wecastonlineSecurity video aired by CNN appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016, the latest in a series of public allegations and revelations of physical and sexual violence against the hip-hop mogul.
The video, aired on Friday, seems to show Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking Cassie, his protégé and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie and throwing a vase in her direction.
The security camera video, dated March 5, 2016, closely matches the description of an incident at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, described in a November lawsuit filed by Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura. The lawsuit alleges years of sexual abuse and other violence from Combs.
The lawsuit also claims Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video. CNN did not disclose how it obtained the video but noted it verified the location by comparing the footage to publicly available images of the InterContinental Hotel.
Cassie’s lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed, but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately comment on the video, but he has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits, and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing and will fight to prove his innocence.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie who has filed other lawsuits against Combs. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
According to the lawsuit, Combs earlier in the evening became “extremely intoxicated” and punched Ventura, giving her a black eye. After he fell asleep she tried to leave, the suit says. This is apparently where the video begins. Ventura can be seen heading to a bank of elevators with a packed bag.
Then Combs awoke and began screaming at her, following her down the hall, the suit said.
He violently grabs her and yanks her to the ground, kicks her, and throws vases in her direction in the video.
The lawsuit says she managed to get away, but later returned out of fear that she would face greater abuse if she didn’t. As she returned, hotel staff urged her to go back to her apartment, the suit says. She would flee and hide out with a friend in Florida.
The lawsuit alleges Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video.
It is unlikely Combs could be criminally charged in the attack. The statutes of limitations for assault or battery in California run from one to three years depending on whether they’re charged as misdemeanors or felonies.
The video’s release comes as Combs and his legal team have begun pushing back against the allegations that have surfaced steadily since November. They recently filed motions to dismiss parts of a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a woman in 1991, as well as to dismiss entirely a lawsuit alleging he and two other men raped a 17-year-old girl in 2003. The court filings described both sets of allegations as false.
On March 25, Homeland Security Investigations served search warrants on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. His lawyer criticized this action as “a gross use of military-level force.” The investigation is ongoing, and Combs has not been charged.
Combs, a three-time Grammy winner and the founder of Bad Boy Records, is one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He has expanded his hip-hop success into a broader business empire that includes private-label spirits, fashion, and a TV network. Since the allegations began emerging, he has had to step aside from some of his business roles.
He and Ventura began dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for more than a decade.
She became known for the hit single “Me & U,” which secured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart in 2006. The song was the lead single of her self-titled and only studio album.
As an actor, she has appeared in several television shows and films, including Fox’s “Empire,” “Step Up 2: The Streets” and “Spenser Confidential.”
