SPRINGFIELD — Pop and R&B singer Dawn Richard headlines the Springfield Pride Parade this weekend, just three weeks after taking center stage at the federal sex trafficking trial of one-time mentor Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“It’s a celebration of Pride, and she’s wonderful,” B.J. Coleman, public relations director for Springfield Pride, said Friday.
Dawn Richard, from left, Diddy and Kaleena of Diddy — Dirty Money perform at the BET Awards on June 27, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Local Pride organizers booked Richard well before she was called by federal prosecutors to testify against Combs at his Manhattan trial, and organizers instead are focusing on Richard’s support for the LGBTQ community.
“She’s an awesome performer,” Coleman said. “We just want to celebrate.”
Richard was scheduled to play the fundraising ball on Friday. On Saturday, Richard is expected to join thousands for the parade on State Street, followed by a Pride block party on Stearns Square.
Last month, Richard told jurors at Combs’ trial that the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her if she told anyone she saw him physically abusing his longtime girlfriend.
Witness Dawn Richard testifies in Manhattan federal court during the sex trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on May 19 in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via Associated Press, File)AP
Richard, according to The Associated Press, said Combs made the threat one day after she witnessed Combs punch, kick and swing at girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura with a skillet.
Richard said he told her and another woman who saw the attack that “we could go missing” if they didn’t stay quiet.
Singer Dawn Richard and attorney Lisa Bloom exit federal court during the Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial, on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Ted Shaffrey / Associated PressAP
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner asked Richard what she took “we could go missing” to mean.
“That we could die,” Richard said, adding she was shocked, because all of this happened just as she was beginning to record with Diddy.
She performed in two of Combs’ more successful recent acts: girl group Danity Kane and trio Diddy — Dirty Money. Diddy — Dirty Money was comprised of Richard and Kalenna Harper with Combs.
But Richard, a New Orleans native, sued Combs last year, alleging threats and groping.
Richard testified over two days, detailing the abuse she saw Ventura suffer at the hands of Combs.
“I saw him kick her, punch her in the stomach,” the AP quoted Richard as saying.
Dawn Richard, from left, Sean Diddy Combs, and Kalenna Harper of the band Diddy — Dirty Money arrive at the BET Awards on June 26, 2011, in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)ASSOCIATED PRESS
And the abuse came every time Ventura spoke up for herself or, in Richard’s words, “had an opinion.”
Combs’ lawyers say prosecutors can prove domestic violence but not the federal crimes he’s charged with.
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