Cassie Ventura became emotional while concluding her testimony during the ongoing trial of Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, on Wednesday, May 14.
The trial, which commenced on Monday, May 12, follows Combs’ arrest and charges related to allegations of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, charges he firmly denies.
After the opening statements from both the prosecution and defense were made on Monday, May 12, Cassie, who was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, took the stand on Tuesday, May 13, to recount how Combs allegedly would “punish” her during their time together.
Her testimony continued into Wednesday when a visibly emotional and heavily-pregnant Ventura was asked about her reasons for coming forward to testify.
“I can’t carry this anymore,” she told the court, as reported by Sky News. “I can’t carry the shame, the guilt, the way he treated people like they were disposable.
“What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong. I came here to do the right thing.”
The trial is set to continue today, Thursday, May 15, where Combs’ defense team is expected to cross-examine the 38-year-old model.
Here is a summary of the allegations Ventura has made in court…
Ventura discussed the alleged “freak-offs” in detail, stating they left her feeling “horrible about myself” and “humiliated.”
When questioned about the specifics she tried to avoid during these alleged sex “parties,” Ventura responded, “I tried to avoid kissing, it seems too intimate. But [Combs] told me to do it, to kiss the escorts.”
Ventura also accused Combs of “blackmailing” her with videos of her engaging in sexual acts, pointing to one incident on her 29th birthday when he “pulled” her away from friends for a “freak-off.”
In her testimony, Ventura accused Combs of raping her at her Los Angeles home after she expressed a desire to end their relationship.
“I just remember crying and saying no, but it was very fast,” she recounted.
She also informed jurors about a consensual sexual encounter that occurred later, justifying it by saying, “We’d been together for over 10 years. You just don’t turn feelings off.”
“It is horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone,” she remarked regarding the freak-offs and the recordings. “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.”
The mother also claimed Combs threatened to release the videos when she began dating someone else.
She further detailed an incident from a 2013 trip to Cannes, where she said Combs played a recording of a freak-off on his laptop during a commercial flight to New York, in front of other passengers, declaring he would “embarrass me and release them.”
Ventura also shared how she concealed injuries from loved ones to protect them from the full extent of Combs’ alleged violence.
One claimed incident involved her receiving a “significant gash” above her left eye after being thrown into a bed frame, with Combs’ security allegedly taking her to a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills instead of a hospital.
Jurors were shown photos of Ventura with a swollen lip as she testified about the incident.
She recalled a friend being “super upset” upon seeing her injuries, having previously witnessed her with “black eyes and busted lips.”
Ventura recounted briefly dating Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, in 2011, and being attacked by Combs with a corkscrew alongside threats to blow up Mescudi’s car.
Ventura described health impacts from the freak-offs, including stomach issues and frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs), and discussed mental health struggles, stating they left her feeling “really empty” and “gross.”
In early 2023, Ventura said she began experiencing “flashbacks” and suicidal thoughts, leading her to seek rehab and trauma therapy.
Ventura stated it is “impossible to know” how many freak-offs she participated in, estimating the number in the hundreds.
When asked if she participated in any since ending the relationship in 2018, she replied, “No.”
Previously, Cassie claimed the longest “freak-off” she endured lasted four days.
Explaining the alleged “freak-offs,” Cassie described them as “sexual encounter[s] called voyeurism” where Combs would watch her have sex with another man.
She recounted her initial introduction to these “freak-off” parties, saying, “I remember my stomach falling to my butt,” describing her nervousness and confusion after just turning 22.
According to Cassie, the events involved hiring an escort and Combs directing the interaction while observing, as reported by the BBC.
She explained her reluctance to participate but said she did so because she “loved him [Combs] very much” and wanted to make him happy.
One particularly disturbing episode involved Ventura feeling as though she was choking after Combs “made an escort urinate into her mouth.”
In response to Combs’ arrest, his attorney Marc Agnifilo told UNILAD, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.
“To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The trial is anticipated to last about eight weeks. If convicted, Combs could face a life sentence.
The trial continues.
If you are impacted by the issues discussed in this article, support is available through The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), which operates around the clock. Alternatively, online support is available at online.rainn.org.