Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, who performs under the name Cassie, took the stand Tuesday in Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial. She repeatedly cried on the stand as she recounted in graphic detail the "freak offs" she participated in. 

During their opening statement on Monday, the defense noted Ventura and Combs haven't seen each other in more than six years. 

That changed Tuesday. Combs looked at her when she walked in and began to testify. 

Cassie Ventura on the stand

Ventura described for the jury their more-than-10-year relationship as on and off, with frequent physical abuse. She cried several times. 

Ventura told the jury when things got violent with Combs, he would bash her head and "knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head."

"Here, Cassie is telling the jury about the consequences that she suffered if she didn't do what he wanted her to do, so seeing that she was feeling the terrible affects of that control," former prosecutor Julie Grant said.

Ventura said she met Combs when she was 19. He signed her to his label. There was a 17-year age gap, she noted. She testified the two first kissed when she was 21. She said that left her confused and crying, and she ran off. She called herself "naive." 

Ventura testified she was 22 when Combs first proposed the idea of a so-called "freak off" to her, a sexual encounter he called "voyeurism," watching her with another man. 

Ventura testified she was "confused, nervous" but "I also loved him very much, and wanted to make him happy." 

She testified that while she wasn't interested in participating in them after the first one, she felt like she had no choice because he had blackmail material.

The prosecution played a video in which Combs is shown beating Ventura in a hotel in 2016. They argue that Ventura was being forced against her will to engage in sexual acts.

"A lot of the people inside had to put their head down because they were having a hard time watching that video," Court TV legal analyst Kelly Krapf said.

"Freak offs" became her job, Ventura testifies

Eventually, setting up "freak offs" became a job for her, Ventura testified. She told the jury they would last for days, and that the longest one took four days. 

Ventura testified Combs would supply drugs, and they would drink alcohol. Combs would direct everything between her and the escorts, including how often to apply baby oil, sometimes using up to 10 large bottles, Ventura testified. 

Ventura was asked if she enjoyed any of it. She started crying, and said it was the one-on-one time with Combs she enjoyed, because otherwise there were so many people around him all the time. 

Combs chose "Pop Pop" as a nickname

Emails between Ventura and Combs revealed her nickname for him was "Pop Pop." Ventura explained on the stand that early on, when choosing nicknames for each other, she didn't have a particular one in mind. Combs then asked her what she called her grandfather, and she said "Pop Pop," and that became his nickname. 

"I thought it was weird," Ventura testified. 

Family in court

Ventura's husband was in the courtroom, as was Combs' mother and children. 

Prior to testimony, Ventura's personal attorney told reporters she was "very ready" to testify. 

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The defense concedes Combs had violent outbursts but maintains the sexual encounters were voluntarily and relationships consensual, and that Combs is not on trial for domestic violence.

"Prosecution has to prove the elements of racketeering," legal analyst David Seltzer said. "Racketeering is a big element, big-time charges, and what they used it [for] back in the day was to prove gangsters committed crimes. They're trying to make Diddy a gangster. These actions are not that."

Ventura will resume her testimony Thursday. The judge said he expects the trial to take eight weeks.

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