Rapper Kid Cudi says his car was set on fire weeks after Sean 'Diddy' Combs broke into his home

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Sean “Diddy” Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011 after finding out he was dating Combs' ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, and said he was sure Combs was behind the firebombing of his car weeks later.

Speaking at Combs' federal sex trafficking trial in Manhattan, Cudi said that while he and Cassie were briefly dating, he took her to a West Hollywood hotel in order to get her away from the seething Combs. While there, he said, he got a call from Combs’ assistant Capricorn Clark. She told him Combs and an affiliate were in Cudi's house and she had been forced to go with them.

Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, said he called Combs while driving home and asked why he was in his house. He said Combs calmly replied, “I want to talk to you.”

But Combs wasn’t there when he arrived, Cudi testified. Instead, he found that someone had opened Christmas presents he’d bought for his family and locked his dog in a bathroom. Cudi wasn’t sure what was going on, so he called the police.

A few weeks later, Cudi testified, his Porsche 911 convertible was damaged by fire while parked in his driveway. Cudi said he was at a friend’s house when his dog-sitter called and told him his car was on fire. Jurors were shown photos of the car’s red leather interior scorched and burned, with a hole apparently cut in the fabric roof. A Molotov cocktail was found on the passenger seat, Cudi said.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified last week that Combs threatened to blow up Cudi’s car and hurt him after he learned she was dating the Grammy Award-winning rapper.

Cudi said he didn’t have conflicts at the time with anyone other than Combs.

“I knew he had something to do with it,” Cudi said, leading Combs’ lawyers to object. Jurors were told to disregard the remark.

Cudi told jurors he met with Combs the next day at a Los Angeles hotel to try to smooth things over.

“After the fire, I said this is getting out of hand. I need to talk to him,” Cudi said.

At the end of the meeting, as they stood and shook hands, Cudi said he asked Combs: “What are we going to do about my car?” Cudi said Combs gave him a “very cold stare” and responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cudi thought “he was lying” but let it go, and there were no more episodes at his house. A few years later, Combs apologized “for everything” when they ran into each other at a hotel, Cudi testified.

Combs seemed subdued as Cudi testified. Although he looked toward the witness stand, neither man seemed to react to the other. Cudi didn’t look at Combs when he left the stand. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, Cudi arrived at the courthouse smoking a cigarette while someone held an umbrella over him in the rain. He didn’t speak to reporters while leaving.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He denies using threats or his music industry clout to abuse women and others, and denies forcing Cassie or anyone else to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances called freak-offs.

During the defense cross-examination of Cudi, Combs' lawyer Brian Steel painted Cassie as the villain in her relationships with Combs and Cudi, suggesting she had played both of them and had been living a “double life.”

Cudi testified that when he started dating Cassie in late 2011, she led him to believe she and Combs had broken up.

In reality, Cassie testified earlier, she was still seeing Combs and using a “burner” phone to contact Cudi so as to keep their relationship secret.

“Ms. Ventura was living two different lives, is that true?” Steel asked.

“Yes,” Cudi replied.

Cudi said he was in love with Cassie and was upset to find out she later decided to go back to Combs.

In four days of testimony last week, Cassie said Combs physically abused her during most of their relationship from 2007 through 2018.

George Kaplan, Combs' former personal assistant, testified Thursday that in 2015 he saw Combs be violent with Cassie on a private jet. He said no one helped her as she screamed: “Isn't anybody seeing this?” Kaplan said he didn't intervene because he was afraid of losing his job, but quit after that attack and a later episode in which he saw Cassie with a bruised eye.

Jurors also heard Thursday from makeup artist Mylah Morales, who’s worked for Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and other stars. She said Combs stormed into Cassie's bedroom at a hotel the weekend of the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Combs shut the door and she heard “yelling and screaming." Then she saw Cassie with a “swollen eye and a busted lip, and knots on her head.”

Later, the general manager of the ritzy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel testified that Combs frequently stayed there using aliases such as Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie said he used when checking in for freak-offs, which often involved baby oil and hot wax.

Frédéric Zemmour said Combs’ guest profile noted he “ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.” The profile instructed staff to “place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”

The trial is set to resume Tuesday.

Associated Press writer Julie Walker in New York and Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Music artist Kid Cudi testifies on the witness stand during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court,Thursday, May 22, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Defense attorney Brian Steel, center, cross examines Kid Cudi, far right, as Sean "Diddy" Combs, far left, looks on during Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court,Thursday, May 22, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Rapper Kid Cudi leaves Federal Court after testifying at the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Rapper Kid Cudi, center, arrives at Federal Court for the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Rapper Kid Cudi, right, arrives at Federal Court for the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

George Kaplan arrives at Federal Court for the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Rapper Kid Cudi, center, arrives at Federal Court for the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

George Kaplan, Sean "Diddy" Combs' former personal assistant, testifies on the witness stand during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Kid Cudi appears at the Los Angeles premiere of "Sonic The Hedgehog 2," on April 5, 2022. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A shooting outside a church building in Salt Lake City killed two people and injured six others Wednesday, police said.

The shooting took place in the parking lot of a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

Dozens of people were attending a funeral inside at the time. All the victims were adults.

Police said they do not believe the shooter had any animus toward a particular faith.

“We don’t believe this was a targeted attack against a religion or anything like that,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said.

Police also do not believe the shooting was random. Authorities said no suspect was in custody.

About 100 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene in the aftermath, and helicopters flew overhead.

“This should never have happened outside a place of worship. This should never have happened outside a celebration of life,” Mayor Erin Mendenhall said.

The church was cooperating with law enforcement and was grateful for efforts first responders' efforts, a spokesperson said.

“We extend prayers for all who have been impacted by this tragedy and express deep concern that any sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence of any kind,” Sam Penrod said in a statement.

The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, and about half of Utah’s 3.5 million residents are members of the faith. Churches like the one where the shooting occurred can be found in towns throughout the city and state.

The faith has been on heightened alert since four people were killed when a former Marine opened fire in a Michigan church last month and set it ablaze. The FBI found that he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against the church.

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

People hug each other after a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

Funeral attendees leave a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after a fatal shooting in the parking lot in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Rio Giancarlo/The Deseret News via AP)