As an exotic dancer, Sharay Hayes was used to performing at bachelorette parties all over New York City.
But Hayes wasn’t prepared when a woman named ‘Jackie’ handed him $800 to have sex with her at a hotel room in 2012 while her ‘husband’ watched.
Hayes didn’t know at that point the woman was actually singer Cassie Ventura and the mystery man — wearing what he describes as a black burka that covered his face — was Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
‘When she [Ventura] shows up, she opens the door in a bathrobe and it was clear that she was nude under,’ Hayes told Daily Mail.
‘It was dimly lit, sheets all over the furniture.
‘She walked me straight to a bathroom, and I still at that point asked, ‘Hey, where do you want me to change’…because I’m just trying to follow the the dancing booking.
‘And she explained to me right at that moment, ‘Look, we’re we’re looking for this sexy scene with a baby oil and mutual massages, and you know, if you’re comfortable with that, that’s what we would like to hire you for.’
During his testimony at Combs’ criminal trial in Manhattan, Hayes — who went by his dancer name ‘The Punisher’ — testified it was Ventura who handed him $800.
Sharay Hayes, also known as ‘The Punisher’, testified at trial about his freak-offs with Diddy and Cassie. Now, he tells Daily Mail the unvarnished truth about their sex sessions
Hayes told the court that Cassie introduced herself as ‘Janet’ and Diddy as her husband
Ventura also testified it was Combs who paid for the ‘freak off’ sessions with Hayes and about a dozen other male escorts and prostitutes while the disgraced Bad Boy mogul watched.
Hayes told Daily Mail he was uncomfortable when the man, who he now knows was Combs, entered the room and directed the entire sexual encounter.
‘He was wearing, I believe it’s called the burka, where his face is covered, and you can only see the eyes. So, seeing an adult male nude, with that type of head covering on … it was startling. It was out of my comfort zone.
‘But it it was across the room at a distance, and I was instructed to not look directly at him or interact with him, or even acknowledge him.
‘So everything was kind of peripheral vision, and I just did my best to block it out.
‘But it was out of the ordinary scenario for me trying to interact with a woman sexually, with a partner in the room, and in that attire was odd. So it was a little difficult trying to focus and be in the moment.’
Hayes said there was lighting, candles and lots of baby oil in the hotel room — some of the key instruments prosecutors alleged Combs used during ‘freak off’ sex sessions.
Prosecutors claim at least three victims, including Ventura, was forced to have sex with male prostitutes, who sometimes traveled across state lines.
But while prosecutors allege Combs used a criminal enterprise to control his victims, Hayes told DailyMail.com he didn’t witness anything unlawful during his sexual encounters with Ventura.
Hayes, an exotic dancer, said he was ‘honored’ when he learned the couple’s real identities. He is shown in costume
He only learned Combs’ identity, he claims, when he saw the rapper’s name on a welcome message on a hotel room television
Hayes said it would be about a year before he realized who the mystery couple was. During a freak off session at the Essex House hotel in New York City, he noticed the greeting on the television screen said Combs’ name.
Hayes said he was at first star stuck at the realization.
‘Because I was still under the impression that they’re just a couple, and this is a fetish type of thing they do. And honestly, finding it out at that period of time, I was almost honored.
‘Because I’m like, ‘Wow, this is this is this powerful couple. They probably have access to hundreds of of guys or people they can do this with. And and I’m chosen to create this fantasy for them.’ So I really thought it was something, to be as crazy as it sounds, in the moment proud of like, ‘Wow! This is something I’m a part of.’
‘At that moment I was just trying to, I guess, do a good job for what I was requested for, but it it created a lot of anxiety and pressure that I struggled with.’
Hayes apologized to Cassie for his role in he sordid saga. He is shown at court on May 20
Hayes said he was shocked to hear about Ventura’s testimony about the years of alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of the Bad Boy rapper, and that she was forced to have sex.
‘I was completely blown away because there was no indication of my interactions that there was any issues, any duress, any problems whatsoever,’ he said.
‘It just seemed like a couple who were trying to expand on their sex life in a kind of fetish way. I didn’t see anything associated with what’s going on in the trial, or the charges.’
Hayes said there were moments where Ventura sighed, which he took to be ‘a moment of frustration’ because Combs would constantly direct them how to position their bodies during sex while the rapper watched and masturbated.
But Hayes maintains he never saw anything unlawful during their dozen or so sexual encounters.
He told DailyMail.com that Ventura would sometimes informed him about medical tests she took and reassured him that she was healthy.
An artist’s drawing shows Sharay Hayes testifying in court
‘I don’t even understand the law to the degree to see how it ties in, but it’s been the same details, same facts, same interactions from day one,’ Hayes said. ‘Maybe there is something in my testimony that does constitute racketeering, or one of the other charges they’re trying to create, but myself, I do not understand where my direct testimony aligns with what the charges are.’
However, he said there were moments that he realizes now could’ve been clues that Ventura was not comfortable with the situation.
‘So one of my first conversations with Cassie, and her desire to call me back, she emphasized being comfortable with me,’ Hayes said. ‘At the time I didn’t read into it. But you know, I guess the normal language would be like, ‘I like you. You’re cool.’
‘When I think back to her language and the desire to, I guess, call me over a period of time based on comfort, I then start to wonder. You know, the things she testified to, were experiences when she was in distress.’
Hayes said he was never asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement but he remained discreet about the freak off sessions.
He said he was shocked when in 2018 he saw a police interrogation video of a man named Jonathan Oddi, who claimed he was ‘Diddy and Cassie’s sex slave.’
Oddi’s claims about the Bad Boy mogul and his ex were initially dismissed as the Florida man was hit with unrelated charges after he was arrested for shooting at police inside Trump National Doral golf club in Miami.
Hayes said he was shocked when he initially saw the now viral video of Jonathan Oddi, another stripper who claimed he was a Cassie and Diddy’s ‘sex slave’
Oddi claimed he signed an NDA with Combs in 2014 and was paid $5million to keep quiet about the freak off parties
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed Oddi actually signed an NDA with Combs in 2014. In the video, Oddi told cops the rapper paid him $5 million to keep quiet about their sexual trysts.
Ventura later confirmed during her testimony that Oddi was one of the men she allegedly was forced to have sex with by Combs.
Hayes said he was initially shocked to hear another stripper was also getting paid to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched.
‘I was saying to myself, ‘Hey, everything he’s saying is is probably legit.’ But I think it’s just about credibility. You know, being a male dancer, and then just being involved in this puts you in a prostitution/escort label. So I think it’s just hard to be heard and taken seriously.’
Hayes said if he could, he would say sorry to Ventura.
‘I want to apologize for my lack of awareness of, or naivetés, or participating in a possible scenario where she was under distress,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘Just because I didn’t notice it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t the case.
‘So if my interactions contributed to a distressful place for her, that’s something I’m remorseful and regretful about.’
Diddy denies all of the charges and insists everything he and Cassie took part in was consensual.
The trial in Manhattan is ongoing.