Catherine Rusoff
Security video shown by CNN appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016, the latest in a months-long series of public allegations and revelations of physical and sexual violence by the hip-hop mogul.
The video shown Friday appears to show Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking the R&B singer who was his protégé and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs pushing and dragging Cassie and throwing a vase at her.
The security camera video, dated March 5, 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles. described in a November lawsuit filed by Cassiewhose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, who alleged years of sexual abuse and other violence by Combs.
CNN
The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video. CNN did not say how it obtained the video, but noted that it verified the location where it was filmed, comparing the footage with publicly available footage of the InterContinental Hotel.
Cassie case has been resolved the day after his appearance, but it spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
Combs’ representatives did not immediately comment on the video, but he has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits, and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing and will fight to prove his innocence.
“The distressing video only further confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior,” said Douglas Wigdor, Cassie’s attorney who has filed other lawsuits against Combs. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura demonstrated in coming forward to bring this to light.”
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly as Ventura did.
According to the lawsuit, Combs earlier in the evening became “extremely intoxicated” and punched Ventura, giving her a black eye. After he fell asleep, she tried to leave, the lawsuit says. Apparently this is where the video begins. Ventura can be seen heading to a set of elevators with his suitcase packed.
Then Combs woke up and started yelling at her, following her down the hallway, the suit said.
He violently grabs her and throws her to the ground, kicks her and throws vases towards her in the video.
CNN
The lawsuit says she managed to escape, but later returned out of fear that she would suffer further abuse if she didn’t. When she returned, hotel staff asked her to return to her apartment, the lawsuit says. She would run away and hide with a friend in Florida.
The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video.
It is unlikely that Combs could be criminally charged for the attack. The statutes of limitations for assault or battery in California range from one to three years depending on whether they are charged with misdemeanors or felonies.
The video’s release comes as Combs and his legal team have begun pushing back against allegations that have emerged in a steady stream since November. They recently filed motions to dismiss parts of a lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a woman in 1991, and to reject an entire lawsuit alleging that he and two other men raped a 17-year-old girl in 2003. Court documents found both sets of allegations to be false.
On March 25, Homeland Security Investigations served search warrants on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in a sex trafficking investigation. His lawyer called it “a gross military-level use of force.” The investigation continues. Combs was not charged.
Combs, a three-time Grammy winner and founder of Bad Boy Records, is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He turned his hip-hop success into a broader business empire that includes private label spirits, fashion and a TV network. He has had to step away from some of his business roles since the allegations began to surface.
He and Ventura began dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for over a decade.
She became known for the hit single “Me & U”, which secured the number one spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2006. The song was the first single from her only self-titled studio album.
As an actress, she has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including “Empire,” “Step Up 2: The Streets” and Fox’s “Spenser Confidential.”
For anonymous and confidential help, people can call National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224. People can text START to 88788 or chat on TheHotline.org.
