LOS ANGELES — A woman who says Sean “Diddy” Combs dangled her over a high-rise apartment balcony testified in court Wednesday that the terrifying incident left her with night terrors, paranoia, and lasting emotional trauma.
Bryana “Bana” Bongolan, 33, a creative director and longtime friend of Combs’ former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, told a federal jury she feared for her life when the music mogul allegedly lifted her and held her over the railing of a 17th-floor balcony at Cassie’s Los Angeles apartment in 2016.
“I was scared to fall,” Bongolan said in emotional testimony during the fourth week of the government’s racketeering case against Combs. “I have night terrors and paranoia and I would scream in my sleep sometimes.”
Prosecutors allege Combs, 55, led a criminal enterprise involving his associates and staff to facilitate acts of physical and sexual abuse over two decades. The charges against him include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty and faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
Bongolan testified that the assault left her with a bruise on the back of her leg and lingering neck and back pain. She said Combs stormed into the apartment, picked her up without warning, and placed her on the balcony railing, yelling at her during the ordeal. She estimated she was held there for up to 15 seconds before he threw her onto patio furniture.
“I got up right away. I had a lot of adrenaline,” she said. Bongolan described the moment as “deeply traumatic,” recalling how she believed she could die.
Cassie, who previously testified for four days, also recounted the same incident, saying she awoke to find Combs dragging Bongolan back over the railing before hurling her onto the balcony furniture. According to Cassie, she confronted Combs, asking, “Did you just hang her over the balcony?” before he quickly left upon learning another guest was present in the apartment.
Bongolan testified she continues to suffer psychological distress years after the incident. She detailed behaviors linked to her trauma, such as cautiously opening doors and peering into rooms before entering. She said she recently had another nightmare about the attack.
“I have nightmares, and I used to scream a lot in my sleep,” she told the court. “It’s dissipated a little bit, but the paranoia is still there.”
She also testified that Combs provided her with drugs on multiple occasions, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, and a depressant she identified as GHB. She said she also used drugs with Cassie when Combs wasn’t present.
Bongolan was compelled to testify under subpoena and initially declined to answer questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Prosecutors ultimately granted her immunity, making her at least the third witness to testify under those protections.
Her account adds to the mounting allegations against Combs, whose trial has featured several women recounting episodes of physical and emotional abuse. Prosecutors are using their testimonies to argue that Combs operated a long-running criminal enterprise behind the façade of a successful music and business empire.
