Kid Cudi candidly recounted to rapt jurors Thursday how his Porsche was bombed with a Molotov cocktail — and he immediately knew Sean “Diddy” Combs “had something to do with it.”
The renowned rapper and actor – whose real name is Scott Mescudi – gave show-stopping testimony in Combs’ federal racketeering and sex-trafficking trial, detailing the Bad Boy Records founder’s alleged violent jealousy over his budding relationship with Cassie Ventura.
“The top of my Porsche was cut open and that’s where they inserted the Molotov cocktail,” he said in Manhattan federal court.
Rapper Kid Cudi arrives to testify for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial. REUTERSJurors were shown photos of the damaged luxury vehicle, which Mescudi’s friend sent to him while he was on his way home.
“I reached out to Sean Combs after my car caught fire and told him we needed to finally meet up and talk,” Mescudi, 41, said.
A courtroom sketch of Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi testifying in Combs’ trial on May 22, 2025. Elizabeth Williams via APThe images also showed a slash in the convertible top of the car and its red seats singed and melted.
Mescudi, 41, said the baffling one-sided feud led to a surreal summit with Combs — whom he mockingly compared to a “Marvel supervillain” — in the aftermath of the January 2012 car bombing.
Combs had also broken into Mescudi’s house in possessive rage after learning his on-and-off again girlfriend Ventura had found a new beau, the “Day ‘N Nite” rapper told jurors.
“I reached out to Sean Combs after my car caught fire and told him we needed to finally meet up and talk,” he testified.
“He’d been wanting to talk to me. After the fire, I thought this is getting out of hand and I need to talk to him.”
Kid Cudi arrives to Diddy’s trial smoking a cigarette before entering the courthouse. REUTERS
The rapper said he reached out to Combs a few days after his car was bombed with a Molotov Cocktail “because I knew he had something to do with it.” REUTERSThe hip-hop stars held a powwow at the exclusive SoHo House in Hollywood, where Mescudi testified he was escorted into the room by Combs’ security guard D-Roc.
“Sean Combs was staring out the window with his hands behind his back like a Marvel supervillain,” Mescudi dramatically told jurors.
The captivating testimony over the allegedly dangerous love triangle began after Mescudi strode into the courtroom wearing a leather biker jacket, light-washed jeans and white T-shirt – drawing all eyes, even from Combs.
Mescudi said Combs denied having anything to do with his car’s bombing. AFP via Getty ImagesHe gave a personable performance on the stand, both candid and humble as he provided new details about Combs’ alleged jealous antics.
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The rapper’s eventual come-to-Jesus talk with the “violent” Combs came days after Mescudi got an alarming call from his dog-sitter, he said.
“She told me my car was on fire,” Mescudi recalled. “I immediately went to my house.”
“She told me my car was on fire,” Mescudi said. “I immediately went to my house.”
He said when he got to the car, he could see the Molotov cocktail “bottle and it was burnt up” and sitting “on the ground, outside the vehicle.”
A hole in the roof of Mescudi’s Porche where it was hit with a Molotov cocktail. Department of Justice
Burned seats in the rappers car. Department of JusticeHe called the police to report the arson incident. But when law enforcement came, they found the bottle “in the driver’s seat,” Mescudi said.
“What the f–k?” Mescudi said he thought when he saw the bottle had been moved.
Mescudi was asked if his car could be repaired.
“No,” he responded, yawning not for the first time from the witness stand.
The door of the Porche was damaged in the fire. Department of Justice
The hole in the roof seen from the interior of the car. Department of JusticeWhen asked why Mescudi arranged a meeting with Combs a few days after the bombing, he was frank: “Because I knew he had something to do with it.”
Combs’ lawyers objected to Mescudi’s accusation, which the judge sustained and ordered stricken from the record.
Mescudi testified that his conversation with Combs covered when he and Ventura started dating and how it ended.
Mescudi confirmed the car was damaged beyond repair. Department of Justice
The arson was reported to the police. Department of Justice“(Combs’) whole point was we were homies, you know that was my girl,” Mescudi said. “I let him know she told me they were broken up and I took her word for it.”
Mescudi said Combs was “very calm … it was weird he was so calm.”
Eventually, Ventura came into the room and Mescudi said he “was upset to find out she had kinda went back to (Combs.)”
“We fell in love, things just happened,” Mescudi said Ventura told him.
Combs and Cassie Ventura at a fashion show in Paris on March 6, 2012. Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImageAt the end, Mescudi and Combs shook hands and he asked, looking the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer straight in the eyes, while holding his hand: “What are we going to do about my car?”
“He looked back at me with a cold stare,” Mescudi recounted, “and said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He said ‘Wait, I thought we were cool, is there a problem?'”
The two rappers didn’t meet again until a couple of years later at the SoHo House where Combs apologized.
“He said, ‘Man, I just want to apologize for everything, all that bulls–t,’” Mescudi recounted.
Kid Cudi leaving court after testifying against Diddy at his trial on Thursday, May 22, 2025. REUTERSThe pair never had any other problems again after that.
“No, after I got the apology I kinda felt at peace with it because that was the last thing I expected to get from him,” Mescudi said.
Mescudi and Combs did not make eye contact at any point through the testimony, which lasted less than two hours.
Indeed, Combs’ demeanor seemed tense while Mescudi was on the stand — a stark contrast from his rather lively persona during another witness’ testimony earlier that day.
When Mescudi left the courtroom after his testimony, he looked straight ahead in the direction of the door and briskly walked out.
Combs, 55, faces up to life in prison if convicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.






