Witness Claims Diddy Dangled He Over Balcony

As Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ sex trafficking and racketeering trial continues, on Wednesday, a witness took the stand who claimed the disgraced Bad Boy mogul dangled her over a 17th-floor apartment balcony, causing her to fear for her life.

According to the New York Times, the allegation made by Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, a 33-year-old fashion designer, was first made public as part of the lawsuit filed in 2023 by Cassie Ventura, whom Bongolan said she became close friends with as they collaborated on projects. Cassie, Kid Cudi and others have already testified about the abuses and terroristic acts they allegedly suffered at the hands of Diddy. Bongolan is only the latest witness who is painting the “All About the  Benjamins” rapper and producer as the monster many people across social media believe him to be.

From the Times:

Ms. Bongolan said she was staying at Ms. Ventura’s apartment in Los Angeles early one morning in September 2016 when she was awakened by Mr. Combs pounding on the door.

Ms. Ventura was sleeping in her bedroom, Ms. Bongolan testified, and she headed to the apartment’s balcony in an attempt to “act casual.” After entering the apartment, Mr. Combs headed right to her. He picked Ms. Bongolan up by the armpits, held her above the balcony’s railing and yelled at her, she testified.

“For a split second,” Ms. Bongolan said, “I was thinking about if I was going to fall.”

Ms. Bongolan said Mr. Combs told her, “you know what you did,” using an expletive, but that she did not know what he meant.

Mr. Combs then pulled her down and threw her onto the balcony furniture, she said. Jurors were shown photographs she took of herself later that day that showed a large bruise on her leg, bandages on her back and a neck brace.

Ms. Bongolan testified that she is 5 foot 1 and weighed between 100 and 115 pounds at the time. Mr. Combs, she said, was “bigger.”

Since the incident, Ms. Bongolan said, “I have nightmares, and I have a lot of paranoia and I used to scream a lot in my sleep, but it’s dissipated a little bit.”

Bongolan was then cross-examined by Diddy attorney Nicole Westmoreland, who repeatedly challenged the witness regarding what she described as inconsistencies in her story. For example, Westmoreland grilled Bongolan about an allegation she previously made in a legal letter, claiming Combs had groped her breasts before lifting her onto the balcony railing.

“Didn’t you accuse Mr. Combs of actually sexually assaulting you on that balcony?” Westmoreland asked.

“I don’t remember,” Bongolan responded.

Westmoreland also questioned Bongolan’s description of the balcony and how she was positioned on it, noting that in a lawsuit she filed, she claimed she had been dangled over the banister, “with only Combs’ grip keeping her from falling to her death.” On the stand, however, Bongolan testified that her feet were resting on the railing, which Westmoreland suggested meant she wasn’t in as much danger as she said she was in.

Westmoreland asked Bongolan, “Isn’t it true that just two days ago you told the prosecution you just don’t recall the details of the balcony allegation?”

“I don’t remember,” she responded.

There were other instances during the cross that Westmoreland hammered at Bongolan in an effort to highlight the witness’s fuzzy memory regarding details of alleged attacks.

More from the Times:

Ms. Bongolan testified that Mr. Combs once entered Ms. Ventura’s apartment and threw a knife at her in a hallway. It missed, as did Ms. Ventura’s throw back, and Mr. Combs “left swiftly,” Ms. Bongolan said.

Ms. Westmoreland said that Mr. Bongolan had once told the government that the knives had been thrown in a kitchen, not a hallway.

“You really don’t remember this?” Ms. Westmoreland asked.

“I just saw the knife get thrown and the knife get thrown back,” Ms. Bongolan answered.

So, is Bongolan lying, or is the defense trying to make lies out of minor discrepancies? These are among the issues a jury will have to decide once this trial draws to a close.

We shall see.

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