The judge in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to remove the music mogul from court for looking and nodding at the jury during testimony on Thursday.

The court also heard from a woman, under the pseudonym “Jane” and who previously dated Combs, as she began testifying about their relationship and the drug-fueled sexual marathons that she said Combs orchestrated.

During a lunch break after the jury left the room on Thursday, Judge Arun Subramanian said that he saw Combs looking at the jury and “nodding vigorously” during the cross-examination of Bryana Bongolan, a former graphic designer for Combs and a longtime friend of Combs’s former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.

The judge warned Combs’s lawyers that if he saw it again, it “could result in the exclusion of your client from the courtroom”.

“There should be no efforts whatsoever to have an interaction with this jury,” the judge added.

Combs’s lawyer said that it would not happen again.

Earlier on Thursday, Bongolan resumed the testimony she began on Wednesday. Bongolan previously testified about her friendship with Ventura and described an alleged incident from 2016 in which she says that Combs dangled her from the balcony of Ventura’s 17th-floor apartment in Los Angeles for 10 to 15 seconds, before throwing her on to some balcony furniture.

She testified that the incident left her bruised and emotionally scarred and that she experiences nightmares and paranoia.

During cross-examination, Combs’s lawyers challenged Bongolan’s credibility, citing inconsistencies between her current testimony and prior statements she gave regarding the alleged balcony incident.

On Thursday morning, Combs’s lawyers pressed her on the timeline. They claimed that the alleged balcony incident could not have occurred when she said because Combs was performing on the east coast for much of September 2016.

Before concluding the cross-examination, Combs’s lawyer suggested that Bongolan was lying about the balcony incident and the injuries.

“I can’t agree with you,” Bongolan responded, adding that she could not recall the exact date of the alleged incident, but she “will never forget him holding me on that balcony”.

Another former girlfriend of Combs’s, who alleges she was abused and made to participate in drug-fueled sex sessions known as “freak-offs”, began testifying on Thursday afternoon.

Testifying under the pseudonym “Jane”, the woman has been described by prosecutors as a single mother who first met Combs in 2020.

Jane testified on Thursday that she met Combs in 2020 during a girls’ trip with a friend who was dating him at the time. Jane recalled finding Combs “really charming” and said they exchanged numbers.

They began dating in early 2021, she said, and were still dating at the time of his arrest last September.

Jane said that she fell “pretty head over heels” for Combs after their first date in early 2021, and that several months later, Combs began introducing her to his sexual fantasies and the idea of her having sex with other men.

One night in May 2021, she said she agreed because she wanted to make him happy. Within hours, she said she was in a hotel room watching his assistants prepare the room for a so-called freak-off.

Soon after, she said a man from an escort service arrived, and she said she had sex with him while Combs watched and masturbated.

Jane testified that the May 2021 encounter opened a “Pandora’s box” in their relationship, adding: “It was a door that I was unable to shut for the remainder of the relationship.”

Jane told the court that she only wanted to have sex with Combs, not other men, and that she repeatedly told Combs this during their relationship but that he would be dismissive.

Jane said that she felt “obligated” to comply since Combs controlled aspects of her life, including paying her rent.

The court was then adjourned for the day and Jane is expected to return to the stand to continue her testimony on Friday morning.

Prosecutors have said that Jane’s testimony is similar to that of Ventura, who testified during the first week of the trial.

Ventura, who dated Combs on and off from 2007 to 2018, told jurors last month that she was subjected to years of physical and emotional abuse during the relationship. She alleged she was coerced, through violence and blackmail, into taking part in the so-called “freak-offs”, which she said were orchestrated and directed by Combs and involved drugs and male sex workers.

During cross-examination, Combs’s attorneys sought to portray Ventura as a willing participant in the freak-offs, framing the encounters as part of a “swingers lifestyle”.

Now in its fourth week, the trial has featured graphic and emotional testimony from several witnesses. To date, more than 16 witnesses have testified, including the singer Dawn Richard, three of Combs’s former assistants, Ventura’s mother and rapper Scott Mescudi, also known as Kid Cudi.

Combs, 55, was arrested in September 2024 and faces federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Prosecutors allege that Combs ran a criminal enterprise since at least 2004 that engaged in or attempted to engage in crimes including sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor, arson, bribery, enticement to engage in prostitution and obstruction of justice, with the help of his associates and employees.

While Combs’s lawyers have acknowledged his history of domestic violence, they argue that the women participated in the freak-offs consensually and they maintain that Combs is not guilty of sex trafficking or racketeering, or of operating a criminal enterprise.

Prosecutors have said that they may rest their case next week, with the defense expected to begin calling its own witnesses soon after.

However, Combs’s lawyers have signaled that their presentation may take longer than anticipated, potentially extending the trial into early July.

If convicted on all counts, Combs could face life in prison.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

• In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.