Anyone who has been going out of their way to give Sean “Diddy” Combs the benefit of the doubt amid numerous allegations of physical and sexual abuse is going to have a tough time continuing to do so now that CNN has released video footage that unmistakably shows Diddy viciously attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Amid the video being released, an attorney for Cassie has released a statement praising the songstress’ courage.
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Cassie, who blew Diddy’s entire world up when she filed a sexual assault lawsuit against the Bad Boy mogul last November, claimed in her suit—which Diddy swiftly settled one day after the news broke—that “around March 2016,” Diddy became “extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.” The hotel surveillance footage that shows Diddy attacking Cassie is dated March 5, 2016.
The two were seen on a red carpet just two days later on March 7, 2016, at the premiere of Lionsgate’s The Perfect Match as though nothing happened.
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Note: The story below mentions and describes acts of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit https://www.thehotline.org/.
In the disturbing video obtained by CNN, Diddy is seen in a towel running down a hall after Cassie at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
When he reaches Cassie he grabs her by the neck and throws her to the floor before kicking her. As Cassie lies motionless Diddy kicks her again and retrieves the luggage she has with her before dragging her by her sweatshirt.
CNN’s footage shows that the attack continues when Cassie gets up and picks up the phone in the hallway and Diddy grabs an object off a table and forcefully throws it toward Cassie.
CNN reports that the video corroborates a portion of Cassie’s lawsuit.
“Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser,” Cassie’s complaint alleged, per CNN.
“When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a cab and go to her apartment, suggesting that they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”
***Trigger warning, the following video may be disturbing to watch. Consider your mental health before pressing play.***
Again, there is nothing ambiguous about what is shown in the surveillance footage. The footage leaves no room for, “Well what did Cassie do to provoke Diddy?” or, “We don’t know the whole story,” unless one is so delusional, blinded by misogynoir and dedicated to victim-blaming that they won’t even believe their own eyes if it means calling a victim a victim and an abuser an abuser.
In fact, according to Cassie’s filing, Diddy paid the hotel $50,000 for the hallway security footage, which, if true, is an indication that even he knew that if it were ever made public, it would make it that much harder for him and his attorneys to portray him as the true victim of a “witch hunt,” as he continues to drown in the myriad of sex abuse allegations made by numerous accusers.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Cassie’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
