Cassie Ventura and Sean “Diddy” Combs
Cassie Ventura, an ex-girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and key witness for the prosecution in his federal criminal trial, gave multiple days of intense testimony last week, which included allegations of physical violence and descriptions of drug-fueled sex performances called “Freak Offs.”
The jury also saw and heard text messages and emails from their 11-year on-and-off relationship.
Here’s a recap of what Ventura said in court:
Physical abuse allegations: Ventura said some of her arguments with Combs became violent. “He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” she said during the first day on the stand. Ventura said she suffered wounds and other medical issues from the “Freak Offs” and from Combs’ assaults, and the jury saw some of them in real-time photos and an eyebrow scar.
Details of “Freak Offs”: Early in their relationship, Combs proposed “Freak Offs,” in which he would watch Ventura have sex with another man while he pleasured himself in a form of sexual voyeurism, she testified on the first day of her testimony.
Some of the escorts participated in multiple states, according to Ventura. During cross-examination, the defense showed messages between Combs and Ventura in which she expressed both hesitancy and enjoyment with the performances, “when we both want it.”
Hotel assault: Central evidence in the trial includes surveillance video showing Combs beating and kicking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Video of the attack was first published by CNN last year. The attack came after she attempted to leave a “Freak Off” before it was finished, she testified. The jury saw a message Ventura sent Combs five days after the assault describing the abuse and his state of mind.
“When you get f**ked up the wrong way you always want to show me that you have the power, and you knock me around. I’m not a rag doll, I’m someone’s child,” she wrote in the message read aloud in court. Ventura said she made a demand for compensation from the InterContinental Hotel and expects to receive about $10 million from them.
Rape accusation:In August 2018, Ventura went to dinner with Combs in Malibu for what she thought was a “closure conversation,” as she was dating her now-husband at the time, she testified. Combs was playful and romantic at the dinner, she recalled, and then he drove her home.
On the witness stand, Ventura paused for a long time before speaking next: “And then he raped me in my living room,” she said. The defense challenged her timeline during cross-examination.
Drugs and depression: Ventura testified she took “all kinds” of drugs provided by Combs or his staff at the “Freak Offs” as a way of dissociating and numbing herself. Combs overdosed on painkillers in February 2012 and for a time had an addiction to opiates, Ventura testified.
In 2023, she was having horrible flashbacks and became suicidal, she said. Ventura also said she underwent treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
