Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual harassment and domestic violence which some readers may find distressing
Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura told a Manhattan courtroom yesterday (May 13) that she felt ‘confused and nervous’ when ex-boyfriend Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allegedly invited her to join in on one of his infamous ‘Freak Off’ parties.
The trial of 55-year-old Combs, also known as his aliases Diddy, P Diddy and Puff Daddy, began in New York on May 12, where he faces charges of racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The Bad Boy Records founder, who once served as the Notorious B.I.G.’s manager, is accused of having ‘abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct’ from at least 2008.
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It’s also alleged in a 14-page legal indictment that the father-of-seven held ‘Freak Off’ parties where prosecutors claim both male and female victims were induced into drug-fuelled, sexual performances.
If found guilty, the three-time Grammy winner faces up to life in prison if the jury convicts him on the racketeering charge.
He also faces a minimum sentence of 15 years for sex trafficking, and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for transportation of prostitution, if found guilty by the jury.
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Combs, who was arrested at the Park Hyatt hotel last September, has repeatedly denied claims against him and is continuing to plead not guilty to the charges.
On the second day of the trial (May 13), Combs’s ex-girlfriend and American singer Cassie Ventura, 38, took to the witness box.
The ‘Long Way 2 Go’ singer, who was in a relationship with Combs between 2007 and 2018, told the courtroom how she was just 22 when she was allegedly asked to participate in a ‘Freak Off’ party for the first time.
She told the jury she was ‘confused and nervous’ about the event, claiming: “I just remember my stomach falling to my butt."
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Ventura said she felt as if she couldn’t refuse her boyfriend, alleging she ‘didn’t know what ‘no’ could be, or what ‘no’ could turn into’ and that ‘[Combs] controlled a lot of [her] life’.
“Sean is a really polarizing person; he was charming,” Ventura said. “It’s hard to really be able to determine what you need when he’s telling you what he wants. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what would happen.”
The Associated Press reports that Ventura feared videos of the ‘Freak Offs’ would eventually find their way to the internet.
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It’s also said Combs would call her ‘predictable’ for not wanting to take part in the events that left her feeling ‘disgusting’ and ‘humiliated’, as per CBS News.
“The freak offs became a job. There was no time to do anything else but do them then try to recover,” she continued, before telling Assistant United States Attorney Emily Johnson the longest event took place over ‘four days’.
On the second day of the trial, surveillance footage of Combs beating the hitmaker inside a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016 was played to the courtroom.
The outlet reports that the video depicted Ventura with a bag at the hotel’s elevators and sees Combs rounding a corner before striking her and throwing her to the ground.
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The footage then saw the accused kicking his ex-girlfriend before dragging her back toward their hotel room.
Defense lawyers had unsuccessfully tried before the trial commenced to get the video banned from court.
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However, prosecutors maintain the video is a piece of evidence in the case against Combs.
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It’s understood that three hotel surveillance videos and two cellphone videos were shown to the 12-person jury inside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York City.
Ventura’s testimony comes after she alleged in a bombshell lawsuit in November 2023 that Combs had trafficked, sexually assaulted and physically abused her during their long-term relationship.
A day after the filing, the two ‘amicably’ settled the lawsuit, with USA Today reporting the hip-hop mogul’s team alluded to a ‘substantial eight-figure settlement’ in court documents.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.
Topics: Cassie Ventura, Diddy, Crime, US News, Celebrity, Music
Ella Scott