On the second day of Diddy’s trial, his former partner, Cassie Ventura, shared details of her past relationship with the hip-hop mogul and the alleged ‘freak-offs’ that took place.
Sean Combs, better known as Diddy, was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion after being arrested at the Park Hyatt hotel in New York last year.
The rapper has rejected all allegations against him.
Following the opening statements by both the prosecution and defense on Monday (May 12), Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura took the witness stand on Tuesday (May 13) to describe how Combs allegedly ‘punished’ her throughout their on-and-off relationship from 2007 to 2018.
Ventura’s testimony is expected to proceed today (May 14), with Combs’ defense attorneys set to cross-examine her.
Here’s a summary of her statements from Tuesday’s court session…
Combs and Ventura first crossed paths in 2005 when he was 37, and she was 19. After signing her to his Bad Boy Records label, they began dating a few years later.
Ventura testified that Combs would confiscate her belongings as a form of ‘punishment,’ stating, “He would take the car away, the house, jewelry,” along with her laptop and phone.
She further alleged that his staff or security personnel would retrieve her possessions ‘if she wasn’t present’.
Ventura described how the confiscations were dictated by Combs’ mood, noting: “It depended on how long I was being punished for.”
When questioned about other things he might take away besides her car and apartment, she said: “My self-confidence.”
In court, jurors were shown a CCTV video that surfaced last year, apparently depicting Combs assaulting her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Ventura explained the alleged ‘freak-offs,’ describing them as ‘sexual encounter[s] called voyeurism’ where Combs would observe her engaging in sexual acts with another man.
Recalling her initial exposure to these ‘freak-off’ parties, she said, “I remember my stomach falling to my butt. Just the nervousness and confusion… I had just turned 22.”
As reported by the BBC, Ventura claimed that Combs orchestrated these gatherings by hiring an escort and watching her with another man, providing directions.
Although she was reluctant, Ventura participated because she ‘loved him [Combs] very much’ and ‘wanted to make him happy’.
She added: “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.”
Ventura shared with the jury that she feared refusing the rapper, with violence frequently on her mind.
She recounted her concerns about ‘making him angry’ and alleged that Combs blackmailed her with videos of the ‘freak-offs’ to coerce her into further participation.
One distressing claim involved Ventura ‘feeling like she was choking’ after Combs ‘made an escort urinate into her mouth’.
On the witness stand, Ventura alleged that arguments between her and Combs would escalate to ‘violence, dragging’, stating that he would ‘stomp [her] in the head if I was down’.
When asked about the frequency of Combs’ violence, she replied: “Too frequently.”
She accused Combs of ‘bashing my head, knocking me over, dragging me, kicking me’.
In reaction to Combs’ arrest, his attorney Marc Agnifilo expressed to 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 projected to span approximately eight weeks. If found guilty, Combs could face a life sentence.
UNILAD has reached out to representatives for both Combs and Ventura for their comments.
The trial is ongoing.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, you can reach out to The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Alternatively, visit online.rainn.org to chat online.