Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie testifies 'Freak Offs' became her job

Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as "Cassie," said that she began taking part in the "Freak Offs" to please Combs, but continued because he blackmailed her with videos of the encounters.

“The 'Freak Offs' became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” Ventura told jurors, adding that the performances could last 1-1/2 to four days.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and could face life in prison.

Wearing a brown dress, a pregnant Ventura said she started dating Combs in her early 20s. Ventura, who is now 38, said that Combs frequently beat her, leaving her with black eyes and bruises all over her body.

“He would bash my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” Ventura, her voice breaking slightly, said on the second day of testimony in the high-profile trial.

Combs' lawyers say prosecutors seek to criminalize the rapper's "swingers" lifestyle in which he and his girlfriends invited other men to join them for sex.

Defense lawyer Teny Geragos conceded to jurors on Monday that Combs had a bad temper and jealousy problems but said this had nothing to do with sex trafficking or racketeering.

"Domestic violence is not sex trafficking," Geragos said. "He is not charged with being a flawed individual."

Prosecutors allege Combs used his clout in the music industry to bend victims to his will and keep them silent about his abuse. Throughout Ventura's testimony, the prosecution repeatedly sought to portray a power imbalance between the Bad Boy Records founder and Ventura.

Ventura told jurors she did not want to engage in the "Freak Offs" but did so to avoid making Combs angry.

“I was confused and nervous but I also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy,” Ventura said. "I didn't feel like I had much of a choice."

VENTURA SAYS COMBS CONTROLLED HER LIFE

Ventura said Combs controlled much of her life and career.

"Control was everything, from the way that I looked to what I was working on that day, who I was speaking to. Control was kind of an all-around thing to a certain point,” Ventura said.

Prosecutors introduced a video of Combs and Ventura on Monday, the first day of evidence in the high-profile trial. In the video, Combs throws her to the ground and kicks her in the hallway of a Los Angeles area hotel when she tried to leave.

Combs, wearing only a towel, is then seen grabbing Ventura's belongings and dragging her into the hallway. Combs apologized after the video first aired on CNN last year.

Marc Agnifilo, Combs' lead lawyer, has said the 2016 hotel incident depicted the aftermath of a dispute over infidelity. In a court hearing on Friday, Agnifilo said Ventura had a history of domestic violence, signaling he plans to use that to undermine Ventura's credibility.

Over the course of a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from Ventura and two or possibly three of Combs' other female accusers, as well as his former employees who prosecutors say helped arrange and cover up his actions.

Geragos said in her opening statement on Monday that prosecutors were trying to twist Combs' romantic relationships into a racketeering and sex trafficking case.

"Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships," Geragos said.