Rapper Kid Cudi is set to testify in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing trial — but not before the court questioned the relevance of his dog.
Judge Arun Subramanian briefly excused the jury on Thursday, May 22, to discuss Cudi’s testimony, according to The Washington Post. Cudi, now 41, was called to testify about Diddy, now 55, allegedly orchestrating a 2011 burglary at his house. (Cudi dated Cassie that year during one of her breakups from Diddy.)
Diddy’s lawyer Brian Steel wanted Cudi (real name Scott Mescudi) to omit any testimony that his pet dog was “traumatized” by the alleged ordeal. (Diddy hasn’t publicly addressed his reported involvement in the burglary.)
Steel said he didn’t want any “dog lovers on the jury” to be swayed by Cudi’s remarks.
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“‘The dog was never the same. The dog urinated on the floor.’ Why do we need that?” Steel asked.
Subramanian, meanwhile, stated that Cudi likely wouldn’t “testify about what the dog thought” before issuing a ruling on the matter. Per the judge, Cudi will be allowed to mention the immediate impact the incident had on his dog without mentioning any alleged “long-term consequences.”
Cudi’s dog has since died, with prosecutor Emily Johnson also agreeing to limit any dog-related questions to the “immediate aftermath” of the burglary.
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all allegations against him and pleaded not guilty.
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“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo told Us Weekly in a statement at the time. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”
Cassie, 38, took the stand in Diddy’s trial earlier this month, claiming that the disgraced music mogul threatened to blow up Cudi’s car when he found out about their romance. (Cassie shared the same claims in her 2023 lawsuit, which Diddy denied before they settled out of court the next day.)
Cassie (full name Casandra Ventura) alleged that Diddy “was going to hurt Scott and I” when he found out about their romance through email correspondence. The “Me & U” singer said that she broke up with Cudi after receiving a number of alleged threats from Diddy.
“Too much danger, too much uncertainty of what could happen if we continued to see each other,” Cassie said.
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