Recent developments in the prominent Diddy trial have brought to light disturbing details from his former girlfriend regarding events at what were termed ‘freak offs,’ and her efforts to avoid certain situations.
The trial of Sean Combs, better known as Diddy, commenced on Monday (May 12) following his arrest on charges related to sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion, allegations that he denies.
Since Tuesday (May 13), Cassandra Ventura, who is widely known as Cassie and was in an on-and-off relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, has been sharing her side of the story in court.
Ventura, who began dating Combs at age 19 when he was 37, has accused him of physical abuse, stating that their arguments often escalated to violence.
A previously publicized CCTV video from 2016 was presented to the jury, capturing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel.
Combs acknowledged the incident in 2024, admitting that his conduct in the footage was ‘inexcusable’ and he was ‘f**ked up’.
In her testimony, Ventura also described being required to refer to Combs as ‘Pop Pop,’ a name she used for her grandfather, along with making other troubling allegations.
Regarding the alleged ‘freak-offs,’ the 38-year-old artist described them as ‘sexual encounter[s] called voyeurism,’ where Combs would observe her having sexual relations with another man, typically a male escort.
In one distressing instance, she recounted how Combs allegedly instructed an escort to ‘urinate in her mouth,’ which she said left her feeling as though she was ‘choking’.
Ventura returned to the stand today (May 14) to further discuss the alleged freak-offs, expressing that they left her feeling ‘horrible about myself’ and ‘humiliated.’
When questioned about specific aspects of the sex ‘parties’ she attempted to avoid, Ventura replied: “I tried to avoid kissing, it seems too intimate. But [Combs] told me to do it, to kiss the escorts.”
Ventura also alleged that Combs would ‘blackmail’ her using recordings of her involved in sexual acts, mentioning an incident during her 29th birthday when he ‘pulled’ her away from her friends for a ‘freak off.’
“It is horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone,” she said. “It could ruin everything I worked for, make me look like a sl*t. I wasn’t supposed to be on those videos. I didn’t want to be in them.”
She further claimed that Combs threatened to release the videos when she began dating someone else.
Earlier in the proceedings, Ventura recalled her initial discovery of the ‘freak offs,’ stating: “I remember my stomach falling to my butt. Just the nervousness and confusion… I had just turned 22.”
“The freak offs became a job. There was no time to do anything else but do them then try to recover. The longest was four days, significant periods of time.”
Today, she described her recovery from these events through the use of ‘opiates.’
“I wanted to feel numb,” Ventura shared. “I got urinary tract infections,” she noted, along with ‘sores’ in her mouth, which she attributes to oral sex during the ‘freak-offs.’
If you are experiencing domestic violence, know that help is available. The national domestic violence helpline offers confidential support 24/7 at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). A list of local resources is also accessible here.