Actress and musician Cassie has sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, her former love partner and boss, claiming that the hip-hop music tycoon subjected her to years of “abuse, violence, and sex trafficking”—a claim that Combs disputes.
Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, filed a complaint in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. She claims that Combs enticed her “into an ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle, and into a romantic relationship with him,” adding that this all occurred after Ventura, then 19 years old, first met Combs, then 37, in 2005.
The abuse Ventura experienced throughout her relationship with Combs is described in detail in her lawsuit. Ventura claims that in 2018, after she attempted to leave Combs, he sexually assaulted her at home, made her perform sex acts with male prostitutes while filming and masturbating, and made her “carry his firearm in her purse just to make her uncomfortable and demonstrate how dangerous he is.”
The claim in the lawsuit that Combs threatened to blow up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car because he was upset that Ventura was dating the “Day N’ Nite” singer in 2012 is among the more egregious ones.
The complaint claims that “Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway around that time.”
Kid Cudi’s representative affirmed Ventura’s version of events in a statement to the New York Times, stating, “This is all true.”
The complaint states, “The truth is that Mr. Combs held Cassie—Ms. Casandra Ventura—down for more than ten years with his violent behavior and strange demands.” “The “dark moments” for Ms. Ventura were the years she spent being forced into a vicious cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking by Mr. Combs.”
The 37-year-old Ventura, who gained popularity in 2006 with the single “Me & U” off her self-titled first album “Cassie,” released a statement elaborating on her choice to talk about her experience.
Ventura told CNN in a statement, “After years of quiet and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my experience and to speak up on behalf of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships as well as for myself.
She continued, “It became obvious that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have endured and that I would be healing from for the rest of my life because New York’s Adult Survivors Act is quickly coming to an end.
In a statement issued through his lawyer, Combs—who is well-known for helping to create musicians like Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G.—denied the accusations made against Ventura.
“Mr. Combs vigorously refutes these derogatory and ludicrous accusations. Combs’s lawyer told the Times that “Ms. Ventura has been pressuring Mr. Combs to pay her $30 million for the last six months, threatening to write a book that would be detrimental to their relationship. This has been categorically rejected as blatant blackmail.”
“Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit filled with unfounded and outrageous claims, intending to damage Mr. Combs’s name and for financial gain, after withdrawing her earlier threat.”
According to the Times, Ventura’s case is also being filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a state statute in New York that permits victims of sexual assault to file civil lawsuits after the statute of limitations has passed.