By James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey

Musician Kid Cudi testified in New York federal court Thursday that his car was torched and his home was broken into after Sean "Diddy" Combs learned he was dating the hip-hop mogul's ex-girlfriend.

Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, said at Combs's sex-trafficking trial that he began a relationship with singer Cassie Ventura toward the end of 2011, but it ended abruptly after Combs's meddling and threats. Ventura, Combs's then on-again-off-again girlfriend, has alleged in a civil lawsuit, which she has since settled, that Combs blew up the car.

"I just felt like things were getting out of hand," Cudi said about breaking off the relationship.

Cudi's testimony came toward the end of the second week of the trial, in which prosecutors say Combs forced women, including his girlfriends, into participating in sex parties with escorts. Combs used violence, drugs and the threat of releasing videos of the sex parties, referred to as "freak offs," to control the women, according to prosecutors. The hip-hop mogul's lawyers have acknowledged that Combs abused his girlfriends but said that all sex was consensual.

Cudi testified that Ventura, Combs's then on-again-off-again girlfriend, called him frantically one December morning to say Combs knew of their romance.

"She sounded really stressed on the phone, nervous, scared, so I went to pick her up," Cudi recalled.

He and Ventura went to a hotel in Los Angeles to keep her safe, he told the jury. While there, he said, an employee of Combs called them to say that the rap entrepreneur was inside Cudi's home.

Cudi said he raced back to his house and during the drive called Combs, who coolly said he was waiting for him. When he arrived at his home, Cudi said, Combs wasn't there. But Cudi said he found that his security camera had been changed, Christmas gifts had been unwrapped and his dog had been locked in a bathroom.

Ventura and Cudi spent the 2011 Christmas at her family's home in Connecticut, the musician testified, with Combs occasionally texting him that he wanted to talk.

In January 2012, Cudi testified, his dog sitter called to say the musician's Porsche 911 had been blown up in the driveway of his home with a Molotov cocktail. After he learned of the arson, Cudi raced home to find the charred car, he said.

"What was your reaction?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson.

"What the f -- ?" said Cudi, who was wearing a leather jacket.

The next day, Cudi said, he met with Combs at Soho House in Los Angeles. "I said, 'What are we gonna do about my car?'" Cudi recalled. He told jurors Combs looked at him with a cold stare and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Cudi testified that he understood that Combs was lying.

Several years later, Cudi testified, he again saw Combs at Soho House, and the hip-hop mogul "basically apologized for everything."

Ventura testified last week that Combs found out she was dating Cudi when he looked at his girlfriend's phone during a "freak off" in Los Angeles in late 2011. Combs then lunged at her with a wine-bottle opener, she said. "His eyes blacked out, super angry," Ventura said.

She told the jury she used a burner phone to call Cudi, who came and picked her up. Combs subsequently threatened to release videos of Ventura participating in freak offs, Ventura said.

While being questioned by Combs's lawyer, Cudi acknowledged no witnesses had seen Combs or anyone affiliated with him on his property the night of the fire. He also said his house was unlocked on the day of the break-in.

Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com and Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 22, 2025 13:06 ET (17:06 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.