Published 23:18 IST, May 18th 2024
The video appears to show Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking the R&B singer who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time.
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A new security video showing Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016 went viral on social media on Friday, May 17. This comes after months-long series of public allegations and revelations of physical and sexual violence against the hip-hop mogul. The video appears to show Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking the R&B singer who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie, and throwing a vase in her direction.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs beats his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura
The security camera video, dated March 5, 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in a November lawsuit filed by Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, that alleged years of sexual abuse and other violence from Combs. The lawsuit alleges Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video.
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![](https://img.republicworld.com/tr:w-700,q-50/rimages/cassie-ventura-sean-combs-1716049710469.webp)
Cassie’s lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed, but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
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Representatives for Combs did not immediately comment on the video, but he has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits, and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing and will fight to prove his innocence.
What does the lawsuit say?
According to the lawsuit, Combs earlier in the evening became “extremely intoxicated” and punched Ventura, giving her a black eye. After he fell asleep she tried to leave, the suit says. This is apparently where the video begins. Ventura can be seen heading to a bank of elevators with a packed bag.
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Then Combs awoke and began screaming at her, following her down the hall, the suit said. He violently grabs her and yanks her to the ground, kicks her, and throws vases in her direction in the video.
The lawsuit says she managed to get away but later returned out of fear that she would face greater abuse if she didn’t. As she returned, hotel staff urged her to go back to her apartment, the suit says. She would flee and hide out with a friend in Florida. Diddy and Ventura began dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for more than a decade.
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23:18 IST, May 18th 2024