(KTLA) — R&B singer Cassie has filed a lawsuit against her ex-partner Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York federal court on Thursday.
According to the New York Times, Cassie’s lawsuit accuses the Bad Boy Records founder of subjecting her to years of rape and abuse.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Ventura said in a statement obtained by CNN. “With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”
Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, said she met Combs in 2005 when she was just 19 years old. Since that meeting, she said Combs was controlling and abusive.
Combs has been a mainstay in the music industry for decades and in the mid-90s he became a household name after working with Mary J. Blige, the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil’ Kim.
Ventura said the media mogul supplied her with drugs, beat her and forced her to have sex with a “succession of male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters.”
She claimed that towards the end of their relationship in 2018, Combs forced himself into her home and raped her.
In response to these claims, Combs’ lawyer, Ben Brafman, issued this statement obtained by NYT:
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
Douglas Wigdor, one of Ventura’s lawyers, told the outlet that both sides spoke before the lawsuit was filed and that Combs “offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit,” he said. “She rejected his efforts.”
Ventura signed with Combs’ label, which released her self-titled debut album in 2006.
However, the hip-hop impresario not only controlled her career, but he also controlled her personal life, according to the allegations.
Ventura said Combs paid for her clothes, apartments, car and also had access to her medical records.
The suit details an M.R.I. Ventura had memory loss, “possibly caused by drug use or by a beating she suffered from Mr. Combs,” which he had access to.
The “Me & U” singer said Combs supplied her with drugs like ketamine and ecstasy.
Ventura said Combs beat her “multiple times each year,” and added that she didn’t contact authorities because she was worried it “would merely give Mr. Combs another excuse to hurt her.”
The lawsuit provides a list of incidents where the “Last Night” singer allegedly physically abused Ventura.
A description of one incident in 2009, states that Combs became so enraged after he saw Ventura talk to another talent agent that he pushed her into a car and kicked her in the face numerous times. His team then had her recover in a hotel, without allowing her to see her family as she requested, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit also claims Combs would isolate Ventura from her friends and family.
“Ms. Ventura felt that saying ‘no’ to Mr. Combs would cost her something — her family, her friends, her career, or even her life.”
Ventura alleges that she attempted to leave, but would be lured back by his employees.
One account claims that Combs did not like Ventura dating rapper Kid Cudi in 2012 and that he threatened to blow up his car.
According to that lawsuit, “around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.”
A spokeswoman for Kid Cudi confirmed this to NYT.
“This is all true,” he said.
The suit also claims that Combs forced Ventura “to engage in a fantasy of his called ‘voyeurism,’” which were called “freak offs.”
The lawsuit claims this meant Ventura was forced to engage in sexual activity with male prostitutes while Combs watched, took photos and videos and touched himself.
Ventura’s suit said that she’d delete the videos, but the rapper revealed he still had access to them.
In one account, Ventura claimed Combs made her watch a video she thought was deleted while aboard a plane.
According to the suit, Ventura left Combs for good in 2018 after he forced himself into her apartment and raped her after the two met for dinner. She said she “repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.”
The court filing says Ventura’s ties with Bad Boy Records ended in 2019.
In 2019, Ventura married model and trainer Alex Fine. The couple have two young daughters.
