Jane Rosenberg/REUTERS
- Sean "Diddy" Combs drew a rebuke from the judge at his Manhattan sex-trafficking trial on Thursday.
- The judge told Combs' attorneys that he'd noticed Combs repeatedly "nodding vigorously" at the jury.
- Combs could be barred from the courtroom if it happened again, the judge warned.
The trial could soon be missing him.
The judge overseeing Sean "Diddy" Combs' Manhattan sex-trafficking trial threatened to kick the rapper out of the courtroom after seeing him "nodding vigorously" during a witness's testimony on Thursday.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he personally saw Combs appearing to send signals to the jury while one of his lawyers grilled a prosecution witness about her interactions with Combs.
If it happened again, Subramanian warned the defense team, the judge would consider talking to jurors about what Combs was doing — and it could result in "the exclusion of your client from the courtroom."
"I really meant it," the judge said. "There should be no efforts whatsoever to have any interactions with the jury."
Prosecutors allege Combs sex-trafficked women by forcing them to engage in "freak offs" — dayslong, drug-fueled sexual performances involving male sex workers.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and his attorneys say all his relationships were consensual. The blockbuster trial, playing out in a lower Manhattan courtroom, is expected to conclude within a month.
The apparent head-nods came up during Thursday's cross-examination of Bryana "Bana" Bongolan, a friend of R&B artist Cassie Ventura, the prosecution's star witness.
Bongolan had told the jury on Wednesday that Combs physically attacked Ventura and herself.
Bongolan testified she once watched Combs throw a knife at Ventura, and Ventura throw it back.
Bongolan also said Combs once leaned into her face and announced, "I'm the devil and I could kill you," and said that in September, 2016, he hoisted her into the air and dangled her over Ventura's 17th-story balcony.
During the cross-examination that Combs reacted to, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland highlighted apparent inconsistencies between what Bongolan has alleged in a civil lawsuit, her interviews with prosecutors, and her testimony.
Westmoreland pursued a familiar theme pushed by Combs' legal team: That his accusers have financial motives to accuse him of wrongdoing.
In one example, Bongolan's ongoing lawsuit accuses Combs of violent sexual assault, an allegation not made in her June 4 testimony, though Bongolan did tell jurors that Combs' hands cupped her breasts before he hoisted her up from under her arms.
The jury heard earlier in the trial that Combs settled a civil lawsuit from Ventura for $20 million. Ventura also testified that a hotel where Combs beat her agreed to a $10 million settlement.
Bongolan's civil lawsuit against Combs asked for $10 million in damages.
"It means a lot for you to become a ten-millionaire soon, doesn't it?" Westmoreland asked Bongolan.
"I care about justice," Bongolan answered.