NEW YORK – R&B singer and former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs testified that the rapper mercilessly beat her on Tuesday, ordering him to have “nasty” sex with strangers during a multitude of drug-fueled marathons he called “freak-off.”
Cassie, who is Cassandra Ventura, sniffed, tapped, sighed, and stopped to form herself through about five hours of testimony at Combs’ sex trafficking trial.
In humiliating details, she recounts the decade-long relationship with the comb, who said that violence and his obsession was consumed by obsession in the form of eavesdropping, “he was in control of the entire situation.” It included overseeing meeting male sex workers towards the massive amount of baby oil he applied to maintain the “shining” look he wanted.
The “Me&U” singer told the ju umpire that his request for her to engage in sexual acts that spin from time to time left her feeling “heavy and objectified.” However, she said she endured them because she was in love with the comb.
At the same time, Combs said he was in control of every aspect of her life, from her career to her life arrangements, and she didn’t feel like she could say “no.”
When she tried to leave, she said, Combs punished her — especially in the 2016 attack, where she was captured on security cameras at a Los Angeles hotel. In the video, which is being performed in the fifth courtroom, Combs is seen returning to her room and trying to drag her back. Combs apologized after the footage leaked last year.
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Filmed from a hotel security camera video and aired by CNN, the frame grab appears to show Sean “Diddy” comb attacking singer Cathy in a Los Angeles hotel corridor in March 2016. Hotel Security Camera Video/CNN via AP
He was asked many other times that Combs knocked her to the ground, and Cassie replied, “Too many to count.”
As she testified, Cathy sometimes put her hands on her pregnant belly to give birth to her third child soon. Her supporters in the court included her husband, Alex Fein.
She is scheduled to return to the witness stand on Wednesday. Combs’ lawyers will get their turn after the prosecutor questions her.
Prosecutors argue that the three-time Grammy Award winner will use his fame and fortune to exploit a deviant empire and force women into abusive sex parties. His lawyers argue that while he may be violent, he is never suited to sex trafficking or assault. They argue that all sexual acts are consensus.
Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty. He interacted with lawyers, but as Cathy testified, he remained primarily stoic. During the break, he created a heart shape with “thank you” hands and mouths for one of his twin daughters. He also kissed his mother.
He was jailed since his arrest last September, and if convicted, he could live in prison for at least 15 years.
Cathy testifies about violence and abuse
Cathy sued the comb in 2023, alleging long-standing abuse. He settled within hours, but dozens of similar lawsuits continued.
Cathy testified Tuesday that she met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and 37. Within a few years, they started dating, Kathy said.
Her 2006 single “Me&U” reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and was the signature song for her first studio album. She was working on follow-up, but Combs “chosen the next thing for me,” she said.
Cathy told the ju judge that she was “sexually inexperienced” when she met Comb and that she introduced her to various sexual acts before asking her to engage in her first “freak-off” when she was 22.
Kathy, now 38, said her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to debate and physical altercations. She said the abuse happened “frequently” and sometimes after the smallest and smallest.
Cathy says Combs ordered her to recruit male sex workers for a “freak-off” and would pay thousands of dollars to have sex with her. They were often held in dark hotel rooms, often dark hotel rooms, unlike the very public parties of the Hamptons Combs, which captivated A-list celebrities.
Cathy felt she could not reject Combs’ request.
Kathy said her first “freak-off” happened at Combs’ Los Angeles home along with a male Las Vegas stripper. She reassured the ju referee that she was dirty and confused afterwards, but that Combs was happy.
Still, she said she felt she had an obligation to go with her future “freak-off.”
“I didn’t want to upset him,” she said.
Cathy began to cry when asked if she liked every aspect of “freak-off.” She said she enjoyed the “time she spent with him.”
The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they move forward publicly, as Cathy did.
“Freakoff” has become “work”
Soon she said she was doing a “freak-off” weekly. They have been going on for 10 years, and in the last one of 2017 or 2018, she said.
She described the situation as follows: “The “freak-off” became a job where I had no space to do anything other than try to recover and feel normal again. ”
In her opening statement, prosecutor Emily Johnson told the ju judge that Cathy wasn’t the only women who Combs beat and sexually exploited him.
Combs was one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past 30 years, working with artists such as Notorious Big, Mary J. Blige and Ausher. He also created the fashion clothing line Sean John and produced the reality show “Making the Band.”
