November 16, 2023
Cassie also named additional defendants in the suit, who she said helped Combs control
R&B singer Cassie, who was once signed to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy record label has accused him of rape, and repeated physical abuse over about a decade in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
The New York Times reports Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, filed the suit in Federal District Court in Manhattan and says that not long after meeting the Hip-Hop music mogul and Revolt owner in 2005 when she was 19, he began a pattern of control and abuse against her that included plying her with drugs, physically beating her and forcing her to have sex with a group of male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters.
Additionally the suit states in 2018 Combs forced his way into her home and raped her.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Ventura said in a statement.
According to the suit, Combs not only controlled her career but paid for her car, apartment and clothing. He also had access to her personal medical records including an MRI scan she had that went directly to the music producer.
The suit also states the Bad Boy founder provided her with “copious amounts of drugs,” including ecstasy, urging her to take them and he was often violent, beating her “multiple times each year.” The suit adds that Ventura never went to the police fearing it would only give Combs more incentive to hurt her.
Combs’ attorney Ben Brafman denied the allegations in a statement to the Times.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ventura told the outlet Combs offered the R&B singer eight figures to prevent her from filing of this lawsuit, however she rejected the offer.”
The lawsuit is one of several sexual assault civil suits filed recently against some of the most notable men in the music industry, including Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, music executive and LaFace Records co-founder L.A. Reid and Neil Portnow, who once headed the organization behind the Grammys Awards
Ventura also named additional defendants in the suit, who she said helped Combs control the ‘Long Way 2 Go’ singer by threatening to suppress her music.
Combs and Ventura separated in 2018 and eight months later started a relationship with personal trainer Alex Fine. In June 2019 the couple announced they were expecting their first child. Two months later the couple announced their engagement. The couple welcomed their second child in 2021
The suit seeks unspecified damages.
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