Sean Combs trial updates: Juror dismissed, Kanye West makes brief court appearance

An issue has arisen with a juror at the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Combs, Judge Arun Subramanian said Tuesday without disclosing what the issue is.

The issue was the subject of a conversation in the robing room Monday among the judge, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo and prosecutor Maurene Comey, a transcript of which is sealed. There was no immediate action taken and the juror remains on the panel.

Subramanian denied the defense request for a mistrial.

The defense accused prosecutors of knowingly introducing false testimony of Bryana Bongolan, who told the jury Combs dangled her from Cassie Ventura's 17th floor balcony. The defense argued hotel receipts put Combs in New York at the time she said the incident occurred.

"This is not fodder for a mistrial. This is the adversarial process at work," Subramanian said from the bench.

Combs' ex-girlfriend, known by the pseudonym "Jane," returns to the witness stand for what is expected to be a days-long cross-examination. Jane said she was meeting with defense attorneys as recently as two months ago and they were the first people she told of a fight she said she had with Combs that left her with welts on her forehead and a black eye.

Jane told the jury she started the fight by knocking Combs into a countertop and throwing candles at him before he chased around her Los Angeles home, kicking doors, putting her in a chokehold, lifting her by the neck, dragging her by the hair and arm and punching and kicking her.

When the fight was over, Jane testified Combs told her to ice her injuries, put on lingerie and high heels and take ecstasy so she could have sex with a male escort.

Jane read scores of text messages pleading with Combs to understand the physical and psychological toll "hotel nights" were taking, telling him, "I'm not an animal. I'm not a porn star." She testified he responded by calling her "crazy," threatening to withhold rent and to release sex tapes.

The former Sean Combs girlfriend appearing under the pseudonym "Jane" testified that she used makeup to cover her bruises from an alleged earlier physical confrontation with Combs and swept her hair over her black eye, in preparation for an alleged sexual encounter with a male partner she told the court was named Anton.

In the bathroom, "Jane" told the court, she remembered Combs telling her, "Take this f------ pill. You're not going to ruin my f------ night. Get out there and perform... on him. F--- him. I don't care."

"Jane" began openly weeping when she told the court that she recalled saying "I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to." She testified that she took the ecstasy pill Combs allegedly demanded she take and then performed oral sex on Anton.

"For how long?" prosecutor Maurene Comey asked.

"It just felt like forever," "Jane" testified.

The next day, "Jane" testified, Combs' assistant and a bodyguard arrived with $10,000 to $12,000 in cash.

"It was for Anton and for the damages in the house," "Jane" testified.

The jury saw records of the Uber "Jane" testified that she ordered to take $3,000 to $4,000 of the cash to Anton, keeping the rest. The jury saw multiple photos of the doors allegedly damaged by "Sean's kick" that "Jane" sent to a repair company.

"Jane" testified that she saw Combs a few days later at his home. The jury saw a video she took that showed her facial injuries, allegedly caused by Combs, were visible through the foundation and concealer she told the jury she applied to hide them. The jury also saw a second selfie video that briefly captured the injuries she testified Combs inflicted.

"Jane" told the court that she visited Combs in Miami at the end of July 2024, where he allegedly gave her "liquid molly" and she had "high octane" sex with a male partner named Paul.

According to her testimony, "Jane's" final trip to see Combs in Miami occurred in August 2024, when she testified she had sex with a male partner named Don. She told the court that she didn't see Combs after that visit but texted with him prior to his arrest the following month.

In one message in September 2024, according to "Jane's" testimony, Combs asked her for explicit videos and invited her to New York. She testified she did not go because "he got arrested."

"Jane" has been in therapy for about three months, she told the jury. She also testified that she hired a lawyer in 2024 and that Combs is still paying her legal bills and her rent.

"Jane" testified that she met with Combs' defense attorneys as recently as April of 2025 and that they were the first people she told about the alleged violent incident in June 2024, about which she testified earlier..

"Have you ever filed a lawsuit against Sean," Comey asked.

"No," "Jane" testified in response.

"Sitting here today, how do you feel about Sean now?" Comey asked.

"I just pray for his continued healing and I pray for peace for him," "Jane" testified.

"Jane's" direct examination is over. Court is adjourned for the day. "Jane" is scheduled to return to the stand Tuesday to begin cross-examination by defense attorneys.

Eyewitness News, and ABC News legal contributor Bernarda Villalona dig deeper into everything that happened in court on Monday.

"Jane" told the court that after she watched Sean Combs pledge in his May 2024 Instagram post to become a "better man" in response to the surfacing of the widely-seen hotel video footage of his attack on ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, she next saw Combs in person on June 18, 2024.

"It was a very terrible day," "Jane" testified, appearing under a pseudonym. She told the jury she had been "bottling up a lot of resentment and anger towards him" and that she confronted him about a woman he allegedly was with on a recent trip.

"I said, 'You're a pedophile,'" "Jane" testified. The woman he had been with was over 18, she told the court, but added that she "felt like he was 25 or 27 years her senior."

Continuing her testimony, "Jane" said Combs "bent over and I pushed his head on the counter."

She then told the court that she started throwing candles. "A lot of wax went on Sean but I don't remember striking him with the glass," she testified.

"Jane" further testified that she retreated to her bedroom, shouting "just leave, just leave" when Combs allegedly kicked open the door. She told the court she went into the bathroom, whereupon Combs allegedly kicked the bathroom door "literally off the hinges."

"Jane" told the court that Combs "kicked me on the back of my thigh," causing her to fall. "He put me in a chokehold on the ground, and I couldn't breathe," she testified, and also allegedly lifted her by her neck.

"Jane" told the court she managed to escape, and that she hid for about two hours before she returned to the residence, thinking he would be gone. She testified Combs was still at the residence and kicked open the guest bedroom door, after which she ran to the patio.

"I remember that I punched him and he punched me," "Jane" told the jury. "After that, I remember I ran into the backyard, kept saying 'leave me alone' and went into a deep part of the backyard."

"Jane" testified that Combs allegedly punched and kicked her while she was balled up on the ground, grabbed her by the hair and arm and dragged her toward the house.

Inside the house, "Jane" testified, she noticed Combs' phone.

"I took his phone and I ended up calling the girl I assumed he was with," "Jane" told the court, adding that "Sean was holding me down and making me listen to her insults."

In a bathroom later, "Jane" testified, she noticed two welts on her forehead and a black eye forming. She told the court that she went to take a shower, at which time Combs allegedly slapped her face three times, causing her to lose her balance.

"Sean said, 'just put some ice on it and put an outfit on,'" "Jane" testified.

"Jane" told the court that she donned some lingerie and high heels. She testified Combs put on some pornography and used her phone to text a male escort named Anton.

When the widely seen 2016 hotel security camera video of Sean Combs attacking Cassie Ventura first appeared on television in May 2024, "Jane" testified she was with Combs at his home in Miami.

"I remember we were sleeping and one of the sons knocked on the door and said that something happened and then I was just by myself," the former Combs girlfriend appearing under the pseudonym "Jane" told the court. "I went downstairs and could see everyone speaking amongst each other."

Prosecutor Maurene Comey asked, "What did you see on the video?"

"I saw Sean assaulting Cassie in a hotel lobby," "Jane" testified. She also told the court that she saw Combs huddling with his team and his family to come up with a response.

"At any point did you hear Sean deny that he was the person depicted in that video assaulting Cassie?" Comey asked.

"No," "Jane" testified.

"Jane" told the court that Combs showed her the final draft of a statement he had prepared in response to the video's release. "I remember that I felt that it was more heartfelt and I thought it was a good enough apologetic letter, given the circumstances," "Jane" testified.

"Did you and Sean talk about what you saw in that video?" Comey asked.

"Jane" told the court that she did, testifying that Combs told her "that was the only time they had physical violence like that."

"Jane" then testified that she left Miami for Los Angeles, where she remembered seeing Combs' Instagram post that said, in part, "My behavior on the video is inexcusable."

The jury heard the entire statement that Combs posted online.

"I felt disappointed in him," "Jane" testified. "I didn't feel it was genuine," referring to the online post.