesses from 2004 to 2012, then again in 2016 – testified about the threats and violence she’d witnessed from him over the years.
While on the stand, she also described having a hard time finding a job after she was fired over an issue related to vacation time – a move she insinuated was related to telling Bad Boy Records President Harve Pierre about Combs allegedly kidnapping her to threaten Kid Cudi over his relationship with Cassie Ventura Fine.
As she sought a new job, Clark told the court, Combs tried to blackball her. She alleged that she met with Jimmy Iovine for what she thought was a job opportunity, but the co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics, among others, gave her a warning on Combs’ behalf.
“They were there to tell me to leave Puff alone and that this wasn’t going to end well for me,” Clark said.
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The judge then sustained an objection from the prosecution.
USA TODAY has reached out to Interscope Records for comment from Iovine, who stepped down from his leadership role in 2014.
Clark then said she was looking for work until she got pregnant in 2015, but she couldn’t get a job.
“I wanted people to see I was a valuable person. I wasn’t disposable. In this business, he held all the power over me,” Clark said, sobbing.
During a tense cross-examination from Combs’ team, lawyer Marc Agnofilo attempted to cast doubt on the accuracy and direness of Clark’s allegations in the eyes of the jury.
He showed communications from Clark starting in 2014, in which she appeared to be making nice with Combs. As Agnifolo brought up exchanges in which Clark mentioned “dope chemistry” and having the “biggest crush” on Combs before she worked for him, she denied remembering the message.
Michael B. Jordan, Chris Brown, other stars mentioned during Diddy’s trial
Several celebrities have been name-dropped during Combs’ trial so far, with many being passing references with no actual relation to the allegations against the mogul. Such was the case, for example, with Barack Obama; Combs’ former assistant at one point mentioned a pill shaped like the former president.
These other names have come up:
- Kid Cudi
- Usher
- Jimmy Iovine
- Britney Spears
- Michael B. Jordan
- Chris Brown
- Mike Myers
- Lauren London
- Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child
- 50 Cent
- Suge Knight
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and at 800-656-4673. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
