Many witnesses were on trial in Sean Diddy’s comb trial, facing charges of extortion and sexual trafficking while serving as head of the entertainment empire.

Testimony at the trial began Monday after the final stage of jury selection and the lawyer’s opening speech. Comb wearing a light gray sweater gives supporters a thumbs up in court in New York City, USA.

"For 20 years, the defendant has committed a crime after the crime with the help of his trusted internal circle," Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told the court. "That's why we're here today. That's the purpose of this situation."

Many witnesses testified that they had experienced physical violence, intimidation and manipulation of combs, while the rapper's lawyer said he was accused of committing a wrong category of crime and "his tangled sexual behavior and preference for sex" were portrayed as evil.

Attorney Teny Geragos told jurors they might end up thinking Combs was “a bitchy” or “a bitchy mean”, but he was not charged with “a bitchy or a bastard.”

"This situation is about the voluntary choice between the consensus by competent adults," Glagos said in his opening speech.

U.S. Attorney Johnson said the comb “had been viciously attacked” and refused to participate in the women who were called “freaks.”

"They will tell you the most painful experience of their lives," Johnson told the jurors of the victims in the case. The days they spent in their hotel rooms, tall drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant's sexual fantasy."

She's trembling'

The court showed a video of a comb beating and kicking his ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, in 2016, making it silent.

A stripper named Daniel Phillip testified that Combs threw a bottle of wine at Ventura, then grabbed his hair and screamed to another room, and Phillip said he heard the comb yelling and beat Ventura.

Philip testified to Ventura: "She literally jumped onto my legs and shivered like her whole body was shaking. She was scared."

Geragos acknowledged that Combs was prone to jealousy and committed “terrible, dehumanized violence” in the videos shown to jurors, but that was evidence of domestic abuse and not allegedly sexual trafficking or blackmailing at the center of the case.

Prosecutors said he would face a 15-year jail comb if convicted of all five felony charges, and he pleaded not guilty, prompting women to join the drug-crazy party and then blackmail them with videos of the encounter.

Combs' status as a high-profile entertainer has attracted great attention to the trial and about how powerful figures in the entertainment, business, sports and politics often evade responsibility for abuse.

As the case began, the jury and the substitute (12 men and 6 women) sat in the court. The opening debate begins after the judge completes the legal interpretation related to the trial, with a light breakfast to the jury in addition to lunch.

The jury in the case is essentially anonymous, meaning their identities are courts and prosecuted and defended, but will not be made public.

"We will keep your name and identity confident," Subramanian told the jurors.

In federal cases, this is a common practice that can keep juries anonymous, especially in sensitive, compelling matters where juror safety may attract attention. Last year in New York State Court, the juror's name was also publicly retained during a criminal trial by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Subramanian urged jurors to judge the case only based on evidence presented in the court. This is a standard directive, but in this high-profile situation, it has a strong media coverage.

"Nothing you see or hear outside the court is evidence," the judge said. "It must be ignored."