CASANDRA “Cassie” Ventura has spoken out on the brutal 2016 assault she suffered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The R&B singer, 37, released an emotional statement on Thursday, nearly a week after the horrific video was released.
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Cassie thanked everyone for their support and admitted she’s still recovering from the domestic violence experience.
“Thank you for all the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet,” Cassie said.
“The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning.
“Domestic Violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become.
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“With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but will always be recovering from my past.
“Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to take this matter seriously.”
This healing journey is never ending.
Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura
The singer continued, “My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time.
“It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.
“I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.
“This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me. Thank you.”
VICIOUS ASSAULT
CNN released surveillance footage on May 16 showing Combs, 54, viciously striking, kicking, and dragging Cassie across a hotel lobby.
The gut-wrenching assault took place at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016.
The troubling incident matched the allegations Cassie made in the lawsuit she filed against the Bad Boy CEO in New York in November 2023.
The suit, which was settled by both parties a day after it was filed, read, “Ms. Ventura tried to leave the hotel room, but as she exited, Mr. Combs awoke and began screaming at Ms. Ventura.
“He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her.
“He grabbed at her and then took glass vases in the hallways and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape.”
SORRY MESS
The under-fire Bad Boy for Life rapper apologized days after the video was released and admitted to taking part in the assault.
“I was f**ked up,” Combs said.
“I mean, I hit rock bottom but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.
“I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it and I’m disgusted now.
“I went and I sought out professional help and had to go to therapy, had to go to rehab.
“Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry.”
Misa Hylton, the mother of one of Combs’ sons, Justin Combs, expressed her support for Cassie and said her ex-boyfriend needs help.
“I am heartbroken that Cassie must relieve the horror of her abuse, and my heart goes out to her,” the fashion designer, 51, said.
“I know exactly how she feels, and through my empathy, it has triggered my own trauma.
“These young people were raised by women that want the best for them – we put God and education first and have always been united in our mutual effort to support their dreams.
“Two of the youngest do not have their mother here, and it has been our duty to support them.
“Their father needs help and I am praying that he truly does the personal work and receives it.”
Hylton dated Combs in the early 1990s when he was an intern at Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records before he started Bad Boy Records in 1993.
MOUNTING LAWSUITS
Combs suffered another legal blow on Tuesday after a former model filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.
Crystal McKinney claimed she met Combs at a 2003 Men’s Fashion Week event in New York City when he invited her back to his studio.
McKinney, who was 22 at the time, said Combs and several of his colleagues were drinking alcohol and smoking weed in the studio.
She said she took a hit, which she described as “very powerful,” and claimed the joint may have been laced with some other drug, according to the suit.
Combs then ordered McKinney to follow him into the bathroom.
McKinney said Combs then allegedly forced himself on her, kissing her, and shoving her head to his crotch before telling her to “suck it.”
She said she refused, but claims Combs pushed her head down and forced her to perform oral sex on him, the lawsuit reads.
McKinney said she later lost consciousness and woke up in a taxi, where she realized she had been sexually assaulted.
It’s unclear from the lawsuit if McKinney was referring to the alleged oral sex or another act that may have happened while she was unconscious.
Since November 2023, Combs has been at the center of a federal investigation from Homeland Security officials and faces five federal lawsuits by victims who have accused him of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and crimes.
Combs has not been charged with any crimes and has denied the allegations against him.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
Recent lawsuits against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Diddy was hit with a wave of lawsuits in late 2023 and 2024 with allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault. He has denied all claims against him.
- November 17, 2023: Cassie, Diddy’s longtime girlfriend, sued him claiming she endured “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” until their relationship ended in 2018. Diddy and Cassie settled the suit the day after it was filed.
- Diddy was hit with two more lawsuits a week after he settled with Cassie.
- November 23, 2023: Joi Dickerson accused Diddy of drugging and raping her and filming the attack when she was a 19-year-old college student in January 1991.
- November 24, 2023: A second unidentified accuser in a separate lawsuit claimed that Diddy and another man sexually assaulted her and a friend in 1990 or 1991 then showed up at her apartment and beat her several days later.
- December 6, 2023: Diddy was sued again by an unidentified woman who claimed he and two men gang-raped her in 2003 when she was 17 years old.
- February 26, 2024: Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, who helped produce Diddy’s most recent album, claimed that the mogul sexually harassed, drugged, and threatened him from September 2022 to November 2023 as they worked together.
- May 21, 2024: Model Crystal McKinney accused Combs of sexually assaulting her after meeting at a Men’s Fashion Week event in New York City in 2003. McKinney claims she was drinking alcohol and smoking weed with Combs and several of his colleagues when she took a hit of a joint that said claims was laced with another drug. McKinney claims she felt woozy, and Combs ordered her to the bathroom, where he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him.
