As the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs continues, Dawn Richard, a singer and former member of his label, has stepped forward to testify about the alarming incidents she claims to have witnessed involving Cassie.
Dawn Richard was part of Bad Boy Records from 2005 to 2011, a period during which she alleges she saw multiple instances of Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, being assaulted by Combs.
Combs and Cassie had an on-and-off relationship for over ten years, officially starting in 2007, two years after they began working together.
In her court testimony, prosecutor Christy Slavik questioned Richard about a specific threat she had heard from Combs. “When Mr. Combs told you people could go missing, how did you interpret it?” Slavik asked.
Richard, now 41, responded, “That people could die. I couldn’t believe that this could be the beginning of a journey for us.”
Slavik further inquired about a particular assault Richard supposedly witnessed between Combs and Ventura.
At the time Cassie was signed to Bad Boy Records, she was just 19, while Combs, who owned the label, was 37.
Slavik pressed on, asking, “What did you observe?” to which Richard replied, “He would drag her and kick her and punch her in the mouth.”
She was questioned about what might trigger Combs to allegedly assault Ventura, to which she suggested it happened “when she would speak up for herself.”
Richard also shared that these incidents were witnessed by two of Combs’ security team members.
Slavik’s questioning continued: “Where did Ms. Ventura get hit?”
“Her knees, her face, all over,” Richard detailed for the jury.
During her testimony, Richard recounted a specific occasion alleged to have happened at Combs’ home while she was in Central Park for a music festival.
Richard stated, “He punched Cassie. She came into the bathroom crying. You could see her upset. Like, she was hurt—” but was cut off by an objection from Combs’ defense lawyer, Nicole Westmoreland, which the judge sustained.
Richard also described seeing Cassie with a ‘swollen eye’ and recounted an instance when Combs allegedly ‘slapped Cassie in the mouth’ and told her to ‘shut the f*ck up’.
She expressed her own fear for safety, explaining why she didn’t intervene. “I asked myself, If he did that to someone he supposedly loved, what he do to an employee? So I’d approach Mr. Combs with softness,” she testified.
Combs faces multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, which he denies.
The charges claim Combs and others exploited his status to intimidate, threaten, and manipulate female victims under the guise of romantic relationships.
The indictment also alleges that Combs transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally, using force and threats to coerce victims into engaging in what he referred to as ‘freak offs’.
If this article brings up any issues for you, The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 800.656.HOPE (4673), 24/7. Online chat support is also available at online.rainn.org
More updates will follow as the situation develops.