The singer claims in the lawsuit that Puff Daddy/Diddy Combs abused and controlled her for close to a decade. The charges were "vehemently" refuted by Mr. Combs.
Cassie, an R&B singer and former labelmate of Sean Combs, sued him in federal court on Thursday for rape and chronic physical abuse over a decade.
Cassie, aka Casandra Ventura, was Mr. Combs's longtime girlfriend. She alleges in a Manhattan Federal District Court suit that after meeting him in 2005, when she was 19, he drugged, beat, and forced her to have sex with many male prostitutes while filming them. Mr. Combs reportedly stormed into her residence and abused her in 2018 throughout their breakup.
Ms. Ventura stated, “After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.”
Mr. Combs' lawyer, Ben Brafman, said: "He strongly rejects these absurd charges. Ms. Ventura has sought $30 million from Mr. Combs for six months, threatening to write a book about their relationship negativity. Mr. Combs thinks it's blackmail. Ms. Ventura started a baseless lawsuit to tarnish Mr. Combs and be money after withdrawing her threat.
Ms. Ventura's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said the parties communicated before filing suit. “Mr. Combs offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent this lawsuit,” he stated. “She rejected his efforts.”
Ventura's lawsuit is the latest in a succession of sexual assault legal actions against renowned men in the music business, including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, L.A. Reid, and former Grammy Awards producer Neil Portnow. Portnow denies the claim; Tyler and Reid have not reacted.
After founding Bad Boy in 1993, Mr. Combs, 54, helped commercialize hip-hop with singers like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. Mr. Combs's net worth is estimated at $1 billion, while Forbes put his yearly profits at $90 million last year, partly due to his prior partnership in Diageo-owned Ciroc.
As Puff Daddy, Diddy, and Love, Mr. Combs may be the most renowned music executive of his generation. The claim alleges that Mr. Combs routinely assaulted Ms. Ventura, demanded her to carry his gun in her handbag, and blew up a rival suitor's automobile. The claim alleges that Mr. Combs dangled Ms. Ventura's acquaintance from a 17th-floor hotel balcony.
The court documents allege that Mr. Combs' coworkers helped him manage Ms. Ventura by threatening her with repercussions, such as censoring her music if she disobeyed, or by concealing his actions. Mr. Combs and many of his firms are sued for undisclosed damages.
The complaint claims he quickly had enormous control over her life. He paid for her car, residences, clothing, and got her medical records in addition to managing her work. The action claims that Mr. Combs received her M.R.I. scan findings for memory loss, potentially caused by drug use or a beating.
The suit claims Mr. Combs gave Ms. Ventura “copious amounts of drugs,” including ecstasy and ketamine, and pushed her to consume them. He reportedly beat her “multiple times each year.” The suit claims Ms. Ventura never reported the incident because she believed it “would merely give Mr. Combs another excuse to hurt her.”
With New York's Adult Survivors Act expiring soon, she added, “it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”