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Kid Cudi's been name-dropped several times in witness testimony in the Diddy trial in NYC ... and the rapper will soon take the witness stand himself.

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they plan to call Kid Cudi as a witness, possibly as early as Wednesday ... though based on the witness list for Wednesday, there's a chance Cudi's testimony may be pushed back to Thursday.

Cassie mentioned Kid Cudi a few times during her four days on the stand ... telling the jury Diddy freaked out when he found out she was seeing Kid Cudi.

Homeland Security Investigations Agent Gerard Gannon is detailing the March 2024 raid on Diddy's Miami estate ... and he testified the feds found assault rifles, loaded magazines, sex toys and some brand-name lubricant.

Gannon told the NYC jury he was the special agent in charge on the ground for the raid ... and the operation was assigned to his unit because the investigation featured human trafficking allegations.

He said about 80 to 90 agents were involved in the search of Diddy's 20,000-square-foot property on Star Island ... with the feds using an armored vehicle to break through the front gate, and deploying boats to make sure nobody tried to flee the waterfront home.

Ryan Reynolds has had enough of the "utterly frivolous claims" from Justin Baldoni's team in their ongoing legal war ... and now RR is asking the judge to ding them financially -- but JB is pointing the finger back at them.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ...  lawyers for the "Deadpool" star on Tuesday hit JB and his team with a request for monetary sanctions -- which they say is a reaction to the "preposterous" defamation lawsuit that makes a mockery of the legal system.

As we previously reported, RR claimed Baldoni took his "thin-skinned outrage over a movie character" and decided to go after Ryan in court ... a reference to the satirical, "woke" Nicepool character from the new "Deadpool" movie, which JB thought was an obvious shot at him.

Sharay Hayes, an exotic male dancer known as "The Punisher," is testifying for the prosecution in the Diddy trial ... telling the jury about the first encounter he had with Diddy and Cassie ... saying the couple hired him to create a sexy erotic scene for them.

Hayes says he was first hired in 2012, when a woman called and booked him for a midnight gig at the Trump International Hotel in New York City. He says he was hired to perform a striptease for a group of people but when he got to the room, he says it was just Cassie in a bathrobe and a wig.

He told the jury Cassie told him that she and Diddy -- neither of whom he recognized at the time -- didn't want him to dance and instead wanted him to create a sexual scene with baby oil.

Regina Ventura, Cassie's mother, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday to testify in Diddy's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC ... and she revealed some shocking details about her daughter's relationship with the incarcerated defendant.

On the stand, Regina confirmed her daughter dated Sean "Diddy" Combs after the singer had signed with Bad Boy Records -- she recalls meeting Diddy in 2006, and says her daughter and Diddy started dating, then moved to Los Angeles.

Prosecution asked Regina to read a December 2011 message to her from her daughter. Regina related Cassie informed her Diddy had threatened to release a sex tape and intended to go after Cassie and Mr. Mescudi -- AKA Kid Cudi, who Cassie began seeing during a break in her relationship with Diddy.

Barack Obama's name is finding its way into the Diddy trial ... because Diddy's former personal assistant says his boss used to take ecstasy pills shaped like Obama's mug.

David James, who worked for Bad Boy from 2007 to 2009, testified for the prosecution Tuesday and told the jury he saw Diddy with a bunch of different pills, including one with a very specific feature.

James said one of the pills was ecstasy in the shape of a former president's face ... and when prosecutor Christy Slavik asked him straight up, "Which former president?," James responded, "Barack Obama."

David James, a former personal assistant to Diddy, says his boss once gave him some ironic advice ... warning him not to get violent with women.

During cross-examination from Diddy defense attorney Marc Agnifilo, James admitted he got into a physical altercation with one of Diddy's former chefs, a woman named Jourdan Atkinson.

James told the jury he got upset with Chef Jourdan at Diddy's home on Star Island in Miami after she tried to tell James how to do his job, offering a suggestion on where to take Diddy. He said he grabbed her by the wrists and told her to "stay in her f****** lane."

David James, a former personal assistant to Diddy, is continuing his testimony in the disgraced rap mogul's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC Tuesday, and he told the jury about a harrowing incident in L.A. involving another titan of the music industry.

James was asked about a 2008 incident at a Mel's Diner, a restaurant in L.A., involving former rap mogul Suge Knight (who's currently in prison for an unrelated crime). James described driving a Lincoln Navigator SUV to get cheeseburgers, accompanied by a man named D-Roc.

James testified D-Roc recognized Suge Knight at the location, and went over to talk ... but Knight apparently didn't recognize D-Roc, who said "I'm Biggie's boy," referring to slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. (who was murdered in the city in 1997).

The alleged sex worker known as Ash Armand, who was allegedly involved in Diddy's "freak-offs," looks a bit worse for wear in his latest prison mug shot after he was convicted of manslaughter in the murder of his girlfriend years ago.

TMZ exclusively obtained the booking photo in 2021 ... Armand -- who also starred in the reality show  "Gigolos" -- has packed on a few extra pounds behind bars and appears disheveled with messy hair.

His days being a hot gigolo seem to be behind him ... no longer will we see him walking red carpets for Showtime’s "Gigolos," which follows the day-to-day lives of five male escorts based in Las Vegas.

Today is the seventh day of testimony in Diddy's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in New York City ... David James, a former personal assistant to the rap mogul, is still on the witness stand -- and he testified to what he described as "Diddy-bopping" ... which he described as taking drugs and drinking Ciroc vodka, Diddy's own brand.

Minutes into the proceeding, David James was asked by the prosecution if he'd ever taken Ecstasy. James replied ... "Yes. I was drinking Ciroc, I took Ecstasy, I was 'Diddy-bopping.'" He then clarifies -- "I was vibing."

James testified he was recorded by a videographer who filmed the parties. James said Diddy asked him ... "Hey Playboy, was that you dancing around at the party?" When James said it was, he testifies Diddy said he was going to keep the video in case he ever needed it ... the prosecutor asked him what that meant -- James said "That I'd be embarrassed."

James was asked by the prosecution if he had ever observed physical violence between Diddy and his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura ... James said he had not.

Cher is using her starpower for the good of Los Angeles' beloved zoo elephants Tina and Billy again ... signing a letter sent to Mayor Karen Bass to demand the beloved creatures be transferred from the L.A. Zoo to a sanctuary -- and not to the Tulsa, Oklahoma zoo as planned.

Cher appears on the list signed by several celebs -- such as Alicia Silverstone, Diane Warren, Katherine Heigl, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Justin Theroux -- that was delivered to L.A.'s mayor Monday to advocate for the health and well-being of the zoo's longtime resident elephants.

The letter argues the arranged transfer of Billy and Tina to Tulsa to join five other Asian elephants will only worsen their suffering, and that they deserve to be released to a proper elephant sanctuary so they can "live their twilight years with liberty and dignity."

A Hollywood actor -- who scored roles in 'NYPD Blue' and 'CSI Miami' -- believes his daughter did not commit suicide and died under suspicious circumstances ... and now he's suing her estranged boyfriend for wrongful death.

Dwayne Adway filed his lawsuit Monday in L.A. County Superior Court against Makar Kirikov, accusing him of being involved in the death of his daughter, Daelena Mackay.

In the suit, Adway says Daelena and Kirikov lived together for about a year in an L.A. apartment and, during that time, Daelena "experienced multiple incidents of domestic violence" at the hands of Kirikov.

5/22/25 6:20 PM PT -- In an earlier version of this story -- and others on TMZ.com -- we incorrectly identified one of the photos of the alleged sex workers as "Jules." The man prosecutors labeled "Exhibit 2A-628" is not Jules, the man Cassie testified was with Diddy and her at the L.A. Intercontinental Hotel in March 2016.

While the government says the man displayed in court as "Exhibit 2A-628" was an "escort" hired to hook up with Cassie and Diddy, he is NOT the one who was with them at the Intercontinental.

He is a former star of the Showtime series, "Gigolos," named Vin Armani, and he tells us ... "I have proof that I could not possibly have been in Los Angeles on the day this Jules person (someone who is absolutely and categorically not me) supposedly was. Had any lawyer or authority ever contacted me, it would have been immediately obvious to them that any claim that I was present at the incident in question is completely false."

Further, Vin denies any insinuation he was a "sex worker," instead he says ... "I was the star of a TV show for 6 seasons and, during that time, was a fixture in the nightlife of Las Vegas. I was a celebrity and, as a result, hung out with literally hundreds of celebrities on a regular basis. I have never had an interaction with Diddy and/or Cassie that included (or where I witnessed) violence, illegal drugs, contracting for sexual services/acts (prostitution), or the transportation of any person from anywhere to anywhere whatsoever. So, just as with the hundreds of interactions I have had with celebrities (and the thousands of interactions I have had with other people in my life), I have no knowledge of any interaction that would be pertinent in any way to a criminal case of any kind. Had any attorney or authority ever contacted me, this fact would have been plain for them to see."

Diddy's alleged sex workers have finally been unmasked as Week 2 of testimony gets underway in the music mogul's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial in NYC.

On Monday, prosecutors released a document dump of exhibits entered into trial evidence, dropping an avalanche of photos and other information. Some of the pics showed the faces of the sex workers Diddy allegedly hired to be transported across state lines for "freak-offs" with his significant others, including Cassie.

The feds define a freak-off as Diddy, a girlfriend and a male sex worker engaging in marathon sex sessions that were often recorded by the Bad Boy Records CEO inside hotel rooms. Prosecutors say Diddy forced or coerced his girlfriends into participating in the freak-offs.

Megan Thee Stallion is fighting back at Tory Lanez fans who still don't believe he shot her, despite what a jury in Los Angeles ruled ... and she's got some choice words for him too.

Megan unloaded on Tory in a social media rant Monday, posting on TikTok ... "At what point are yall gonna stop making me have to re live being shot BY TORY !? At what point are Tory and yall FANS gonna stop lying ? Like how much is the check to keep harassing me? Why is this happening EVERY DAY?"

MTS continued ... "One min him/ yall said I was never shot now yall letting him play in yall face AGAIN and say I was shot but it wasn't him oh okay... ?! I'm sick of this s*** LEAVE ME TF ALONE!!!!"

Megan added ... "HE AINT DARE GET ON THAT STAND AND DENY HE SHOT ME AND THAT WAS HIS CHOICE BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE DID THAT S***! IDGAF ABT A BLOG OR A BOT!!! WHY IN TF WOULD ME ... MEGAN THEE STALLION HAVE TO LIE ON THIS MF ABT SHOOTING ME!"

As we reported ... Tory was convicted of negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm back in 2022 after prosecutors accused him of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Lanez has denied shooting Megan and here she says ... "FACTS ARE FACTS, he did it, it was PROVEN IN COURT f*** the hate campaign on the internet TORY YOU SHOT ME !! Ain't no new f****** evidence yall been saying the same s*** for years."

Tory's case has been back in the spotlight after his recent prison stabbing ... with his lawyers claiming Megan's ex-BFF Kelsey Harris was the real shooter.

The sixth day of witness testimony in the Diddy trial is in the books and while there was some more interesting tidbits from celebs, friends and staffers ... it feels like prosecutors are all over the map.

Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard was first on the stand Monday and her testimony seemed to be geared toward one of the main charges against Diddy ... racketeering.

Dawn testified Diddy made threats about having people killed if they didn't listen to him ... and she also told the jury she saw Diddy with guns and drugs, though the defense got her to admit she never saw Diddy use a gun or pay for the substances.

Harvey Weinstein says he's an innocent man wrongly convicted of rape and other sex crimes -- and he's going after three of his celebrity accusers, including Gwyneth Paltrow, in a new interview.

The disgraced Hollywood film producer sat for his first on-camera discussion with conservative podcaster Candace Owens since his arrest 7 years ago. And Weinstein doesn't pull any punches, slamming not only Gwyneth, but also Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

Owens released a one-minute 20-second clip of the interview that will air in full on Club Candace Tuesday. The clip kicks off with Weinstein appearing in a suit on a monitor talking on a phone from jail with Candace who is seated in her broadcast booth.