Cassie Ventura is sharing new details about her relationship with ex Sean “Diddy” Combs as she wraps up testimony in his trial.
On Friday, May 16, the model — who is eight and a half months pregnant — was questioned by both prosecutors and Diddy’s defense team about the infamous hotel security footage from a Los Angeles hotel on March 5, 2016.
According to The New York Times, the government tried to show that Diddy was dragging his then-girlfriend back to a freak off in the hotel room.
“He followed me into the hallway and tried to bring me back,” Cassie said during her testimony on Friday.
For four days, Cassie has been faced with difficult questions from attorneys as she testified at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York City. She also has been able to provide a glimpse into her relationship with Diddy. (The rapper pleaded not guilty to all charges.)
After meeting the rapper in 2005 when she was 19, Cassie was able to sign a record deal with his label. They officially began dating in 2007 and were on and off until 2018.
During her testimony, Cassie alleged that the rap mogul raped her in 2018. (He has denied allegations of rape.) She also detailed the alleged freak offs, which prosecutors have described as “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Diddy allegedly orchestrated and coerced others to participate in.
Earlier in the week, Judge Arun Subramanian strongly urged the defense to expedite cross-examination of Cassie in hopes the pregnant star could be done testifying by the weekend.
“In what universe did you not understand that this was important?” Subramanian asked at one point in the trial.
On Friday, The New York Times said the questions were moving quickly. At one point, Cassie broke down in tears when a prosecutor asked her about Diddy allegedly beating her during freak offs.
When a defense lawyer took over to ask additional questions, Cassie said, “My mind’s a little all over the place.”
In November 2023, Cassie first filed a lawsuit against Diddy, where she alleged the music mogul raped and sexually abused her. One day after the singer filed her lawsuit, the exes settled out of court. Diddy denied all allegations in the suit. Cassie revealed on Wednesday, May 14, that the settlement was for $20 million.
On Friday, the defense suggested that Cassie canceled a music tour after the lawsuit because she secured a financial settlement, but the model testified that she stopped performing at the time because she was overwhelmed and did not want to be away from her children. (Cassie shares daughters Frankie, 5, and Sunny, 4, with husband Alex Fine.)
“Would you give that money back if it meant you never had to have freak offs?” a prosecutor asked on Friday.
Cassie replied, “If I never had to have freak offs, I would have agency and autonomy. I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to get it back.”
In September 2024, Diddy was arrested in New York City on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has vehemently denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement at the time of his client’s arrest. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
