
Former employee returns to the stand, Kid Cudi expected to testify today
George Kaplan returned to the witness stand Thursday at the sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Combs, who is seated in court in a light-colored crew neck sweater, prepared to testify that he witnessed his former boss throw apples at a woman named Gina in 2015.
Kaplan, who was Combs' personal assistant for a 15-month period, has already testified he stocked hotel rooms with baby oil, Astroglide lubricant and other items prosecutors said were used for "freak offs."
He also testified he "tidied" the rooms to make them look "as close as I could to look like it was the way that it was found when he came in."
Asked why he did that instead of the hotel staff, Kaplan said "I think that it was implied in the role, as you continue to work closely with Mr. Combs, that protecting him and protecting his public knowledge were really important, and that was certainly nothing that I was very keen on doing."
Once Kaplan concludes, Scott Mescudi, the rapper better known as Kid Cudi, will testify about a meeting he and Cassie Ventura brokered with Sean Combs at the SoHo House after federal prosecutors said, "there was a Molotov cocktail in his car."
Outside the jury's presence, there was some debate about whether Kid Cudi could be asked about the trauma inflicted on his dog.
"There's some dog lovers potentially on the jury," defense attorney Brian Steel said.
"I agree it's a serious issue," Judge Arun Subramanian tried to say with a straight face before the courtroom erupted in laughter.
"Unfortunately, the dog is no longer with us," prosecutor Emily Kaplan said.
The judge agreed to limit questions about Kid Cudi's dog.










