According to a lawyer in a New York sex trafficking trial, rapper Shaun “Diddy” Combs had a painkiller overdose in February 2012.
Defense attorney Anna Estebao brought up this incident during a session on Thursday afternoon.
She asked Ms. Ventura if she remembered Combs’ overdose, prompting Ventura to inquire, “Was it around the time Whitney Houston died?”
Recalling that day, Ventura mentioned working at “Freak-Off,” one of Combs’ parties fueled by drugs, before heading to a sex club in San Bernardino, California. Later, Combs hosted a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, after which Ventura went home.
That evening, Combs reportedly informed her he had taken “a very strong opium.” She then took him to the hospital, where it was revealed he had overdosed on painkillers.
The drug use between Combs and Ventura became a focal point during her cross-examination, with Estebao asking directly, “You were both addicted, right?” Ventura candidly spoke about her past opioid addiction and her experiences with MDMA, ecstasy, ketamine, mushrooms, cocaine, marijuana, and other substances. She went to rehab in 2023 and stated she has been drug-free since then.
Ventura noted they both consumed significant amounts of drugs together at these “freak-off” events. She added that Combs preferred not to use drugs in the company of her friends and would become upset if he discovered that situation.
She also claimed to have hidden some of her drug use from Combs, noting that he had instructed a drug dealer in Los Angeles not to sell to her, but this did not stop the transactions. Estebao seemed to struggle with her questioning at times, frequently retracting inquiries and presenting various exhibits that had not yet been accepted as evidence.
Throughout the proceedings, Ventura, dressed in a white blouse beneath a black blazer with shoulder pads, maintained her composure while responding to Estebao’s questions, which often jumped around the timeline of her relationship with Combs, leaving her visibly confused at times.
