This past Tuesday, former Bad Boy artist and girlfriend to music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura, took the stand and testified against him.
During her opening testimony on her first day—the second day of Combs’ trial— Ventura shared candid details of multiple accounts of sexual violence, forced drug use, and forced participation in multiple sex parties known as “freak offs” that occurred for a decade. The singer cried as she spoke. Ventura mentioned that she experienced multiple beatings when she did things that vexed Combs, such as staring at or smiling at him the wrong way, according to AP News.
“You make the wrong face, and the next thing I knew, I was getting hit in the face,” Ventura said.
During her second testimony on Wednesday, the R&B singer also said the freak-off events would last from about 36 hours to four days at a time, in which she was forced to partake in sexual encounters with male prostitutes that were sought out by Diddy. She also said that Combs would get her to submit to him by threatening to release recorded sex videos of her with male escorts.
Combs was arrested on multiple criminal charges in September 2024 and officially began trial on Monday in Manhattan federal court. The hip-hop mogul is charged with two counts of fraud or coercion, sex trafficking, racketeering, and two counts of transportation for purposes of prostitution. He also has more than 70 sexual assault civil lawsuits that stem back to 1991, according to multiple major news reports. The prosecutor of the case is Emily Johnson, who shared in her opening statement that alleged victims were prepared to testify, according to USA Today.
Currently almost 9 months pregnant by her husband, Alex Fine, Ventura’s testimony in the trial is expected to last for a week, as the first day took 8 hours, according to multiple reports.
According to Reuters, on Wednesday during her testimony, Ventura said the following to jurors in Manhattan federal court:
“He would grab me up, push me down, hit me in the side of the head, kick me.” She also said that in 2013, Combs threw her against a bedframe and did not show remorse for his actions when she showed him a photo of a wound on her eyebrow.
According to Reuters, on Monday, a male escort by the name of Daniel Phillip, who was hired by Diddy and had sexual encounters with the couple from 2012 to 2014, shared in his testimony that he was paid up to $6,000 each time to have sexual relations with Ventura as Combs observed and masturbated.
Phillip also detailed an account of violence that made him cut ties with Ventura and Combs. One day Combs called Ventura while she was sitting at her computer. She responded, “Hold a second,” according to Phillip. Combs came out of his room and grabbed Ventura by her hair and pulled her into his bedroom. Philip said that he heard slapping sounds as Ventura screamed, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
He also alleged that on one occasion Combs offered him MDMA, a drug also known as “molly.” Phillip also said that Combs recorded multiple videos of his sexual encounters with Ventura.
Ventura, a longtime girlfriend, was in an 11-year relationship with Diddy, whom she met when she was 19 and Combs was 37. In her initial court documents filed on Nov. 16, 2023, a year prior to Combs’s arrest, she went into full detail of the many years of abuse in the 35-page lawsuit in which she at the time received an undisclosed payment from Combs within 24 hours. It is speculated that Combs honored Ventura’s settlement so quickly due to legal pressures, damage control, and to protect his reputation.
As of Wednesday, Ventura has shared in her testimony that she has received a settlement of $20 million.
Over the last 2 years, many industry-affiliated people have publicly spoken about Combs’s alleged wrongdoings. Leading up to his trial, former members of the pop group Danity Kane—Dawn Richard, D. Woods, and Aubrey O’Day—along with former security guard Israel Flores, have come forward.
On Monday in New York, Israel Flores was one of the first people to take the stand this past Monday. Ventura’s husband, Alex Fine, has attended the trial in support of her. Some of Combs’s children and family members have also attended the trial in support of their father.
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