NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 27: Cassie and Sean 'Diddy' Combs attend Roc Nation THE BRUNCH at One World Observatory on January 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)
Cassie is alleging a troubled former relationship with Diddy that allegedly includes sexual assault and abuse.
The “Official Girl” singer filed the documents on Nov. 16 in the Southern District of New York court system, as reviewed by legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff.
At the very top of the paperwork, there is a trigger warning about “highly graphic information of a sexual nature, including sexual assault.” Cassie lists Sean “Diddy” Combs as a defendant alongside Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records, Epic Records, and Combs Enterprises.
The singer’s allegations against her former collaborator and boyfriend begin by referencing his 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award speech at the BET show. In it, he thanked Cassie for “holding [him] down in the dark times.”
“The truth, however, is that Cassie—Ms. Casandra Ventura—was held down by Mr. Combs endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands. For Ms.Ventura, the “dark times” were those she spent trapped by Mr. Combs in a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking,” the lawsuit states.
Editor’s Note: Anyone affected by sexual assault, whether it happened to you or someone you care about, can find support from online.rainn.org. You can also call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with someone over the phone who can help.
The lawsuit provides a bullet-point list of “violent and unlawful acts” Diddy allegedly “forced” Cassie into. It cites sexual assault from a perpetrator and bystander aspect as well as intimidating harm towards Cassie and others.
Diddy — as explained by Cassie in the lawsuit — did the following:
“Raped Ms. Ventura in her own home after she tried to leave him. Often punched, beat, kicked, and stomped on Ms. Ventura, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes, and bleeding. Blew up a man’s car after he learned that he was romantically interested in Ms. Ventura. Forced Ms. Ventura to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters. Ran out of his apartment with a firearm in pursuit of a rival industry executive whom he learned was nearby. Demanded that Ms. Ventura to carry his firearm in her purse just to make her uncomfortable and demonstrate how dangerous he is. Introduced Ms. Ventura to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions.”
The paperwork describes Diddy as a “vicious, cruel and controlling man” who came into her life in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37.
“Throughout their relationship Mr. Combs was prone to uncontrollable rage, and frequently beat Ms. Ventura savagely. 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,” the lawsuit says
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After his “episodes of horrific abuse,” Cassie alleges he would try to “hide” the “Me & U” singer and related evidence. Additionally, it states Diddy would love-bomb Cassie with gifts.
Casandra alleges that she tried to escape the hip-hop icon “again and again” over the years. However, she says, his “network of corporations and affiliated entities” always “found her” and “implored her to return to him.”
“When [Cassie] believed that she had finally separated from her long-time abuser, she joined Mr. Combs for a dinner, after which he forced her into her home and raped her while she repeatedly said “no” and tried to push him away.”
The lawsuit also alleges Diddy was jealous of Cassie and Kid Cudi’s relationship and threatened to blow up his car. Shortly after the threats, Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway. A rep for Cudi confirmed Cassie’s testimony, per NY Times.
As previously reported, Cassie moved on from her relationship with Diddy after marrying Alex Fine in 2019. They now have two children together.
The suit says Cassie is seeking “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.”
She is also hoping for “injunctive, declaratory and monetary relief” against the lawsuit defendants for multiple law violations across state lines.
