Source: WWD / Getty
Singer Cassie has accused her ex-boyfriend Sean Diddy Combs of rape and abuse, amongst other acts, in a lawsuit. In the suit, Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, alleges that Combs began abusing her shortly after they met when she was just 19 years old, in 2005.
The New York Times reports that Ventura filed the lawsuit on Thursday (Nov. 16) in Federal District Court in New York City. The suit alleges that in 2018, shortly before their romantic relationship came to an end, Diddy raped her in her home.
“After years in silence and darkness,” said Ventura in a statement, “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.”
Diddy, via his lawyer, is denying all the allegations.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” said Diddy’s attorney, Ben Brafman, in a statement. “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.”
According to Ventura’s lawyer, she rejected an “eight-figure” payoff to stop her from filing the lawsuit. Ventura is seeking unspecified damages.
The alleged details in the suit are heinous.
Reports the New York Times:
A few years into Ms. Ventura’s relationship with Mr. Combs, the suit says, he began coercing her “to engage in a fantasy of his called ‘voyeurism,’” in which she was directed to have sex with a succession of male prostitutes, while Mr. Combs watched, masturbated, took pictures and shot video.
According to the suit, Mr. Combs called these encounters “freak offs,” which involved costumes, like masquerade masks and lingerie. They continued for years, taking place at high-end hotels across the United States and in Mr. Combs’s homes. The suit says that he instructed Ms. Ventura to search the websites of escort services to procure male sex workers.
Drugs were supplied at these events, which Ms. Ventura’s suit says she took because they “allowed her to disassociate during these horrific encounters.”
One person supporting Ventura’s claims, in a roundabout way, is Kid Cudi.
Says the NYTimes:
In one incident described in the court papers, Ms. Ventura says that in early 2012, Mr. Combs grew so angry about her dating the rapper Kid Cudi that he said he would blow up the rapper’s car. “Around that time,” the suit says, “Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.”
Through a spokeswoman, Kid Cudi confirmed Ms. Ventura’s account. “This is all true,” he said.
Many will remember how Cassie left Diddy, and moved on with her life in 2018, having a child with personal trainer Alex Fine in 2019—and soon after they were wedded. If the timing holds, she left Diddy after he allegedly raped her.
The court filing says that in 2018, after Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura met for dinner, he forced himself into her apartment and raped her while she “repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.” After that, the suit says, she left him for good. Ms. Ventura married Alex Fine, a personal trainer, the following year and now has two young children. According to the complaint, her association with Bad Boy ended in 2019.
This is going to get ugly. Social media is already littered with hot takes. We’ve compiled some of the more compelling reactions, and conspiracy theories, in the gallery.
