EGN NEWS DESK
Cassie, the singer who accused Sean Combs of years of bodily and sexual abuse in a lawsuit that she settled, on Thursday addressed footage of the music mogul assaulting her that emerged final week, saying in an Instagram put up that home violence had damaged her right down to “somebody I by no means thought I’d develop into.”
“Thank you to everybody that has taken the time to take this matter severely,” the singer, whose full identify is Casandra Ventura, wrote within the put up. “My solely ask is that EVERYONE open your coronary heart to believing victims the primary time. It takes a number of coronary heart to inform the reality out of a state of affairs that you simply have been powerless in.”
It is the primary time that Ms. Ventura has spoken publicly about her accusations towards Mr. Combs, whom she dated for a couple of decade, since her lawsuit was filed final November and settled in at some point. Since then, as Mr. Combs has confronted a cascade of authorized troubles, Ms. Ventura has spoken about her claims solely by means of her lawyer, who launched a press release calling the footage of the assault “gut-wrenching” when it was revealed by CNN final week.
In the footage from 2016, which appeared to return from safety cameras, Ms. Ventura is seen ready for an elevator in a lodge when Mr. Combs, sporting a towel, grabs the again of her sweatshirt and throws her to the bottom, kicking her twice earlier than dragging her down the hallway away from the elevators. The video corroborates a number of the particulars from Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit, which recollects Mr. Combs assaulting her at an InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016 as she tried to depart.
Although his lawyer denied the allegations within the lawsuit on the time, Mr. Combs launched an apology video following the discharge of the footage, saying that he took “full accountability” for his actions and that he had since been to remedy and rehab.
A pop and R&B singer who was related to Mr. Combs’s label, Bad Boy Records, till 2019, Ms. Ventura mentioned in her lawsuit that her relationship with Mr. Combs — which she mentioned concerned him plying her with medicine, beating her and forcing her to have intercourse with male prostitutes — got here to devour each her profession and her private life.
“The outpouring of affection has created a spot for my youthful self to settle and really feel secure now, however that is solely the start,” Cassie wrote within the put up. “Domestic Violence is THE subject.”
She went on: “With a number of exhausting work, I’m higher immediately, however I’ll at all times be recovering from my previous.”
Since her lawsuit, 4 different ladies have sued Mr. Combs, accusing him of sexual assault, together with one in a grievance that was filed this week. Mr. Combs’s legal professionals have been combating these lawsuits in court docket, and he has described them as “sickening allegations” made towards him by “people searching for a fast payday.”
His authorized troubles appeared to mount in March, when federal brokers raided two of his houses, confiscating digital units in what officers mentioned was a minimum of partially a human trafficking investigation.
