June 26, 2025

Thursday 6/26. Bonus Episode: "From Victims to Voices, The Brave Women Who Took Down a Mogul"

Show Notes
Transcript

Both sides rested yesterday in preparation for today's closing arguments, so while there is no new news, Nate Oliver takes you deeper into one of the most compelling aspects of this entire trial: the courage it took for witnesses to step forward and speak their truth in one of the most watched courtrooms in America.

From "Jane's" four days of gut-wrenching testimony while eight months pregnant, to Cassie Ventura's decision to relive her trauma despite a $20 million settlement, these survivors risked everything to speak their truth. We explore the psychology behind delayed disclosure, the cost of breaking silence against powerful figures, and why these witnesses chose justice over privacy. Featuring insights into trauma bonds, moral injury, and the ripple effects of high-profile testimony that gives other survivors permission to speak up.

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Calaruga Shark Media. Welcome back to a special bonus episode

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of Did He Do It? I'm Nate Oliver. Both sides

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rested yesterday in preparation for today's closing arguments, So while

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there is no new news, I want to take you

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deeper into one of the most compelling aspects of this

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entire trial, the courage it took for witnesses to step

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forward and speak their truth in one of the most

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watched courtrooms in America. Over the past six weeks, we've

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heard from more than thirty witnesses, but today I want

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to focus on the most vulnerable among them, the alleged

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victims who risked everything to testify against one of the

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most powerful men in entertainment. These aren't just names in

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a legal document. These are real people who made the

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agonizing decision to relive their trauma in public, knowing their

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words would be dissected by defense attorneys, splash across tabloids,

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and debated on social media by millions of strangers. Let's

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start with the woman the court knows only as Jane.

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For four grueling days, she sat in that witness chair,

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eight months pregnant, and described a decade of alleged sexual coercion, violence,

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and psychological control. Jane testified that about ninety percent of

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her sexual encounters with Ditty involved another man, usually a

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male escort, and that these marathon sessions, which she called

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her full time job, left her feeling broken and desperate.

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But here's what struck me most about Jane's testimony her

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honesty about the complexity of her feelings. She didn't present

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herself as a perfect victim. She admitted to loving Ditty

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at times, to participating in arrangements she later regretted, to

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staying far longer than outsiders might think reasonable. When the

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defense pressed her about affectionate text messages she'd sent, calling

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the free COF's fun or expressing love for Ditty, she

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didn't deny it. Instead, she explained something that trauma experts

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know well but the public often struggles to understand. Loving

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freak offs were just words. At that point, I said

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what I needed to say to get through it. That authenticity,

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that willingness to admit contradiction and complexity, actually made her

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testimony more powerful, not less. Real trauma isn't neat, Real

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victims don't always behave the way movies and TV shows

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tell us they should. Jane's courage wasn't just in speaking up,

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It wasn't speaking truthfully, even when the truth was messy

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and uncomfortable. Then there's Cassie Ventura, the prosecution star witness

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and perhaps the most high profile victim to take the stand.

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Cassie had already reached a twenty million dollar settlement with Ditty,

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had moved on with her life, married and started a family.

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She had every reason to stay silent, but she spent

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four days in that courtroom describing in graphic detail the

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alleged years of abuse, the freak offs she was forced

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to participate in, and the violence she endured. The defense

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tried to paint Cassie as motivated by money, pointing to

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her settlement and suggesting revenge was her motive. But here's

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what they couldn't explain away. Why would someone who had

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already been paid millions risk perjury charges, public humiliation, and

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opening old wounds just for revenge. The answer, trauma experts

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tell us is that money doesn't heal trauma, and for

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many survivors, seeing their abuser held accountable becomes more important

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than personal comfort or privacy. Cassie's decision to testify wasn't

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just about her own justice. It was about validating the

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experiences of other women who might never have the platform

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or resources to speak up. When she told the jury,

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I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the shame,

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the guilt, she was speaking for countless survivors who struggle

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with the burden of keeping secrets about powerful men. But

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let's talk about the witnesses who testified under pseudonyms like Mia.

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This former employee described eight years of alleged sexual assault,

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sleep deprivation, and psychological torment. She testified that she received

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a four hundred thousand dollars severance payment after leaving Ditty's employment,

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but never mentioned the alleged sexual assaults during settlement negotiations

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because she was terrified of retaliation. Think about that for

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a moment. Here's a woman who endured years of alleged abuse,

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finally escaped, got a financial settlement, and could have disappeared

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into anonymity. Instead, she chose to come forward and testify

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under immunity, knowing that her story would become public, knowing

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she'd be cross examined by skilled defense attorneys, knowing that

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Ditty's supporters would question her motives and attack her credibility.

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Why do that? Why put yourself through that ordeal? The

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answer lies in something psychologists call moral injury, the psychological

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wound that occurs when you witness or experience something that

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violates your fundamental beliefs about right and wrong, and you

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feel powerless to stop it. For many of these witnesses,

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staying silent had become its own form of trauma. Speaking

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up wasn't just about seeking justice, It was about healing.

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Doctor Don Hughes, the forensic psychologist who testified as an

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expert witness, explained to the jury why victims often stay

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in abusive relationships, why they delayed disclosure, and why their

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memories might be fragmented. But she also explained to something

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else the incredible strength it takes to break free from

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what she called trauma bonds with abusers. These women didn't

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just wake up one day and decide to take down

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a billionaire. They went through years of psychological manipulation designed

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to make them feel complicit, ashamed, and powerless. They were

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told no one would believe them. They were threatened with

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financial ruin and career destruction. They watched other women disappear

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from Ditty's circle and understood the message stay silent or

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be erased. Breaking that silence required a kind of courage

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that most of us will never have to summon. It

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required believing that their truth mattered more than their safety,

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their privacy, or their peace of mind. And let's not

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forget the male witnesses who testified, men like Daniel Phillip,

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the former exotic dancer who described being paid to participate

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in freak offs while Ditty watched and filmed. These men

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faced their own unique challenges in coming forward. Our society

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still struggles to recognize men as victims of sexual exploitation,

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and the stigma around male survivors can be even more

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intense than what women face. Philip testified that he witnessed

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Didty physically abuse Cassie, but never intervened. I was afraid,

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he admitted, I'd seen what happened to people who crossed him.

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That admission of fear, of complicity through inaction takes a

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different kind of courage. It's one thing to testify about

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what happened to you. It's another to admit you stood

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by while it happened to someone else. But here's what's

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remarkable about these witnesses. They didn't just survive trauma. They

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transformed it into testimony. They took their private pain and

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made it public evidence. They allowed themselves to be cross examined, challenged,

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and questioned, all in service of a larger truth. More

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in a moment, the defense did what defense attorneys are

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supposed to do. They attacked credibility, questioned motives, and highlighted inconsistencies.

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They pointed to financial settlements, delayed reporting, and continued contact

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with Ditty after alleged abuse. But what they couldn't explain

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away was the consistency of the stories across multiple witnesses,

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the corroborating evidence, and the sheer courage it took for

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these individuals to come forward. Consider this, every single one

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of these witnesses had more to lose than to gain

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by testifying. Jane was already receiving financial support and could

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have stayed silent. Cassie had her settlement and her new life.

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Mia had escaped and built a new career. The male

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witnesses had their own reputations and privacy to protect. None

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of them needed to be in that courtroom, but they

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chose to be there because, as Mia testified, it's the

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right thing to do. They chose to be there because,

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as Jane said, she couldn't carry the shame and guilt anymore.

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They chose to be there because sometimes the only way

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to heal from trauma is to transform it into truth.

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The ripple effects of their courage extend far beyond this courtroom.

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Every time I'M a high profile case like this plays out,

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it gives other survivors permission to speak up. It normalizes

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the idea that powerful men aren't untouchable, that money and

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fame don't put someone above the law, and that victims'

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voices matter. But we also have to acknowledge the cost.

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These witnesses will never have their privacy back. Their stories

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are now part of the public record, their faces sketched

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in courtroom drawings, their words quoted in headlines around the world.

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They've opened themselves up to public scrutiny, online harassment, and

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years of appeals if Ditty is convicted. That's the paradox

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of high profile testimony. The platform that makes their voices

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heard also makes them targets. The visibility that validates other

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survivors also exposes them to attack. The courage that brings

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justice also comes with consequence. As we wait for the

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jury to deliberate, we should remember that, regardless of the verdict,

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these witnesses have already achieved something remarkable. They've broken the

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silence that enabled alleged abuse to continue. They've shown other

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survivors that speaking up is possible, and they've forced all

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of us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, privilege, and

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the price of staying silent. The jury will decide Diddy's

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legal fate, but these witnesses have already decided their own.

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They've chosen courage over comfort, truth over silence, and justice

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over peace. In a world where powerful men have historically

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faced few consequences for their actions, that choice that courage

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might be the most important verdict of all. Tomorrow, we'll

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be back with another special episode as we continue our

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deep dive into this historic trial. I'm Nate Oliver, and

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this is did he Do It?