Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of rape and abuse by his former partner Cassie

Sean Combs, the rapper commonly known as Diddy, has been accused of rape and abuse by his former romantic partner Cassie.

Cassie, a singer and entertainer whose full name is Cassandra Ventura, alleged in a complaint filed Thursday in New York federal court that Combs raped and physically abused her — including hitting her, beating her, kicking and stomping on her – during their relationship.

Ventura, 37, “was restrained by Mr. Combs and endured his violent behavior and disturbed demands for more than a decade,” the complaint states.

An attorney for Combs, 54, dismissed the accusations, calling them offensive and scandalous.

Combs is also accused in the lawsuit of blowing up a man’s car after learning the man was romantically involved with Ventura. The suit says Combs forced Ventura to have sex with sex workers while he watched, masturbated and recorded the incidents. It also alleges that he encouraged Ventura to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and abuse drugs while forcing her to obtain illegal prescription drugs for him.

The complaint also alleges that Combs chased down a rival industry executive with a gun when he discovered the executive was nearby and forced Ventura to carry a gun.

Ventura alleged in the complaint that Combs lured her into a relationship from the moment they began working together. Due to her status as an aspiring artist within Combs’ label, she remained in the relationship because she feared retaliation in her career. During their relationship, “every aspect of Ms. Ventura’s life was controlled by either Mr. Combs or his management companies,” according to the complaint.

One of the ways he controlled her, according to the complaint, was by “initiating her into a drug-fueled lifestyle that kept her complacent and docile.”

Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and “often savagely beat Ms. Ventura,” causing her to suffer bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding, according to the complaint. After episodes of abuse, Combs attempted to cover up the evidence and give Ventura gifts, according to the complaint. He also frequently reminded Ventura of his “capacity to cause serious harm,” the complaint states.

Ventura alleged in the complaint that during an abusive episode, Combs repeatedly kicked him in the face and would not stop, even after a member of his security team attempted to de-escalate the situation.

When she returned home, she vomited from the assault and Combs then forced her to stay in a hotel for a week while her injuries healed, according to the complaint.

It was after this incident that “she recognized that she was powerless and that reporting Mr. Combs to the authorities would not change Mr. Combs’ status or influence but would simply give Mr. Combs another excuse to cause harm,” the complaint states.

“She found herself desensitized to the abuse she was experiencing and became entirely beholden to Mr. Combs’ demands. She began blindly following his instructions for fear of once again being the target of a brutal beating,” according to the complaint. .

“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” his lawyer Ben Brafman said in a statement. “For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand for $30 million, under threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which has been unequivocally dismissed as being blatant blackmail.”

“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura is now resorting to a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aimed at tarnishing Mr. Combs’ reputation and getting a payday,” Brafman said.

Combs has not been contacted or met with law enforcement regarding the allegations, Brafman said.

In a statement, Ventura said she had remained silent for years but was “finally ready to tell my story and speak up for myself and for the benefit of other women facing violence and abuse in their relationships.”

“As the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act approached, it became clear that this was an opportunity to talk about the trauma I experienced and will be recovering from for the rest of my life. life,” the statement said.

New York’s adult survivor laws gave survivors who were sexually assaulted as adults one year to file a lawsuit, regardless of when the statute of limitations expired. The one-year window ends on November 24.

The couple met around 2005 and he later signed Cassie, a singer, model, actor and dancer, to his label, Bad Boy Records, with a 10-album deal.

Ventura tried “to escape his hold on her life” several times, according to the suit, but each time, Combs or his associates found her.

In one case, after an episode of violent abuse, Ventura went to a friend’s house in Florida, but one of Combs’ associates found her there and threatened that her new single would not be released if she did not respond. not to Combs’ calls, the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit says she attempted to end the relationship in 2018 during a dinner with Combs, “after which he forced her into his home and raped her.”

She is seeking unlisted compensatory and punitive damages.

Combs, who rose to prominence in the 1990s, has been one of the biggest names in hip-hop ever since, working not only as a musician but also as a producer and music director. He received the 2022 BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

More than 20 years ago, after a shooting at a New York nightclub in 1999 that injured three people, Combs was acquitted of bribery and weapons charges.