NEW YORK (AP) — Cassie, the R&B singer and former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, testified on Tuesday that the music mogul abused and sexually exploited her for years, as she took the witness stand for the first time during his sex trafficking trial.
Sighing heavily and pausing to compose herself at times, Cassie told the jury in New York that she felt compelled by Combs to participate in elaborate sexual marathons called “freak offs” involving male sex workers. She also said Combs assaulted her numerous times during their turbulent relationship.
“He would mash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me. Stomp me in the head if I was down,” she said, leaving her bruised and bloodied. She said it was difficult to refuse Combs’ demands because she feared he would hurt her or leak videos of the “freak offs” to the internet.
Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of abuse. The suit was settled within hours but dozens of similar legal claims followed, sparking the criminal investigation.
She is the star witness for prosecutors who accuse Combs of using his status as a powerful executive to orchestrate a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties and becoming violent if they refused.
Lawyers for three-time Grammy winner argue that although he could be violent, Combs never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering, telling jurors that the sexual acts were consensual. Defense attorney Teny Geragos said in opening statements on Monday that jurors might think Combs is a “jerk” and might not condone his “kinky sex,” but that “he’s not charged with being a jerk.”
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He has been jailed since his arrest in September. If convicted, could get at least 15 years and up to life in prison.
Cassie testifies about violence and abuse
She and Combs met in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.
“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything,” Cassie testified.
Under questioning by a prosecutor, Cassie said her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.
“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Cassie said. Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: “Too frequently.”
Cassie sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue while on the stand. She is pregnant and would occasionally rest her hands on her belly.
Cassie felt she couldn’t refuse Combs’ demands
Now 38, Cassie said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do a “freak off.” The encounters would go on for 36 or 48 hours, and she said the longest lasted four days. She said they stemmed from Combs’ interest in voyeurism.
Cassie said the “freak offs” involved hiring a sex worker and “setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean” while Combs watched. This took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs’ very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities and gossip columnists.
She said her first “freak off” occurred in Combs’ Los Angeles home with a male stripper from Las Vegas and she felt dirty and confused afterward, but relief that Combs was happy.
Cassie said she felt obligated to go along with future “freak offs.”
“I just didn’t want to make him upset,” she said. “I just didn’t want to make him angry and regret telling me about this experience that was so personal.”
She also worried about potential violence and the threat of the sex videos being posted on the internet if she refused, she testified.
Cassie began crying as she was asked if there was any aspect of “freak offs” that she liked. She said that “time spent with him” was what she enjoyed.
‘Freak offs’ became a ‘job’
Soon, she said, she was doing “freak offs” weekly. They went on for a decade, with the final one occurring in 2017 or 2018, she said.
“‘Freak offs’ became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” she said. Each time, she said, she had to recuperate from lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs “and other substances,” and “having sex with a stranger for days.”
Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her at a Los Angeles hotel, Cassie said that prior to the altercation: “We were having an encounter called a ‘freak off’ and I was leaving there.”
Cassie said the “freak offs” involved lots of baby oil. On one occasion, she said, a blow-up pool of baby oil and lubricants was placed in a hotel room and she was told to get inside. She also described being humiliated by some of the things Combs made her do.
“It was such a mess,” she said. “It was like, ‘What are we doing?’”
The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.
Hotel video is a key piece of evidence
On Monday, jurors were shown the hotel security video, which CNN aired last year, leading Combs to apologize. The video shows Combs wearing only a white towel, punching, kicking and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway.
Israel Florez, a former security officer at the hotel, testified Monday that he refused when Combs offered him a stack of money and said “Don’t tell nobody.”
California prosecutors said they couldn’t prosecute the assault because it happened years before the video was made public and the statute of limitations had expired.
Combs was among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. The rapper, entrepreneur and founder of Bad Boy Records has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and Usher. He also created the fashion clothing line Sean John and produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.
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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
