Sean (Diddy) Combs was violent 'too frequently,' R&B singer Cassie testifies in sex trafficking trial

WARNING: This story may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

Sean (Diddy) Combs's former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, told a jury Tuesday that the music mogul abused and sexually exploited her for years, testifying on the witness stand a day after prosecutors showed jurors video of Combs beating her in a hotel in 2016. 

Sighing heavily and pausing to compose herself, Cassie recounted feeling compelled by Combs to participate in elaborate sexual marathons with male sex workers, which he called "freak-offs." She 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, causing bruises and black eyes.

She said it was difficult to refuse Combs's 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 central 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.

An attorney for Combs, Teny Geragos, said in opening statements on Monday that Combs's accusers were after his money, adding that jurors might think he's 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. During Cassie's testimony, he remained largely stoic, interacting occasionally with his lawyers. 

Marathon 'freak-offs' 

Cassie told the jury Tuesday that her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations. Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: "Too frequently."

Cassie appeared emotional at times during her testimony, wiping her eyes. She is pregnant and occasionally would rest her hands on her belly.

She met Combs in 2005, when she was 19, and was signed to his record label, Bad Boy Records in early 2006. Within a few years, the pair were dating. She said she was "enamoured" with Combs, who is 17 years older than her, at the start of their relationship, which lasted for around a decade. She said she believed they were in a monogamous relationship and admitted to being "insanely jealous" at the idea of Combs with other women. 

Now 38, Cassie said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to participate in a "freak-off," which she said stemmed from Combs's interest in voyeurism. The marathon encounters lasted anywhere from 36 or 48 hours, and she said the longest was four days.

Highly choreographed events, with Combs directing from the sidelines if he deemed participants were insufficiently covered in baby oil, the "freak-offs" involved hiring male sex workers and setting up encounters so Cassie could "perform" for Combs. Some of the men were flown to "freak-offs" taking place in cities like Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas, she said. They occurred in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs's very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities and gossip columnists.

Cassie said she felt "confused, nervous, but also loved him very much," and that she went along with the freak-offs because she "didn't want to make him angry."

Over time, Cassie testified, Combs became increasingly controlling and violent, adding that his security would also hound her if she didn't respond to a call from him right away. Small slights, such as Cassie not smiling the way he wanted, would set him off, she said. 

"You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face," she said.

Cassie, who earlier said she was "sexually inexperienced" when she met Combs, testified that she was worried about potential violence and the threat of the sex videos being released online and ruining her career. 

"Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything. I just didn't have much say in it at the time," Cassie told the jury. 

While she created "hundreds of songs," she said, her weeks were consumed by the "freak-offs." Although she was signed to Combs's record label on a 10-album deal, only one album was ever released.

"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."

On one occasion, she was told to get in a blow-up pool of baby oil and lubricants, testifying that she was humiliated by some of the things she was required to do. She said she used drugs to numb herself so she could get through "emotionless sex with a stranger that I didn't really want to have sex with."

Some encounters involved multiple escorts, she testified. "I was an object being heavily objectified by men in that scenario."

Cassie said she remembers "feeling insane" and apprehensive when Combs told her he wanted to start recording videos of the "freak-offs," which he said would be for him to rewatch later. She would delete videos if they were recorded using her electronic devices, but other videos were on his devices, which could be accessed by his staff, 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.

As she questioned Cassie, assistant U.S. attorney Emily Johnson returned again and again to a simple question: Whose decision was it?

"Sean," Cassie replied each time, referring to Combs.

Video is key evidence

A surveillance video made public last year showed Combs beating Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. CNN aired the video last year, leading Combs to apologize. The video, which was played for jurors Monday, shows Combs wearing only a white towel, punching, kicking and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway. 

Shown still images from the now-infamous security camera footage, Cassie said it happened when she was trying to leave after a "freak-off." 

Israel Florez, a former security officer at the hotel, testified Monday that Combs had offered him a stack of money and said, "Don't tell nobody." Florez said he refused the cash and told Combs to go back to his room.  

Earlier Tuesday, Combs's lawyer questioned Daniel Phillip, a male stripper who says he was paid to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched. Phillip testified on Monday that he stopped seeing the couple after witnessing Combs assault Cassie and then drag her by her hair into a bedroom as she screamed. 

In opening statements Monday, Johnson said Combs sexually exploited and beat numerous other women, including a woman identified only as Jane, who Combs is accused of attacking after she confronted him about the freak-offs. 

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.

The trial is expected to last two months. 

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.