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00:00This is Nightline.
00:06Tonight, Cassie cross-examined.
00:09The defense at the Sean Diddy Combs trial grilling the prosecution start with the mogul's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
00:17These defense attorneys wanted to cast out reasonable doubt on her credibility.
00:21Directing her to read explicit texts she sent the record.
00:24The defense is hoping the jury sees enthusiasm on the part of Cassie Ventura.
00:29A willingness, an eagerness to participate.
00:32And Diddy's friend of 35 years in court every day.
00:36He's not a sex trafficker. I know that he's not a racketeering boss. I know that.
00:41The shockers in the courtroom and why actor Michael B. Jordan's name came up at trial.
00:47Plus, the Red Hot show Stopping Traffic.
00:50Sunset Boulevard, ruthless Boulevard.
00:54Destination for the stony hearted.
00:57Tony-nominated Sunset Boulevard star Tom Francis going viral for his nightly Broadway showstopper in Times Square.
01:05Sunset Boulevard, it's been a wild ride.
01:07What it's like playing the love interest of Nicole Scherzinger, voice behind hits like Don't You?
01:13Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
01:16How his onstage stardom earned him a role on a hit TV series?
01:20You can have her back when I'm done.
01:21I heard that he actually saw you on the West End and he was like, that's my guy.
01:28From ABC News headquarters in New York, this is Nightline.
01:32Good evening. Thank you for joining us.
01:35A contentious day in the trial of Sean Diddy Combs with the defense putting the mogul's now ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, under cross-examination.
01:44And just a warning, this story contains accounts, descriptions, and visual content of actual and alleged events that some may find disturbing.
01:52In a New York City courtroom, star witness Cassie Ventura took the stand for the third day in a sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy case against her former boyfriend, hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs.
02:08Cassie was grilled for six hours by the defense, trying to paint a picture that she was a willing participant in the alleged freak-offs that are essential to the prosecution's case.
02:18The whole point of the cross-examination was to get jurors to believe that Cassie Ventura was not a victim of sex trafficking.
02:25She may have been the victim of domestic violence or assault, but they were hoping to raise doubt in the minds of jurors that there could have been other reasons Cassie Ventura engaged in the sexual conduct she did.
02:37Combs' lawyer, Anna Esteval, leading the cross-examination.
02:41Esteval said, to make him happy, you told him that you wanted to do freak-offs, right?
02:46Cassie replying, no, there's a lot more to that.
02:49Esteval going through old texts and confronting Cassie with a message from August 2009, in which she told Combs,
02:57I'm always ready to freak off, LOLOL.
03:00The defense reading another of Cassie's messages, suggesting she became reluctant only when she felt, in her words, quote,
03:07dirty and grimy as opposed to central and spontaneous, going on to say, I get nervous that I'm just becoming the girlfriend that you get your fantasies off with, and that's it.
03:18The cross-examination did meander and appeared to get bogged down at times.
03:23The whole defense is that Cassie was not coerced into this kind of sexual activity.
03:29So the defense is hoping the jury, in those text messages, sees enthusiasm on the part of Cassie Ventura.
03:35A willingness, an eagerness to participate in the kind of lifestyle that Sean Combs was leading.
03:41They wanted to cast doubt, reasonable doubt, on her credibility, and they wanted to cast these encounters as consensual encounters.
03:50And there is evidence to support that notion that they were in this relationship, that she agreed to this swinging lifestyle.
03:59The defense questioning Cassie about texts she sent to Combs on the day this video was recorded,
04:05showing Diddy beating and dragging her after she allegedly tried to escape a freak off.
04:10I want to freak off so bad, but don't want to expletive myself up.
04:14What am I to do?
04:16The defense trying to suggest the freak off could be Cassie's idea.
04:20Even though the text messages appear to be friendly, the sex appears to be consensual over a decades-long relationship,
04:29that there can still be evidence of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
04:34Sex crimes and sexual trafficking are generally the result of grooming by a defendant.
04:41Someone that continues to push boundaries and make behavior that is coercive, that is non-consensual, appear to be normal.
04:49Another theme the defense pushed throughout the day, jealousy.
04:53Defense attorney Anna Esteval got Ventura to agree she could be jealous.
04:58Cassie Ventura said she had some jealousy of Kim Porter.
05:00Porter's the mother of four of Combs' children.
05:02She wanted to be the one to develop a relationship with his family that she did not have.
05:08Cassie was asked about a moment at a freak off where Combs went through her phone,
05:12discovered she had been cheating on him with rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Muscutty.
05:18Esteval asked Cassie,
05:20Did you feel justified in cheating on him with Mr. Muscutty because of Mr. Combs' infidelities?
05:26Cassie answering,
05:27I could have, possibly, I don't know.
05:29That jealousy cut two ways.
05:31Cassie Ventura talked about some pretty scary arguments she had with Sean Combs over her infidelity.
05:37With rapper Kid Cudi, Combs was violent towards her for reasons having nothing to do with sex,
05:43but because of jealousy and infidelity.
05:45In 2015, when Cassie was filming Honey 3,
05:48she learned Combs was dating another woman,
05:51so she began a relationship with actor Michael B. Jordan.
05:55Cassie testifying,
05:56I was definitely angry, yeah.
05:58Cassie is expected to take the stand again tomorrow.
06:02The judge wants her finished with her testimony by the end of Friday
06:06after federal prosecutors told him that she could give birth as soon as this weekend.
06:12Combs is pled not guilty and denies all charges.
06:15In court, Combs' mother and his three sons sitting through a fourth day of graphic lurid testimony.
06:21Combs' support system extending beyond family as well,
06:25including friend of 35 years,
06:27Charluci Finney.
06:29Now, a member of Diddy's inner circle,
06:31defending his friend.
06:33Your friend of Sean Combs?
06:35One thousand percent.
06:36Now, how would you describe your relationship?
06:38God brother, close friend.
06:40Now, when you say friend,
06:41if I may ask,
06:42now you're from Brooklyn,
06:43I'm from Baltimore,
06:43so this is a Baltimore question.
06:44Absolutely.
06:45Now, when you say,
06:46friend, friend,
06:46or on the payroll, friend?
06:47I never received a dollar from him as a payroll.
06:51That's my brother.
06:52The blood make you related,
06:54the loyalty make you family.
06:56Charluci says he shows up to court every day,
06:59rain or shine,
07:00often wearing a free puff hoodie.
07:03Yeah, I'm not shame of him.
07:04I love him out loud.
07:05I'm not going to hide it.
07:06I understand that in court,
07:08the used gas sometimes exchange looks,
07:10kind of nod.
07:11Right.
07:11Walk me through those moments.
07:12What's that about?
07:13Well, there's a thing that we do,
07:15and he let me know he's okay.
07:16He's calm.
07:17Like, I'm good, brother.
07:18Don't worry about me.
07:20And then I'll return the favor.
07:21I'm good, brother.
07:22Don't worry about me.
07:23But you are worried about him.
07:24I'm worried about him
07:25because it's a different place.
07:29You know, you're going from this big man,
07:31this king-sized bed with butlers
07:34and stuff like that,
07:35to living in a room,
07:37mattress this thick,
07:38being told when to get up,
07:40when to sleep.
07:41Finney says his friend is not a monster.
07:45Racketeering,
07:46sex trafficking,
07:47transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
07:49Does that sound like your friend?
07:51No, it don't.
07:53It sounds like a let's charges.
07:54And that's why we're in court.
07:56He's not a sex trafficker.
07:57I know that he's not a racketeering boss.
08:00I know that.
08:01How do you know that?
08:02The RICO was built for people like John Gotti,
08:06Al Capone.
08:08Mobsters.
08:08Mobsters.
08:09He's not a mobster.
08:10He's a producer.
08:11He's a philanthropist.
08:13He's a father.
08:14He's my friend.
08:15He's my brother.
08:16And his lawyer suggested he's also a swinger.
08:19Oh yeah, for sure.
08:21So I don't think swingers is against the law.
08:23What he do in his bedroom is his business.
08:25Let's talk about the video of his former girlfriend,
08:29Cassie Ventura.
08:30You've seen the video.
08:31Oh yeah.
08:32Your reaction when you first saw it.
08:34Seeing it, it was a bad look.
08:36Right?
08:37It could be upsetting.
08:39Right?
08:39To see your friend in a situation like that.
08:42Right?
08:42See a brother in a situation like that.
08:43And see a woman in a situation like that.
08:45And by no way means possible that it's okay for a man to touch,
08:50pull, attack, grab, touch, do anything to a woman.
08:54If that were your girlfriend, your sister, your mom, your daughter,
08:57what would have been your reaction?
09:00I'd rather not say.
09:01In addition to the federal trial, Combs is fighting more than 60 lawsuits
09:07depicting an alleged pattern of sexual violence and abuse.
09:11Combs' lawyers have denied all allegations and said he never sexually assaulted anyone.
09:16Lisa Bloom represents two people suing Combs in civil court.
09:27The trial is underway.
09:29Feels like it's been a long wait.
09:31And one government witness in the federal case.
09:34It's very scary to be a government witness in a case like this.
09:39And I think scariest of all is that Mr. Combs will be sitting there staring at the witness.
09:45It's something that's very brave.
09:47One of her clients is singer-songwriter Don Rashard,
09:52who was a member of Danny D. Cain and collaborated with Diddy over the years.
09:56She filed a civil suit against Combs just days before he was indicted and arrested last September.
10:02Rashard accused Combs of sexual battery, forced labor, gender-motivated violence,
10:07hostile work environment, and copyright infringement.
10:10She also claims she witnessed Combs becoming violent towards Ventura on numerous occasions.
10:16The alleged abuse, including choking and strangling,
10:19punching her and throwing items at her, including a scalding hot pan.
10:23Your client, Don Rashard, you filed her suit one week before this case was brought against
10:29Sean Diddy Combs.
10:31Your reaction to that?
10:32We were surprised and, frankly, very pleased to see that the government
10:38filed a case that was strikingly similar to our case.
10:41I mean, keep in mind, the government has a lot of power that I don't have.
10:44Mainly, they had the power of the FBI to go in and conduct raids of Mr. Combs' homes.
10:50But knowing what the government knows, that they filed a case that's so similar to ours,
10:55we saw that as a very positive sign.
10:57Combs' lawyers have denied the allegations and accused Rashard of trying to
11:01transform a straightforward commercial dispute
11:04into a headline-grabbing sex trafficking conspiracy.
11:08For many people, this trial is about unchecked power.
11:13This trial is about the underbelly of the music industry.
11:17What is it for you?
11:18For me, it's about my brother fighting for his life.
11:23That's what it means to me.
11:24Guilty or not guilty, will his life be the same?
11:27It could never be the same.
11:30He has to rebuild either way.
11:33He's a man in his mid-50s.
11:34Can he rebuild if he is acquitted?
11:36You don't know Sean, do you?
11:38No, sir.
11:39Okay.
11:40Watch.
11:40And for more on this story, watch Impact by Nightline, Diddy, on Trial, now streaming on Hulu.
11:51When we come back, Tom Francis has gone viral for his open-air performance of Sunset Boulevard.
11:58Why he says the chemistry he has with co-star Nicole Scherzinger is like nothing he's ever experienced.
12:10Welcome back.
12:19Tom Francis is starring in the Broadway revival of the hugely popular Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Sunset Boulevard.
12:26He's also going viral for taking his performance into the streets of New York City.
12:31He sat down with ABC's Gio Benitez.
12:34Tom Francis is right here with us.
12:36Welcome to Nightline.
12:38It is so good to see you.
12:39First of all, congratulations on the Tony nomination.
12:42I can't imagine what you were thinking when that nomination came down.
12:46Yeah, it was such a beautiful moment.
12:49I can't really believe it's happening.
12:51But so much is happening.
12:52So obviously, Sunset Boulevard is this iconic show by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
12:57And he's behind, of course, Phantom of the Opera.
12:59Dare you trust the music of the night?
13:05Avito.
13:05The list goes on and on.
13:12You play this down-on-his-luck screenwriter.
13:15Yeah.
13:15And one of the incredible scenes is when you are seen leaving the theater, walking out to Times Square, singing, going all around.
13:24And we have a clip we want to show the audience right here.
13:27Take a look.
13:28Sunset Boulevard.
13:30Ruthless Boulevard.
13:32Destination for the stony hearted.
13:35He's still very much in character, walking through Times Square.
13:38Lethal Boulevard.
13:40Everyone's forgotten how they started.
13:44Here on Sunset Boulevard.
13:46And it's become a thing, right?
13:49Because now it's viral.
13:50People are watching you do it on the street.
13:52They're recording videos of it.
13:54Did you expect this to become so viral, though?
13:57No, I didn't.
13:57I don't think I expected any of what's happened to happen, to be honest.
14:01So everything that's, like, happened because of doing Sunset Boulevard has been a wild ride.
14:07Yeah, a wild ride indeed.
14:09And you star opposite Nicole Scherzinger.
14:11Can we talk about Nicole?
14:13Just so fantastic.
14:14I was able to see you guys, actually, on the West End before you came to Broadway.
14:18And I've been able to see that chemistry.
14:21Actually, it worked, obviously, over there.
14:23But, wow, did it build up to what it is on Broadway now.
14:26What's it been like to work with her?
14:28Well, we just know each other so well now.
14:30Yeah.
14:31I think we just know what each other is going to do.
14:33And it's a proper symbiotic relationship that happens when we're on stage.
14:37Which I've never really experienced to that level before, knowing exactly where they are all the time, even when you're not looking at them.
14:43And it's just such a nice connection that we've formed.
14:48And she has these hit songs, Don't You?
14:50Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
14:54Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?
14:58When I Grow Up.
14:59When I Grow Up.
15:00I want to be famous.
15:01I want to be a star.
15:02I want to be a movie.
15:03She is the superstar of a singer.
15:05Did that add pressure for you?
15:07I do remember when we were in London rehearsing, the first time that she ever sang With One Look.
15:12What a moment that is.
15:13With one look, pile me back.
15:19I will never forget that.
15:21She's just this powerhouse.
15:24And she just comes out and really just goes to some crazy places every single night.
15:31And it's such a pleasure to watch that.
15:34I've got such a brilliant view.
15:35Right.
15:36What's incredible about Sunset Boulevard is that it has such a history, right?
15:39You have the 1950 classic film Sunset Boulevard.
15:42You're Norma Desmond.
15:43Used to be in silent pictures.
15:45Used to be big.
15:47I am big.
15:50It's the pictures that got small.
15:53But then you also have the original Broadway show with Glenn Close.
15:56I'm ready for my close-up.
15:59Which was also spectacular.
16:01But in this case, this was a performance that was really, I want to say, toned down when
16:07you're talking about costumes, when you're talking about sets.
16:10There really is not a whole lot of that.
16:12Is it true that you haven't watched or listened to the source material?
16:16It's part of my creative process just so that we could come up with our own version of Joe
16:20Geddes, really.
16:21You know, it's incredible what this show has done for you because now you're starring in
16:26that hit Netflix show, you.
16:28Your character is so fun to watch.
16:30I told you that wasn't enough.
16:32Hey!
16:33Get your hand off her now.
16:34You can have her back when I'm done.
16:36Greg Berlanti, the co-creator of the show, I mean, he is one of the creative minds behind
16:44Dawson's Creek and Love, Simon.
16:46I heard that he actually saw you on the West End and he was like, that's my guy.
16:51He did.
16:51He was very instrumental in it.
16:53Can we talk about the Met Gala?
16:54Yes!
16:55You had that amazing Todd Snyder look.
16:57What was that like to be invited to that?
17:00Because that's such a legendary event.
17:02Yeah, I remember getting off the phone with my team and it was just, we were just all screaming
17:08down the phone.
17:09Very excited.
17:10I mean, Stevie Wonder played.
17:12I was there like, Stevie Wonder?
17:14He's so close and he just sounded incredible.
17:17It's just sort of seeing everyone just interacting and walking around the room and it's just like,
17:22why am I here?
17:23You're here because you're a star.
17:28Yeah, I'm not sure.
17:29Not yet.
17:29It was just a really, really enjoyable evening.
17:32All right.
17:32So you are nominated for a Tony now.
17:34I can't believe it.
17:35I know.
17:36And you're on a hit TV show.
17:38I think everybody's probably surprised to hear that you're only 25 years old.
17:42Yeah.
17:42Right?
17:43Tom Francis.
17:44You were such a pleasure.
17:45Thank you, my man.
17:46Appreciate it.
17:46And Sunset Boulevard plays through July 13th on Broadway.
17:49You can catch Tom in the final season of you streaming on Netflix right now.
17:54You won't regret it.
17:56Tom, congratulations.
17:58Our thanks to Gio.
18:00When we come back, an historic hatching at the Philadelphia Zoo to a nearly 100-year-old mother.
18:06And finally tonight, it's a boy and a boy and a boy.
18:22She's a mother again at nearly 100.
18:25A Galapagos tortoise, a perfectly named mommy, hatching three more babies.
18:30This batch are males.
18:32And tonight, we're seeing the first videos now crawling, exploring, and munching greens.
18:38The trio follow the birth of mommy's four other Galapagos tortoises, all girls, born earlier this year.
18:45Another nine eggs are incubating now, with more babies possibly on the way.
18:52And that's Nightline for this evening.
18:54Catch all of our full episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
18:58We'll see you right back here same time tomorrow.
19:00Thanks for the company, America.
19:02Good night.