NOTE: The following article contains disturbing details and video footage. Read it at your own discretion.
Surveillance video obtained by CNN and shared on Friday shows rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs throwing a brutal physical assault about his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in 2016.
The footage, dated March 5, 2016, shows Combs, wrapped in a towel around his waist, chasing Ventura in a hotel hallway. The video shows him grabbing the back of her neck and throwing her to the ground, before kicking her twice as she lies on the ground outside a set of elevators. He is then seen dragging her by her hoodie.
Combs walks away as Ventura picks up some items from the floor, but returns a short time later, pushing her away before sitting on a nearby chair. She then grabs an unidentifiable object from a side table and throws it in her direction before walking away.
According to CNN, the videoCaptured from multiple angles by surveillance cameras, it was captured at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, issued a statement shortly after CNN shared the video, confirming that the woman in the video is his client.
“The heartbreaking video has only further confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior,” Wigdor said, referencing allegations in a now-settled lawsuit his client filed against the rapper.
“Words cannot express the courage and strength that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor added.
In November 2023, Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs, alleging that he controlled and abused her for more than a decade, including forcing her to have sex with several male sex workers while he videotaped the encounters.
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Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, met Combs in 2005, when she was just 19 years old, according to the lawsuit. The couple began dating and it allegedly wasn’t long before the rap mogul began a pattern of control and abuse.
In 2018, according to the lawsuit, Combs broke into her home and raped her. That’s when she left the relationship.
The lawsuit also claims that Combs blew up the car of another rapper who expressed interest in Ventura, forced her to find prostitutes for sex while Combs watched, and repeatedly “punched, kicked and stomped on her.”
“Throughout their relationship, Mr. Combs was prone to uncontrollable anger and frequently savagely beat Ms. Ventura,” the lawsuit alleges.
In the filing, Ventura alleged that Combs paid InterContinental $50,000 for the Security tapes of a physical altercation. in March 2016, CNN noted.
During that incident, according to Ventura’s complaint, Combs became “extremely intoxicated and struck Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”
When she finally fell asleep, Ventura tried to leave the hotel room, but Combs woke up and allegedly “followed her into the hotel hallway while yelling at her.”
“He grabbed her and then grabbed glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to shatter around her as she ran toward the elevator to escape,” the lawsuit states.
“Realizing that her escape would make Mr. Combs even more angry with her and completely trapped in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for fleeing her abuser,” said. fixed.
“When she returned, the hotel security staff urged her to take a taxi and go to her apartment, suggesting that she They had seen security footage showing Mr. Combs hitting Ms. Ventura. and throw glasses at him in the hotel hallway.”
The lawsuit was settled just one day after it was filed, with Ventura agreeing to an undisclosed settlement.
However, at least five other lawsuits have since been filed, with others accusing Combs of sexual misconduct, rape and other illegal activities.
Combs previously denied Ventura’s allegations and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the other lawsuits filed against him, which remain active.
On March 25, Homeland Security agents raided Combs’ luxury homes and numerous sources informed the media that the rap mogul is under federal investigation for sex trafficking.
Two Combs properties were searched in Los Angeles and Miami. Footage taken by an ABC7 news helicopter showed officers in bulletproof vests entering the Los Angeles mansion and remaining on the property for hours confiscating evidence.
Footage obtained by Global News at the time showed police dogs and agents in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) jackets searching Combs’ Miami Beach mansion. Huge boxes of evidence were seen being loaded into vans.
Federal agents also detained him at a Miami-area airport and confiscated his electronic devices.
Aaron Dyer, Combs’ attorney, issued a statement at the time, calling the searches an “excessive abuse of force on a military level.”
— With files from Kathryn Mannie of Global News
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Crime Victims Resource Center for help. You can also contact them toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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