NOTE: The following article contains disturbing details and video footage. Read it at your own discretion.
Singer Cassie Ventura commented on the release of a security camera video that showed her being attacked by her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs at a hotel in 2016.
In the video, obtained by CNN and posted Friday, Combs is seen throwing a brutal physical assault in Ventura in which he grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her to the ground, before kicking her twice as she lay on the ground.
“Domestic violence is THE problem,” Ventura, 37, wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Thursday. “It turned me into someone I never thought I would become.”
The incident recorded on March 5, 2016 was included in a rape and sex trafficking lawsuit filed by Ventura against Combs, 54. At the time of the agreement, Combs’ attorneys were adamant that the undisclosed agreement was not an admission of guilt. .
After the video became public, Combs posted an apology on social media saying he was “very sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable.”
In his statement, Ventura thanked his family, friends and the general public for their support and good wishes.
“The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is just the beginning,” she wrote.
“With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past,” he continued. “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to take this matter seriously. My only request is that EVERYONE opens their hearts to believing victims the first time.”
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“It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth in a situation where you couldn’t do anything,” he wrote. “I offer my hand to those who still live in fear.”
Ventura encouraged others to “reach out to people” and help carry the burden of domestic abuse.
When Ventura filed her lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, she alleged that he had faced serious abuse for more than a decade.
“After years of silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story and speak out on my behalf and for the benefit of other women facing violence and abuse in their relationships,” she said in a statement. “As the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act approaches, it became clear that this was an opportunity to talk about the trauma I have experienced and will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”
Before apologizing, Combs denied all allegations of misconduct and illegal behavior and promised to clear his name.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said they cannot charge Combs over the hotel video because the 2016 incident is “beyond the timeline in which an assault crime can be prosecuted.”
Combs has been in legal trouble for months and has been named in seven different civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and other mistreatment. The latest lawsuit came Tuesday and saw a model accuse Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his New York City recording studio in 2003. (One of the seven lawsuits named Combs as a defendant, but filed allegations of sexual assault against his son, Christian “Peines King”.)
In March, Homeland Security agents raided Combs’ Los Angeles home as part of a federal sex trafficking investigation. He has not been formally charged with any crime.
– With files from Michelle Butterfield 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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