Casandra “Cassie” Ventura continued her testimony against Sean “Diddy” Combs on Wednesday, detailing additional incidents of alleged abuse.
As the “Me & U” singer testified about “violent” altercations with her longtime ex, photos of her injuries, including black eyes, bruises and fat lips, were shown to the courtroom, where Combs sat with his attorneys in front of his children and other family members.
One of these altercations was captured via hotel surveillance footage at the InterContinental in Century City in Los Angeles. Video evidence of the incident has been shown to the jury repeatedly throughout Combs’ sex trafficking trial thus far. A photo of Ventura’s swollen lip taken on the same day was also shown in court on Wednesday.
After the incident at the InterContinental, Ventura went to her apartment, where her friend Kerry Morgan saw her injuries and called the police. Ventura spoke with the police but did not press charges or even provide Combs’ name, so they left. “I didn’t want to hurt him in that way,” Ventura said on the witness stand. “I wasn’t ready.”
Another one of Combs’ alleged violent outbursts occurred just days before the red carpet premiere of her 2016 movie, “The Perfect Match,” Ventura said. As photos of her injuries were shown to the courtroom, Ventura said she was beaten by Combs, resulting in a black eye and bruising on her face and body. She said she had to hide the injuries with plenty of makeup, and at one point in the night, she changed into a new dress to conceal bruising on her legs.
Three years earlier, Ventura performed at Drake’s music festival in Canada, OVO Fest. The night before the festival, after she had packed her suitcases, Combs allegedly forced his way into her apartment in Los Angeles and physically abused her, resulting in a brutal eye injury that required stitches from a plastic surgeon. Ventura still traveled to Canada the next day and performed, styling her hair over her eye to conceal the injury. At the time, she texted a photo of the injury (which was shown in court) to Combs with the caption, “So you can remember.”
In another text message, sent at another time, Ventura told Combs, “You treat me like you’re Ike Turner.” Asked by the prosecution to explain what that meant, Ventura clarified: “Abusive and controlling.”
The prosecution continued to ask Ventura about being subjected to Combs’ “freak-offs,” drug-fueled sex parties that sometimes lasted days at a time. Ventura said on multiple occasions, Combs threatened to release videos of the “freak-offs,” which showed Ventura having sex with male escorts. “[Combs said] he was going to release them and embarrass me, and put my career in jeopardy,” Ventura said. “It could ruin everything I worked for. It would make me look like a slut. I would be shamed.”
Ventura said Combs often lied to her about deleting videos of the “freak-offs,” which she would find on his devices afterward. On a commercial flight back from the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, Ventura said she “felt trapped” after she and Combs got in a fight. Ventura moved seats on the plane to avoid Combs, but he followed her, pulled out his laptop and played videos of her having sex with male escorts, Ventura said.
Throughout her testimony, Ventura has been asked repeatedly if she “wanted” to participate in “freak-offs.” Each time she has said no, but that she agreed to engage in Combs’ sexual fantasy because she loved him and wanted to make him happy.
Ventura will continue to testify against Combs as his criminal trial escalates in New York. If he’s convicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Combs faces a possible life sentence in prison.
