Diddy's Trial Day 8: Trauma bonds, complicit behavior, and Diddy's Miami house raid
Another day, another chapter. I’m KP, and today we’re breaking down day 8 of the Diddy trial. Psychologist Dawn Hughes explains why victims often stay with their abusers and how trauma affects memory.
Another day, another chapter. If you don’t know by now I’m KP and today we’re covering day 8 of the Diddy trial.
Dawn Hughes, a psychologist expert speaks.
George Kaplan (Diddy’s former assistant) opens up about what it was like working for Diddy and helping him maintain his image.
A brief recap of what was recovered and shown to the jury from Diddy’s Miami house
Dawn Hughes notable mentions of abuse and how it creates psychological harm
Psychologist Dawn Hughes took the stand and underscored some really important details about the psychological repercussions of Diddy’s alleged abuse.
She said that victims often stay in abusive relationships because they rely on their abuser for money and basic needs. If someone can’t pay for things like food, rent, or transportation, it’s hard for them to leave. She later said that sometimes abusers do this on purpose to make sure the victim can’t be independent or escape.
Hughes also talked about how abuse can be confusing. Victims don’t always hate their abuser (something Cassie has literally said about Diddy). Sometimes the abuser shows love and kindness, and that makes the victim want to stay or hope things will get better. This mix of love and pain can create a “trauma bond,” where the victim feels deeply attached even when they are being hurt.
Leaving an abusive partner is hard and often takes several tries, Hughes said. Victims may go back because they still love the good parts of the person or because the abuse keeps happening, even after they leave. Victims try to survive by finding ways to cope. Like trying to fix the relationship, fighting back, or even using drugs or alcohol to numb their pain.
Finally, Hughes explained that trauma affects memory. Victims usually remember the most important and emotional parts of what happened, but they might forget smaller details. That doesn’t mean they’re lying. Trauma can also cause memories to come out in pieces, but they are still real and important.
Now, I want to take a moment to say that Hughes’ expert opinion was huge. Prior to this, Diddy’s defense alleged that Cassie’s personal accounts of what happened during her relationship with Diddy we’re basically impacted by her current hormonal state as a pregnant woman. Like, literally. Their defense was like “Don’t believe her she’s just pregnant and emotional.”
Hughes’ statements also answer a lot of the misogynistic internet fodder claiming that Cassie “Could’ve just left” or “Maybe she liked some of it.” Cassie was just 19 years old when she got into a relationship with Diddy. Anyways, let me not get myself riled up. Long story short, despite the defense’s efforts to discredit Hughes during cross examination, Hughes' objectively used factual and scientific information to explain why victims react to abuse the way that they do.
George Kaplan’s ascendance through Diddy’s ranks
George started off as an executive assistant to the COO at Comb’s Enterprises in 2013. It would only take ten months for him to get promoted to Diddy’s executive assistant where he reported directly to Kristina Korram (Diddy’s infamous former chief of staff who apparently ran most of Diddy’s life).
Kristina Khorram is a really interesting witness to this entire Diddy thing. She hasn’t been explicitly asked to come to the stand to testify yet. But let me tell you, she has A LOT to add this Diddy trial. I suspect it’s only gonna be a matter of time before she speaks. But more on her on another day. Til then, George described what his average work week looked like. 80 to 100 hours which grossed him $125k.
What did he have to do? Glad you asked. Well he was advancing hotels for Diddy. Basically a fancy way of saying he prepped all of Diddy’s hotel rooms ahead of time. You know, marrying his unused baby oil bottles like Caroline in Season 1 of 2 Broke Girls. Lining up his Astroglide in a perfect row.
Scooping the $10k out Diddy’s drug baggy to buy his favorite assortments and curating his favorite drug platters like a IRL Pinterest board so Diddy can grab and go whenever he pleases. I’m partially joking but this is basically what George testified.
George’s testimony and why it’s so fascinating
You see George is an interesting witness to me. While he spoke of some of the ungodly things Diddy did, he also sings Diddy’s praises, saying that he admired his business prowess and that he was thankful for the many opportunities Diddy granted for him.
The scary reality of the prudent person
You see George is the only person so far who has said anything positive about Diddy during this trial. His accounts weren’t the most salacious. But his testimony and actions show me that it doesn’t take much for a person to be complicit in scary crimes.
What is the rule of the average prudent person? Glad you asked. In law school you’re taught that regular, everyday people have a general perspective towards crime or general wrongdoing in general.
It’s a simple but critical thing to remember when looking at a case, because it’s a way to remind ourselves that regular people have a conscience when evaluating the weight of a criminal situation. So let’s break it down.
Why am I on George’s ass about his involvement with Diddy? Why do I think his ability to show charisma and get the jury to chuckle during his testimony is fishy? It’s because George is unfortunately, the prudent person of this Diddy trial.
I’ll simplify it further. During George’s first week working for Diddy, he said he was doing regular run-of-the-mill assistant things. If Diddy told him to go Whole Foods to get him a gallon of water, he would. If Diddy told him to go buy a speaker, he would. If Diddy texted him to go pick up his Chinese food takeout, he would.
Why is this significant? Well, it shows a clear pattern. If Diddy needed something, George would assist. And that’s important to understand when looking at the role that George played. Because like anything in life, what starts as a small favor oftentimes gets bigger and more complicated.
So when the favors got bigger, like when George was expected to make cash transactions with the Santa Monica concierge doctor under Diddy’s alias. Or remaining silent instead of calling the cops while Diddy beat Cassie on his private jet with a whiskey bottle. What we learn is that
To put it modestly, George played the role Diddy expected him to play. And the unfortunate truth? George isn’t unique, but rather a monolith of what is oftentimes seen in the entertainment world. The question isn’t how did a George make it in Diddy’s entourage. A better question is how many Georges exist in Diddy’s entourage.
A recap of what jurors have seen in terms of evidence so far
Moving on, here’s a quick overview of what’s been presented as evidence based on the human trafficking raid conducted by Gerard Gannon:
A sex toy, 18 pairs of red heels, and three cellphones
25 bottles of baby oil and 31 bottles of lube
AR-15s
A Gucci bag filled with cocaine, ketamine, MDMA and alprazolam
Another bag filled with bullets recovered from a loaded .45 handgun
While this doesn’t give us the entire story of what’s been going on at Diddy’s Miami house, it definitely gives us a preview of what kind of evidence we can expect to see during this trial. Do I think there’s a lot more evidence. Yes. Do I think the public is being shielded a bit. Yes. But let’s bookmark this. Because trust me, there’s way more to come.