Sean “Diddy” Combs was almost thrown out of his own trial on Thursday.
Combs was caught “nodding vigorously” at jurors in the courtroom by the trial judge, who threatened to exclude him from the rest of proceedings for the “inappropriate” gestures, according to CNN.
“There was a line of questioning when your client was nodding vigorously and looking at the jury,” Judge Arun Subramanian told Combs’ defense, after he’d already warned that the embattled mogul was forbidden from trying to influence jurors from his seat during testimony. “I could not have been any clearer in terms of what I said.”
Combs is on trial for racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was reportedly expressionless during the four-day testimony of his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who testified that Combs had brutally physically assaulted repeatedly over the course of their 11-year relationship, forced her to engage in recorded sex performances called “freak-offs,” and blackmailed her into his bidding with the footage.
He also avoided reprimand for his expressions during the testimony of the other witnesses, including Ventura’s ex Kid Cudi, who’d alleged Combs broke into his house and had his Porsche blown up, and his former live-in assistant “Mia,” who testified that Combs raped and assaulted her when she worked for him.
But he began expressing himself in court Thursday during the cross examination of Bryana Bongolan, a friend of Ventura’s who claimed on the stand that Combs threatened her life when he held her over a balcony, before throwing her onto patio furniture and injuring her leg.
Combs’ defense attempted to poke holes in Bongolan’s story—during which Combs was caught nodding twice, per CNN. “It is absolutely unacceptable,” Judge Subramanian said, and “cannot happen again,” lest Combs be excluded from the courtroom.
