‘Marvel Supervillain’: Kid Cudi Describes Meeting With Diddy After Molotov Cocktail Hit His Porsche

Rapper-producer Kid Cudi testified in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial this week, at one point describing the music mogul as the personification of a “Marvel supervillain.”

The trial, which is expected to be around eight weeks long, comes after federal prosecutors in New York indicted Combs on five charges, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. Prosecutors claim Combs ran a criminal enterprise using his money and prestige. Combs denies the charges, with his attorneys framing the allegations against him as an attempt to dethrone a successful Black man.

Kid Cudi, whose given name is Scott Mescudi, in 2011 briefly dated R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former longtime partner of Combs and a key witness in the trial. While on the stand on Thursday, Mescudi described multiple instances in which he said Combs retaliated against him after discovering that he and Ventura were dating. Those instances included a home break-in and an act of arson. The arson attack — a Molotov cocktail thrown into Mescudi’s car — was first revealed publicly in a quickly settled but monumental lawsuit filed by Ventura against Combs in November 2023.

According to multiple reports from inside the courtroom, Mescudi said that he learned Combs was abusive toward Venturay during their brief relationship.

CNN reported that Mescudi testified that in December 2011, he received a 6 a.m. call from a “scared” Ventura. Ventura feared that Combs was going to do something to Mescudi because Combs had just found out they were dating, he said.

Combs found out about Ventura’s new relationship during a “freak-off” and tried to attack Ventura with a wine opener, HuffPost previously reported. Ventura managed to escape, and Mescudi picked her up. The two went to a hotel, where they learned that Combs and another person were at Mescudi’s home, he said. He then drove home and called Combs.

“I said, ‘Motherfucker you in my house?’” the “Day ‘n’ Night” artist testified on Thursday, according to CNN.

“I just want to talk to you,” Combs responded, according to Mescudi. “I’m over here waiting for you.”

When Mescudi arrived, he said he found his dog locked in the bathroom “jittery” and “on edge,” his security cameras were moved, and some Christmas gifts had been opened, according to the Washington Post. Combs had already left the scene, and Mescudi notified the police, the outlet reported.

Ventura and Mescudi had spent the Christmas holiday together, but they broke up before New Year’s Eve, per CNN.

Still, in January 2012, Mescudi’s luxury vehicle, a Porsche 911, was set on fire in his driveway, according to multiple reports. He remembered his dog sitter calling him to tell him that his car was on fire. Mescudi then traveled 45 minutes to get back home to his car.

“It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in,” Mescudi described, according to CNN.

Mescudi then detailed a meeting with Combs after his car was set on fire because he “knew [Combs] had something to do with it.”

No one was able to tie Combs to the property on the day Mescudi’s car blew up, and there weren’t any fingerprints or DNA to tie Combs to the scene, Reuters reported.

The two men met at the Soho House in Los Angeles the day after the Porsche was set on fire, Mescudi said.

Upon arrival, “Sean Combs was standing there, staring out the window with his hands behind his back, like a Marvel supervillain,” Mescudi testified, according to CNN. The description reportedly prompted some laughter among people in the courtroom.

Mescudi said Combs denied the act of arson, but Mescudi said he believed Combs was lying.

Mescudi also testified Thursday that Combs apologized to him in 2015 after the two ran into each other at the Soho House, per CNN.

“Man, I just want to apologize for everything and all that bullshit,” Mescudi claimed Combs said at the time.

“That was the last thing I was expecting to get from him,” Mescudi added.

According to The Associated Press, Mescudi said during cross-examination that Ventura was living a “double life” and had played him. As Ventura previously testified, she was still seeing Combs as she was dating Mescudi.

In a video on his Instagram story on Thursday, after his court appearance, Mescudi thanked his fans for their support.

“It really means a lot to me, man. You guys are the best. I love y’all,” he said. “This is a stressful situation, I’m glad it’s behind me.”

Mescudi was one of 16 witnesses prosecutors have brought to the stand over the past two weeks of testimony. On Thursday, additional testimony came from: George Kaplan, a former Combs employee; Mylah Morales, a celebrity makeup artist; and Frederic Zemmour, the general manager of the L’Ermitage Hotel.

The trial will resume on Tuesday, after the Memorial Day weekend. If convicted, Combs could spend the rest of his life behind bars.