Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of rape and abuse in lawsuit filed by ex-girlfriend Cassie
R&B singer Cassie is suing her ex-partner Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accusing the rap mogul of rape and repeated physical abuse over the course of a decade. The pair reportedly ended their relationship in 2018 after 10 years together.
According to The New York Times, In the suit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday (16 November), Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleges that Combs introduced her “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse” and forced her to have sex with numerous male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters.
Ventura said in a statement: “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.
“With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”
Combs and Ventura allegedly met when she was 19 and he was 37 in 2005 when the “Bad Boy for Life” rapper signed the singer to his label, Bad Boy Records. Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records, and Combs Enterprises are also listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
In one incident described in the lawsuit, Ventura claims that Combs was upset about her dating fellow rapper Kid Cudi and threatened to blow up his car.
“Around that time,” the suit says, “Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.” Kid Cudi confirmed Ventura’s account via a spokeswoman, according to The New York Times, saying: “This is all true”.
Ventura alleges that when she tried to leave the relationship in 2018, Combs forced her into her own home and raped her. “Throughout their relationship Mr Combs was prone to uncontrollable rage, and frequently beat Ms Ventura savagely,” the suit alleges.
“These beatings were witnessed by Mr. Combs’ staff and employees of Bad Boy Entertainment and Mr. Combs’s related businesses, but no one dared to speak up against their frightening and ferocious boss.”
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ms Ventura, said the parties had spoken before the suit was filed. “Mr Combs offered Ms Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit,” he said. “She rejected his efforts.”
“Ms Ventura therefore seeks justice for the decade of her life that Mr Combs took away from her with threats of violence, excessive use of drugs, physical and psychological abuse, and sexual slavery,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit seeks damages for lost wages as well as mental pain and severe emotional distress.
