Diddy issued a video apology in response to the disturbing hotel video that shows him brutally attacking his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in 2016.
The short clip was published by CNN on Friday and shows the rap mogul wrapped in a towel chasing down Cassie in the hotel hallway before catching up to her as she awaits an elevator. The Bad Boy rapper then appears to push her to the ground before kicking and dragging her back to his room while screaming at her.
The video has caused a huge uproar in the hip hop community with fans and celebrities condemning Diddy for his behavior, including those who previously supported him. In his response to the video, the rapper and entrepreneur says that period was a dark time for him and he has since got himself help. He labeled the assault inexcusable and apologize without mentioning Cassie by name.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” he said in the clip shared on his Instagram account. “I was f—ed up. I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video, I’m disgusted.”
“I was disgusted then when I did it and I’m disgusted now,” he continues. “I went and I sought out professional help, started going to therapy and rehab, had to ask god for his mercy and grace.”
The incident reportedly occurred in March 2016 at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The hotel, which is now closed, allegedly received a payment of $50,000 for the video footage. It’s unknown how CNN got a hold of the video footage, but speculations are that it was leaked to the news network by law enforcement amid a statement by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office stating that the video took place “beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Some folks like 50 Cent speculate that the video was leaked to the media because prosecutors found their hands tied an decided to let the public prosecute the case. That move, if true, is proving to be damaging for Diddy and his supporters, who are now fleeing him in droves.
Diddy apologize for video of him assaulting Cassie. "I was disgusted then when I did it and I'm disgusted now," he said.https://t.co/g4AX1I9Ix9 pic.twitter.com/8iFE5romu4
— Urban Islandz (@urbanislandz) May 19, 2024
In the meantime, 50 Cent and fans have come out swinging in reaction to Diddy’s video apology. “This is not going to work, who is advising him right now? SMH bad move,” 50 Cent wrote.
“No don’t accept that because that damage you did runs to deep, Cassie maybe traumatized for the rest of her life because you put a scar on this woman and that’s a memory she will never forget, so your apology means nothing and this is coming from someone who experienced abuse,” Lady Vibe wrote.
Cassie filed a lawsuit against Diddy in November 2023 in which she levied assault allegations against the rap mogul. Legal documents mentioned the 2016 incident at the hotel. The documents allege that Diddy was intoxicated and fell asleep before Cassie tried to leave. However, he woke up while she was trying to leave and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her.”
The suit alleges that Diddy “took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her” after grabbing her, causing the vases to break.
In a statement he released on December 6 last year, Diddy vehemently denied the allegations made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he said.
