The 2016 video of Sean “Diddy” Combs physically assaulting Cassie has come up in his ongoing sex trafficking trial multiple times. Now, a security guard is claiming the rapper paid him off in an effort to make the footage go away.
Former InterContinental Hotel security employee Eddy Garcia testified on Tuesday, June 3, that Diddy, now 55, allegedly paid him $100,000 for what he believed was the only copy of the surveillance footage. (An edited version of the video was published by CNN in May 2024.)
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty and has denied all the allegations against him.
Garcia claimed he was first contacted by Diddy’s former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, who allegedly asked for a copy of the tape and said her boss had been too intoxicated to remember what happened. Khorram then allegedly visited Garcia at the hotel and asked for the tape in person. He denied her request but told her “off the record” that the footage was “bad.”
Garcia went on to claim Khorram then called him a second time and put Diddy on the phone. According to Garcia, the rapper “sounded very nervous” as he attempted to explain the incident, allegedly telling Garcia he’d “had a little too much to drink.” Garcia again denied the request for the video, telling Diddy he’d need to contact hotel management or obtain a subpoena.
Despite Garcia’s answer, Khorram and Diddy allegedly kept calling him on his personal cell phone. Garcia, meanwhile, told his superiors about the incident. His boss allegedly agreed to erase the footage for $50,000.
After Garcia relayed the message to Diddy, the mogul and one of his security guards allegedly met with Garcia at a high-rise building in Los Angeles. Garcia handed over the USB drive containing the footage and signed a nondisclosure agreement that stated he would have to pay $1 million for breach of contract. (At the time, Garcia was making $10.50 an hour.)
Garcia noted he was nervous that Cassie, now 38, would file a police report regarding the incident, but Diddy allegedly FaceTimed his then-girlfriend and said, “Let him know that you want this video to go away too.” The “Me & U” singer then told Garcia that she had a movie premiere coming up soon and it would be a bad time for the footage to leak.
Garcia claimed Diddy then gave him a brown bag containing $100,000. The first $50,000 was allegedly intended to cover the amount Garcia’s boss approved, while the other half was to be split between Garcia and another security guard. Diddy then allegedly told Garcia “not to make any big purchases” that would draw attention to the transaction.
According to Garcia, he ultimately kept $30,000 and purchased a used vehicle with the money. A few years later, he reached out to Diddy via Instagram about work in L.A. but did not receive a response.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Brian Steel asked about that request for work, and Garcia clarified that he was specifically asking about security work. Steel also showed the jury a copy of the NDA, which stated Garcia could share information about the incident if requested by a court.
The hotel surveillance video has been a major point of contention throughout the trial, with Diddy’s team initially trying to keep it from being admitted as evidence on grounds that the government tampered with it. The government, meanwhile, denied editing the video, and Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately ruled that the jury could see the footage.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
