Singer and model Cassie Ventura testified on Friday for a fourth day in New York for the federal criminal sex trafficking case against hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Ventura, who was cross-examined by defense attorney Anna Estevao, maintained that her relationship with Combs was allegedly abusive and impacted her mental health, as she was questioned in detail about text exchanges and recorded calls dating back over a decade, according to CNN.
In one of their text exchanges following the March 2016 assault caught on hotel surveillance cameras, Ventura expressed to Combs, “I’m not a rag doll, I’m someone’s child.”
The defense team pressed Ventura about other messages, some of which read, “I’m lost without you” in October 2018, and “I wasn’t going to say I didn’t want to do it anymore” in a conversation about ending Diddy’s drug-fueled “freak offs.” Other messages revealed back-and-forth interactions between Ventura and Combs about other relationships in 2018, following Ventura’s testimony that Combs allegedly raped her following an August 2018 dinner.
Despite this, Ventura doubled down on previous sentiments, testifying that she didn’t end her participation in sexual activities because of how he’d possibly react. Ventura also testified that she experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and sought therapy for it at an inpatient treatment center in 2023.
When asked about what she remembers about incidents of alleged abuse in the past, Ventura testified that while she can’t say for sure he was “blacked out,” there were times “he was pretty aware,” and “it’s just who he was.” When asked for clarification, Ventura said she’d seen him “be violent with other people.”
The defense eventually turned its attention to Ventura’s $20 million settlement with Combs in 2023, following her accusations of years of physical and sexual abuse. That year, Ventura canceled her tour. “When you saw you were going to get the $20 million, you canceled the tour,” Estevao said. Ventura testified, “That wasn’t the reason why” she canceled. “I’d give that money back if I never had to have ‘freak offs,” Ventura later testified when prosecutor Emily Johnson asked during redirect.
Over the last few days, Ventura provided more information on the alleged sexual abuse and violence she endured during her year-long on-and-off relationship with Combs. Still, Ventura testified that she has love “for the past and what it was.”
This is likely the final day Ventura will take the witness stand, as she is set to deliver her third child with her husband, Alex Fine. Before she left the stand, she testified that she is set to receive $10 million from the hotel where the March 2016 assault took place.
Combs faces felony criminal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted of all five counts, he could be sentenced up to life in prison.
