Exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, known as The Punisher, issued an apology to Cassie after testifying in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
When asked what he would say to Cassie, 38, today, Hayes said during a Wednesday, May 28, appearance on CNN, “I would apologize.”
“I would apologize because I had no idea, no indication what she was going through,” he said. “Obviously, my involvement kind of furthered her suffering. Me — knowing that as a man, being raised by a single mom and a grandma — just the thought of partaking in a scenario where a woman is possibly being abused is tough to hear. I would just apologize to her and tell her that I was really remorseful and regret if I contributed to a bad experience for her.”
Hayes’ apology came the same day that ABC News reported Cassie welcomed her third child with husband Alex Fine. (The pair are parents of Frankie, 5, and Sunny, 4.)
Hayes testified earlier this month, claiming he was hired for the first time in 2012 to participate in one of Diddy’s alleged “freak offs.” After the first time, Hayes testified that he participated in about eight to 12 more freak offs with Diddy, now 55, and Cassie — and eventually found out their identity because he followed Diddy on Instagram and recognized Cassie in one of the pictures.
In September 2024, Diddy was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all of the allegations against him.
“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. “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.”
Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his arrest. His four requests for bail were denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.
Cassie, for her part, filed a lawsuit against Diddy in 2023 accusing him of sexual and physical abuse throughout their relationship. (Diddy and Cassie were together on and off from 2007 to 2018.)
Diddy denied her claims in a statement shared by his attorney. “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” Diddy’s lawyer Ben Brafman said at the time.
One day after the suit was filed, Diddy and Cassie settled out of court. In May 2024, CNN published a hotel surveillance video of Diddy kicking and grabbing Cassie in 2016. He later apologized for his actions in a video shared via Instagram.
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.
