Cassie Ventura gives emotionally packed testimony on how Diddy raped her and settled civil suit for $20m
An emotionally packed day of testimony from Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, ended with shocking revelations – how she claimed the abuse from the music mogul lasted for years, how she tried to harm herself and how the superstar raped her when they broke up in 2018.
“I can’t carry this anymore. I can’t carry the shame, the guilt, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable,” Ventura told a New York federal courtroom Wednesday. “What’s right is right. What’s wrong is wrong. I’m here to do the right thing.”
She spoke feet away from Diddy – whose real name is Sean Combs – who was once her partner but now is a defendant facing decades behind bars in what prosecutors described as a years-long sex trafficking and racketeering scheme to fulfill his desires. Diddy has been held in federal custody since September 2024. Investigators have said he used abuse, coercion and his “freak offs” to control women.
Ventura has spent more than two days on the witness stand and is expected to resume her testimony Thursday. Towards the end Wednesday, she made several revelations about his relationship with Diddy. She also testified that he paid her a $20 million settlement to end her civil suit against him.
It was part of a day of testimony that included several shocking moments including:
“I was spinning out,” Ventura said while crying. “I didn’t want to be alive anymore at that point.”
Ventura, wearing a long gray dress that hugged her baby bump, offered immediate responses in a soft, raspy voice. She appeared to try to stay calm by taking frequent sips of water, flipping her hair over her shoulders, and rubbing her pregnant belly. Except for taking a deep breath after seeing the stills from the “freak off” videos, her responses were often brief and reserved.
She gave a detailed history of the relationship that culminated with the 2018 break up. It was then that Combs raped her, Ventura said.
At the time, Ventura was dating her now-husband, Alex Fine. She met Combs for dinner and went back to her house. There, Combs forced himself onto Ventura and raped her, despite Ventura saying “no” the entire time. She described how his eyes went lifeless and ignored her tears during the alleged attack.
Ventura said the incident made her question the value of her life.
“I didn’t want to be alive anymore at that point,” Ventura said. “I couldn’t take the pain that I was in anymore, and so I just tried to walk out the front door into traffic and my husband would not let me.”
Ventura’s alleged sexual assault was just part of the picture she painted for the jury about the years-long abuse she and others allegedly suffered.
She described an incident where Combs dragged his former personal assistant, known as Mia, out of her hotel bed when she refused to give him her phone. Another time, Combs dangled one of Ventura’s friends over the balcony of a 17-story apartment.
Ventura said Combs became angry when she began dating rapper Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, and he threatened to hurt Mescudi as well as Ventura as a result. Ventura said Combs threatened to “blow up” Mescudi’s car. Eventually, Mescudi’s car did catch fire, though it’s unclear what or who caused it.
