Kid Cudi arrives at Federal Court for the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Thursday. (Richard Drew/AP)
Grammy-winning rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to be called to the witness stand on Thursday in the federal criminal trial of Sean Combs.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, is known for his debut album from 2009, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day, and won two Grammy Awards in 2012 for his song “All of the Lights,” which he worked on with Kanye “Ye” West. He has also appeared in the HBO TV series Westworld and the films Don’t Look Up and X.
Why is he testifying?
Kid Cudi briefly dated Combs’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who testified last week that in late 2011 she met Kid Cudi and they soon started dating. When Combs found out about the relationship during one of their “freak offs,” Ventura said he lunged at her with a wine bottle opener.
Ventura testified that Combs threatened to release “freak off” videos of her and that he would hire someone to “hurt” Ventura and Kid Cudi. She said Combs also threatened to blow up Kid Cudi’s car, hoping Kid Cudi and his friends would be present when it happened.
The car threat allegation was mentioned in Ventura’s 2023 lawsuit against Combs, which referenced “Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.” Through a spokesperson, Kid Cudi told the New York Times that one of his cars did explode in early 2012. “This is all true,” the spokesperson said. A Los Angeles City Fire Department report from January 2012 said Kid Cudi’s Porsche was set on fire by an “incendiary device” and caused an estimated $10,000 in damages.
In a statement to Rolling Stone in September 2024, Combs’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said, “There is no allegation that Mr. Combs was involved in these actions or directed anyone else to take them. It’s clear the government doesn’t know who set fire to the vehicle or how it relates to Mr Combs, who denies any involvement.”
The indictment from last year that led to Combs’s arrest states he used arson to control victims.
Ventura said she ended her relationship with Kid Cudi in early 2012 because she felt there was “too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other.”
In the courtroom, Ventura testified that the three met at the Soho House after she broke up with Kid Cudi. She said asked, “What about my vehicle?” to which Combs replied, “What vehicle?”
