Damning CCTV footage from a hotel showing hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 has surfaced.
The video, which is the center of a CNN exclusive investigation, shows the moment Cassie appears to be running down the hotel corridors, seemingly to escape Diddy. The 11-minute video has a timestamp of March 5, 2016, showing Cassie wearing a black hoodie with blue jeans trying to leave the hotel.
She walks briskly down the corridor and sets down two bags while waiting in front of the elevator. Diddy is seen wearing just socks and his towel, and he is also seen running down the corridors before reaching Cassie at the elevator.
The “Gotta Move On” rapper grabs her by the neck or head from behind and flings her with force on the ground before turning around and kicking her in the face. He also picks up her bags and kicks her as she lies on the ground before grabbing her hand and dragging her back, presumably to the hotel room.
The news report claims that the video corroborates a claim by Cassie in her lawsuit filed in November 2023. The lawsuit filed against Diddy, his label Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records, and others claims that throughout her 10-year relationship, he physically and sexually abused and raped her, trafficked her to have sex with male prostitutes across the world in his famous “freak offs”. The lawsuit alleged that she lived a life of terror as she tried to escape the relationship for many years as Diddy and his agents/staff pursued her.
In paragraph 120, she references the hotel assault, which CNN says is the same assault caught on video. According to CNN, in March 2016, after a freak off or “FO” at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, Diddy was extremely intoxicated and punched her in the face, giving her a black eye.
She tried to escape after he fell asleep by leaving the room but Combs woke up shortly after and followed her in the hallway where he attacked her.
“He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her. He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape. She managed to get into the elevator, and when she got to the lobby, quickly took a cab to her apartment,” she said.
Cassie also said that fearing Diddy’s anger, she returned to the hotel to apologize. However, hotel staff, upon seeing her, urged her to get back into her cab and go home.
Cassie’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor emailed this statement about the new video of Diddy.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward… https://t.co/h1AWFipOMR pic.twitter.com/uMCFiVAdtE
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 17, 2024
Diddy is also alleged to have paid the InterContinental hotel $50,000 to remove the security footage. The rap mogul has not reacted to the video.
Combs has kept a low profile since Cassie’s lawsuit, which he reportedly settled for an undisclosed sum. He has also been sued by other women claiming that he raped them in the 1990s. A federal investigation into the sex trafficking allegations has also been launched by federal authorities, resulting in his Miami and Los Angeles homes being searched weeks ago.
In recent updates, Diddy appeared to be spending quality time with his four daughters and sons and his girlfriend, Yung Miami. They were all spotted days ago getting ready to board a yacht.
Days ago, he seemed to express his innocence through an Instagram post. “Time Tells Truth,” a graphic on his account read.
