Sean “Diddy” Combs, was accused in a lawsuit Thursday of subjecting R&B singer Cassie to a yearslong relationship that included beatings and rape.
Cassie, whose authorized title is Casandra Ventura, alleged within the go well with filed towards the producer and music mogul in New York federal court docket that Combs introduced her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” not lengthy after she met him and signed to his label when she was 19 and he was 37 in 2005.
Legal professional Ben Brafman mentioned Combs “vehemently denies” the allegations.
Ventura, now 37 herself, mentioned Combs, now 54, started the sample of abuse started as quickly as their relationship did.
The go well with alleges that, “prone to uncontrollable rage,” he subjected her to “savage” beatings wherein he punched, kicked and stomped her. It alleges he plied her with medicine, and compelled her to have intercourse with different males whereas he masturbated and filmed them.
The go well with says that as she was making an attempt to finish the connection in 2018, Combs pressured her into her Los Angeles residence and raped her.
“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 mentioned in an announcement.
The Related Press doesn’t usually title individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused until they arrive ahead publicly as Ventura has.
Brafman referred to as the allegations “lies.”
“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,” he mentioned in an announcement. “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 lawyer Douglas Wigdor responded in an announcement that Combs supplied her “eight figures to silence her and prevent her the filing of this lawsuit. She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all woman who suffer in silence.”
Combs is among the many most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the previous three a long time.
He and Ventura started relationship in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for greater than a decade.
She grew to become identified for the Ryan Leslie-produced hit single “Me & U,” which secured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Scorching R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart in 2006. The music was the lead single of her solely studio album, which was self-titled.
As an actor, she has appeared in a number of tv and movies initiatives together with Fox’s “Empire,” “Step Up 2:The Streets” and “Spenser Confidential.”
Combs constructed one in every of hip-hop’s largest empires, blazing a path with a number of entities connected to his well-known title. He’s the founding father of Dangerous Boy Data and a three-time Grammy winner who has labored with a slew of top-tier artists together with Infamous B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Religion Evans and 112.
The mogul created the style clothes line Sean John, launched the Revolt TV channel with a give attention to music, and produced the fact present “Making the Band” for MTV.
This 12 months, he launched his fifth studio album “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” which earned two Grammy nominations this month.
The lawsuit cites a speech Combs gave whereas receiving a lifetime achievement honor on the BET Awards in 2022, wherein he thanked Ventura for “holding me down in the dark times, love.”
The go well with says, “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.”
