Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Jurors React to Graphic Photos
Two of the jurors in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial couldn't hide their reaction to some of the graphic images they were shown during the testimony of accuser Cassie Ventura.
According to The Associated Press, prosecutors "showed the jury five still images from" graphic videos on May 14.
Ventura told the jury that the images "depicted her at various stages of the encounters" that Combs labeled "freak-offs," AP reported. These "freak-offs" are central to her accusations that Combs coerced her into having intimate relations with men he hired.
And that's when the jurors gave a clue to how they're feeling.
When the jurors were shown the photos, one "juror’s eyes widened. Another shook his head from side to side," The AP reported.
It's the first hint about how the jurors may be feeling about the disturbing testimony in the trial; Ventura has testified for hours that Combs abused, manipulated, and coerced her into a series of graphic activities. She is also accusing him of rape.
According to CNN, jurors also saw "numerous photos of her black eyes, fat lip, a gash on her forehead and other bruising on her body."
The still images were from "freak-off" videos, and they were visible to the jury but not the public in court. They showed her with "several different escorts," CNN reported.
Combs' lawyers have countered that, although he did not always behave in an appropriate fashion, the behavior was consensual and didn't reach the criminal standard for trafficking. Combs is on trial in New York. Ventura, his former girlfriend, is the first accuser to testify.
"Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case," Combs' attorney Teny Geragos told jurors previously, according to USA Today. "This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships."
Related: Cassie Ventura Reveals Bombshell Settlement From Sean 'Diddy' Combs