During Thursday's federal court proceedings, R&B artist Cassie was compelled to read aloud her own sexually explicit messages to former partner Sean "Diddy" Combs, including texts seemingly indicating a desire for the drug-influenced group sexual encounters that she previously testified had deeply traumatized her.

Combs' legal team endeavoured to present Cassie to the court as an enthusiastic participant in his libertine lifestyle, while he denies federal sex trafficking and racketeering allegations, arguing that, despite instances of violence, his conduct did not constitute a criminal organisation.

Prosecutors allege that he leveraged his influential position as a prominent music executive to coerce Cassie and other women into prolonged encounters with sex workers, derisively termed "freak-offs," sometimes spanning several days, although Combs maintains that all sexual activity was consensual; furthermore, he stands accused of employing his entourage and staff to enable illicit activities, including transportation and coercion related to prostitution, a central component of the federal indictment.

The fourth day of testimony in a Manhattan courtroom centered on explicit communications between Combs and Cassie, encompassing both romantic exchanges and lurid details. Defense attorney Anna Estevao presented excerpts of Combs's written messages, while Cassie herself recited her own communications detailing her desires during the alleged encounters. Her testimony is scheduled to continue on Friday.

Combs, 55, has been incarcerated since September and could face a minimum of 15 years' imprisonment if found guilty.

Despite Casandra Ventura's claims of feeling pressured into participating in unconventional sexual acts to appease Sean Combs, Estevao highlighted communications where Ventura seemed enthusiastic about these encounters and even suggested initiating one independently.

In August 2009, Combs inquired as to the timing of their next rendezvous, to which she responded with the suggestive phrase, “I’m always ready to freak off.” Subsequently, two days later, Cassie dispatched a sexually explicit message, eliciting an eagerly anticipatory reply. She then reciprocated, expressing her desire for an experience that was "uncontrollable.”

Subsequently, later that year, she communicated to Combs her dissatisfaction with the trajectory of their relationship, articulating a desire for a connection that transcended purely sexual encounters.

Estevao also highlighted a text exchange from July 2013 in which Cassie expressed to Combs her "wish we could've FO'd before you left," employing the abbreviation "FO" for "freak-off."

In a 2017 text message, Cassie declared to Combs, "I adore our 'FOs' when the feeling is mutual," later clarifying in court on Thursday that "'loving FOs' had become, by then, just empty words."

Cassie interjected that the jury was being deprived of crucial context regarding the defense's highlighted messages, asserting, "We've omitted a significant amount."

Combs' legal representative confronted Cassie with sexually explicit correspondence predating their 2016 encounter at a Los Angeles hotel—the same location where surveillance footage captured Combs physically assaulting her, including kicking and dragging her down a corridor; Cassie testified that her primary motivation was to expedite the encounter, thereby placating Combs and averting a public disturbance in anticipation of a forthcoming film premiere.

Estevao cited examples of Cassie's volatile temper directed at Combs, alongside her acknowledged resentment regarding the attention he lavished on other women; Cassie claimed Combs forbade her from pursuing other relationships, while simultaneously exempting himself from the same restrictions.

Cassie testified that after several years with Combs, she yearned for a deeper connection, but he consistently rebuffed her attempts at intimacy; their relationship spanned from 2007 to 2018.

Rather than the adversarial cross-examination one might expect, Estevao's questioning was remarkably gentle, fostering a rapport with Cassie that, at times, resembled a friendly conversation.

Despite being in her third trimester with her third child, 38-year-old Cassie has demonstrated remarkable resilience on the witness stand, maintaining a composed and pragmatic demeanor while addressing deeply personal and sensitive topics, even after succumbing to tears during the prosecution's prior two days of questioning.

Throughout the reading of the explicit messages, Combs maintained a composed demeanour at the defense table, reclining with his hands clasped and legs crossed, while the courtroom buzzed with a palpable tension, filled as it was with Combs's family and friends, journalists, and a row of spectator seats occupied by Cassie’s supporters, including her husband.

Taking a respite, Combs remained stationary at the table, deep in discussion with his legal team, a stack of adhesive notes in one hand and a writing implement in the other. Briefly, he faced the observers' section, recognising several journalists scrutinising his behaviour. “How are you all?” he enquired. Combs' female offspring were absent from Thursday’s proceedings.

Riveted, the jurors strained forward as the digital correspondence flickered onto the monitors arrayed before them in the jury box; one woman visibly recoiled at a particularly graphic exchange, while a man scrutinized the screen, thumb pressed thoughtfully to his chin, and a palpable sense of curiosity mingled with bewilderment rippled through the remaining jurors, some glancing towards Cassie, others scribbling observations.

Prosecutors have foregrounded Combs' purported aspiration to observe Cassie engaging in sexual acts with other individuals; however, she testified to occasionally witnessing Combs engaging in sexual relations with other women, which he characterised as elements of a "swingers lifestyle."

Estevao directly questioned Cassie on her opinion regarding the correlation between exhibitionist behaviour and that specific lifestyle.

"In a sexual context," Cassie clarified, before observing, "The dynamics are markedly distinct."

In her Tuesday statement, Cassie asserted that Combs exhibited a controlling form of voyeurism, orchestrating private encounters, often in dimly lit hotel rooms, a stark contrast to his highly publicized, celebrity-studded parties.

In her testimony, she admitted to occasionally using intravenous fluids to recuperate after these experiences, and subsequently developed an opioid dependency as a means of achieving a sense of emotional detachment in the aftermath.

During cross-examination, Cassie's testimony diverged markedly from her earlier accounts, in which she had detailed the violence and humiliation surrounding what she characterized as "hundreds" of sexual encounters coerced by Combs throughout their relationship.

In her Wednesday testimony, Cassie alleged that Combs had raped her following their 2018 breakup and subjected her to a cycle of abuse, allegedly threatening to disseminate compromising videos of her from "freak-offs."

In 2023, she launched legal action against Combs, alleging sustained physical and sexual abuse over several years; while a settlement of $20 million, revealed by Cassie on Wednesday, was swiftly reached, this initial suit triggered a wave of comparable legal challenges from numerous other women and instigated a law enforcement inquiry into Combs, which has now reached a critical point with this month's trial.