Musical artist and actress Cassie has filed a federal lawsuit against her former boss and romantic partner, Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging years of ‘abuse, violence and sex trafficking’ during her relationship with the hip-hop music mogul — allegations he denies.
Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, alleges that Combs lured her “into an ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle, and into a romantic relationship with him,” noting that this all happened after she first met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37.
Ventura’s complaint, filed Thursday in a federal court in Manhattan, details the abuse she suffered throughout her relationship with Combs. Ventura alleges Combs raped her at home in 2018 after she tried to leave him, forced her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters, and forced her “to carry his firearm in her purse just to make her uncomfortable and demonstrate how dangerous he is.”
One of the more damning allegations in the lawsuit says Combs told Ventura that he was going to blow up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car after he got angry about her dating the “Day N’ Nite” singer in 2012.
“Around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,” the complaint alleges.
In a statement to The New York Times, a spokeswoman for Kid Cudi confirmed Ventura’s account of what happened, saying: “This is all true.”
“The truth, however, is that Cassie—Ms. Casandra Ventura—was held down by Mr. Combs and endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” the complaint says. “For Ms. Ventura, the “dark times” were those she spent trapped by Mr. Combs in a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking.”
Ventura, 37, best known for the 2006 hit “Me & U” off of her self-titled debut album, “Cassie,” shared a statement explaining her decision to speak up about her experience.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Ventura said in a statement to CNN.
“With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life,” she added.
Combs, widely known for establishing artists such as Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G., denied the allegations against Ventura in a statement through his attorney.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” Combs’s attorney said in a statement to the Times.
“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
Ventura’s lawsuit is brought under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York state law that allows people who say they were victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits after the statute of limitations has expired, according to the Times.
The one-year window that allows victims to bring cases under this law ends this week, the Times noted.