Kanye West says he wanted to show his support for his friend
Kanye West briefly watched his friend Sean "Diddy" Combs’ sex trafficking trial from an overflow room.
After arriving in a black Mercedes-Maybach sedan, West entered the courthouse in an all-white outfit and black sunglasses.
Like any other member of the public, he had to take off his belt, empty his pockets and surrender his electronic devices before going through a metal detector.
West was escorted to an elevator and taken to an empty overflow room on the 23rd floor of the courthouse. For about 10 minutes, West and his entourage were alone in the overflow room with four court officers. The rapper sat in the front row of the gallery, immediately in front of a monitor displaying a feed of the courtroom.
Charlucci Finney, a music producer and longtime friend of Combs, was also in the overflow room. Finney was seen pointing out elements of the courtroom setup to West, who watched the screen intently. West watched the beginning of the testimony from Jonathan Perez, a former personal assistant to Combs.
West was never able to enter the main courtroom where the trial is taking place. At one point during West’s visit, a member of Combs’ legal team showed up in an overflow room on a different floor, frantically looking for West.
After about 30 minutes, West quietly left the courtroom and exited the courthouse.
About a dozen newly sworn-in citizens were taking photos outside court when West left the building.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
