Cassie is back on the witness stand in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial

NEW YORK — The R&B singer Cassie returned to the witness stand Wednesday after spending the previous day recounting grotesque and humiliating details of life with her ex-boyfriend, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, was being questioned by the prosecution in Combs’ sex trafficking trial. Combs’ lawyers were expected to begin their cross-examination of her later in the day — their opportunity to challenge her credibility or poke holes in her accounts of what happened.

During her first day of testimony on Tuesday, Cassie described being pressured into multi-day sexual encounters with paid sex workers while Combs watched and gave directions. She also recounted being beaten numerous times by Combs when she did things that displeased him — like smiling at him the wrong way.

“You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she said.

Asst. U.S. Atty. Emily Johnson picked up where she left off on Tuesday, asking Cassie about video images of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

The video, played in court for a fifth time Tuesday, shows Combs hitting, kicking and attempting to drag Cassie back to their room. She testified it happened as she was leaving one of the sex parties that Combs called “freak offs.” After the footage was leaked last year, Combs apologized.

The freak offs took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs’ very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities.

Cassie accused Combs of gaining her submission by threatening to publicly release videos of her with male sex workers, and she feared more violence if she refused his demands.

Combs’ attorneys have acknowledged Combs could be violent but maintain that the sexual acts were consensual. They say nothing he did amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering — the charges that he faces.

The trial is expected to last about two months.

Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press. This is a developing story that will update with more testimony and details from the trial.