Sean Diddy Combs, was accused in a lawsuit of subjecting R&B singer Cassie to a yearslong relationship that included beatings and rape.
Cassie, whose authorized identify is Casandra Ventura, alleged within the swimsuit filed towards the producer and music mogul on Thursday in New York federal court docket that Combs introduced her into his ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fuelled life-style not lengthy after she met him and signed to his label when she was 19 and he was 37 in 2005.
Legal professional Ben Brafman mentioned Combs vehemently denies the allegations.
Ventura, now 37 herself, mentioned Combs, now 54, started the sample of abuse started as quickly as their relationship did.
The swimsuit alleges that, vulnerable to uncontrollable rage, he subjected her to “savage” beatings wherein he punched, kicked and stomped her. It alleges he plied her with medicine, and compelled her to have intercourse with different males whereas he masturbated and filmed them.
The swimsuit says that as she was making an attempt to finish the connection in 2018, Combs pressured her into her Los Angeles dwelling and raped her.
After years in silence and darkness, I’m lastly prepared to inform my story, and to talk up on behalf of myself and for the advantage of different ladies who face violence and abuse of their relationships,” Ventura mentioned in a press release.
The Related Press doesn’t sometimes identify individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused except they arrive ahead publicly as Ventura has.
Brafman referred to as the allegations lies.
“For the previous six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms Ventura’s persistent demand of USD 30 million, underneath the specter of writing a dangerous ebook about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail, he mentioned in a press release.
“Regardless of withdrawing her preliminary menace, Ms Ventura has now resorted to submitting a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr Combs’s repute and looking for a payday.
Combs is among the many most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the previous three a long time.
He and Ventura started courting in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for greater than a decade.
She turned identified for the Ryan Leslie-produced hit single Me & U, which secured the No 1 spot on the Billboard Sizzling R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart in 2006. The music was the lead single of her solely studio album, which was self-titled.
As an actor, she has appeared in a number of tv and movies initiatives together with Fox’s Empire, Step Up 2:The Streets and Spenser Confidential.
Combs constructed certainly one of hip-hop’s greatest empires, blazing a path with a number of entities connected to his well-known identify. He’s the founding father of Dangerous Boy Information and a three-time Grammy winner who has labored with a slew of top-tier artists together with Infamous B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Religion Evans and 112.
The mogul created the style clothes line Sean John, launched the Revolt TV channel with a deal with music, and produced the fact present Making the Band for MTV.
This 12 months, he launched his fifth studio album The Love Album: Off the Grid, which earned two Grammy nominations this month.
The lawsuit cites a speech Combs gave whereas receiving a lifetime achievement honor on the BET Awards in 2022, wherein he thanked Ventura for “holding me down at nighttime instances, love.
The swimsuit says, The reality, nonetheless, is that Cassie Ms. Casandra Ventura was held down by Mr. Combs and endured over a decade of his violent conduct and disturbed calls for.
