NEW YORK — Jennifer Lopez may testify after all in Sean "Puffy" Combs' criminal trial.

Contradicting a public announcement that Lopez and Combs issued on Tuesday, Combs lawyer Benjamin Brafman said in court on Wednesday that Lopez may testify on Friday, a day after Combs himself takes the stand. Brafman explained Tuesday's announcement as simply an attempt to stop press speculation. "It's always been a possibility" that Lopez would testify, he said.

Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos angrily demanded that Combs be placed in contempt of court for discussing his decision to testify, and for explaining why Lopez would not. Combs' comments violated the trial's gag order, Bogdanos argued.

Judge Charles Solomon did not immediately rule on the request, but said, "If, in fact, Mr. Combs is talking to the press about why Ms. Lopez didn't testify, that, to me, is not good." Combs said in his Tuesday statement, issued through his publicist, that he would not ask Lopez — his ex-girlfriend — to testify because his own testimony would make her appearance unnecessary (see "Puffy Says He'll Testify But Lopez Won't").

Bogdanos accused Combs of lying to cover what he said was the real reason for the decision: "Ms. Lopez, if called to testify, would not exonerate Mr. Combs. It would be literally and physically impossible." The prosecutor was referring to Lopez' grand jury testimony, in which, he said, she claimed that she didn't see Combs at the moment of the Club New York shootings. She also testified that she couldn't hear conversations between Combs and driver Wardel Fenderson, whom the rap mogul is accused of bribing, according to the prosecutor.

When asked if Combs had a gun at Club New York, Lopez said, "I can't say one way or another," according to Bogdanos.

But Brafman said Lopez told the defense team in interviews that she hugged Combs numerous times during the evening, including one time just 20 seconds before the shooting, and never felt a gun.

She also got dressed with Combs before heading out for the evening, and saw that he didn't have a gun at that point, according to Brafman.

Brafman argued that Combs' statement to the press on Tuesday wasn't specific enough to violate the gag order, and said he'd given Combs the go-ahead before it was issued.

Without ruling on the contempt request, Judge Solomon told the lawyers and defendants to not say a word about the case to the press.

Later Wednesday, a friend of shooting victim Natania Reuben accused Reuben of faking a limp after the shooting and wearing a bandage on her face after she no longer needed it. The friend, Patricia Richardson, also testified that in the hospital after the incident, Reuben told her that she didn't know who shot her.

Reuben had testified for the prosecution that she saw Combs fire a gun at Club New York.

Two other witnesses, Universal Records A&R executive Charles Suitt and security guard Israel Ramirez, testified that they watched Combs during the shooting, and that the rap mogul did not have a gun.

As did earlier defense witnesses, each claimed that Combs was ducking, not shooting, as the shots rang out.

But they contradicted other details of earlier accounts.

Ramirez said bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones fell on top of Combs as shots rang out. Security guard Cherise Myers had testified last week that she fell on Combs, but Ramirez said he didn't see any women near — or on — Puffy during the shooting. Suitt said he didn't notice an argument or money being thrown before the shooting. He also placed a gray "Sherlock Holmes-type" hat on Combs' head on the night of the incident — an accessory that no other witness saw.

(Click HERE for a complete explanation of the charges in the case. Click HERE for our complete trial coverage.)