Kid Cudi has said that he declined to testify in court against Sean “Diddy” Combs twice before being subpoenaed.
The disgraced music mogul was found guilty on two counts of transportation for engaging in prostitution, but was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking in July, and pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
During the trial, Cudi – real name Scott Mescudi – appeared in court to testify against Combs, and was considered a key witness for prosecutors.
Now, he’s revealed that he twice said no to prosecutors when they asked him to testify voluntarily. He then received a subpoena and had no choice.
Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast to promote his new memoir, Cudi said: “At first they asked, I said no. They asked again. I said no. Then I got subpoenaed. And I was like, ‘Fuck, shit, no.’”
The rapper went on to say that he initially considered wearing a suit, but then decided he wasn’t “dressing up for this shit”, and arrived at the federal courthouse wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. “I hated every minute of it,” he said. “I did not want to do it.”
Cudi added that he got through his testimony by thinking of Cassie Ventura, who he dated in 2011 when she was taking a break from Combs amid what he testified were “some problems” in that relationship.
“I was calm,” he explained. ”I just was there to support her. That’s what kind of gave me peace with it when I sat down in that chair. It [went from], ‘Damn, I don’t want to do this,’ to being like, ‘Oh man, I gotta like hold homegirl down and, you know, look out for her,’” he said.
“Cassie is my friend, you know, and I love her, and I want to see her do well,” he added. “When I saw her get married, I was so happy for her that she found … her person. When I saw that she was having kids, I was like, awww, this is so awesome. I’ve always just wanted to see her thrive and do well and be happy, because I know she was living the nightmare.”
As reported by Reuters, during Cudi’s testimony, he recounted a story from December 2011 in which he claimed Combs had discovered that Mescudi and Ventura were in a relationship and Ventura had called him asking to be picked up.
Mescudi said Ventura sounded scared on the phone and informed him that she had given Combs his Hollywood Hills address. Mescudi claimed he later learned via a friend that Combs was in his home, causing Mescudi to call Combs.
“I said, ‘Motherfucker, you in my house?’” Mescudi testified. He said Combs wanted to talk to him, but when Mescudi arrived at his home, nobody was there. He also noted that several Christmas presents for his family had been unwrapped, and his dog had been locked in a bathroom.
Under questions from Combs’ lawyer Brian Steel, Mescudi confirmed that the door to the property had been left unlocked and none of his possessions had been damaged.
Mescudi was also asked about the allegation that his car had been “intentionally” set on fire in January 2012. In 2023, Ventura issued a lawsuit claiming that Combs had made a threat to blow up Mescudi’s car to send him a message.
During his testimony, Mescudi claimed that he met up with Combs the day after the car fire in Los Angeles and said Combs told him he did not know what he was talking about. When asked by prosecutors, Mescudi said he believed Combs was “lying”.
Sketch of Kid Cudi on the stand today 5-22-25 testifying in the #DiddyTrial
Photo by Jane Rosenberg pic.twitter.com/7yhMpZUZox
— Put Up Prince$$ (@SunnyBanks_) May 22, 2025
Elsewhere, Combs’s attorney Marc Agnifilo has disputed his legal teammates’ claims that they’ve reached out to Donald Trump‘s administration for a potential pardon.
It comes after a member of Combs’ legal team had confirmed they had reached out to the White House to ask President Trump to grant Diddy a pardon.
Trump has speculated openly about a potential pardon. Back in June, he said that he would look into a potential pardon for Combs, and that he would “certainly look at the facts”. Last week, he weighed in again, calling Combs “half-innocent” and saying it’s “more likely a no” that he would be pardoned.
As noted by Billboard, he has also issued pardons or commutations for a number of rappers including NBA YoungBoy, Death Row Records co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris, and in his first term, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.
Late last month (July 29), Diddy asked a judge to release him on a $50million (£37.4million) bond as he waits to be sentenced in October, but was denied bail after US District Judge Arun Subramanian said that he had failed to prove there were any “exceptional” reasons as to why he should be released ahead sentencing.
