Surveillance video obtained by CNN appears to show music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie in a 2016 hotel attack she detailed in a since-settled lawsuit that alleged the rapper physically and sexually abused her for years.
CNN reported that the video was from an incident in March 2016. It captures multiple angles.
Cassie, 37, whose name is Casandra Ventura, alleged in a federal lawsuit in November that Combs raped and physically abused her, including punching, beating, kicking and stomping her over the course of their relationship. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed.
Representatives for Combs, 54, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. He has previously denied the allegations, calling them sickening. Shortly after the settlement with Cassie, an attorney for Combs said the agreement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”
Since Cassie’s lawsuit, Combs has been accused in a series of lawsuits from others of sexual and physical abuse, gang rape and “serious illegal activity.”
He is a subject of a federal criminal investigation and agents searched his properties this spring.
Combs has denied all the allegations and has vowed to clear his name.
According to CNN, the video, captured in a hotel hallway, shows Combs in a towel with no shirt on. He walks up behind a woman near an elevator and then grabs her and throws her to the ground. The man identified by CNN as Combs then appears to kick her twice. He then begins dragging the woman by her hooded sweatshirt while she is on the ground.
The woman, according to the video, picks up a phone while Combs is out of the view of the camera. Combs then enters the video frame and appears to shove the woman, who is no longer in the view of the camera.
Moments later, Combs, sitting in a chair, appears to pick up an object and throw it. The video footage does not have audio.
NBC News has not independently verified the video.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie, said Friday. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
A source familiar with the matter told NBC in March that three women and a man had been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
Since last fall, the rapper has been hit with five lawsuits in New York accusing him of sexual assault, sexual trafficking and engaging in other criminal activity.
He has settled the suit with Cassie, but the other suits are pending.
In March, federal agents searched the rapper’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News that firearms were found at his residences, but no additional details were provided.
Dyer, one of Combs’ attorneys, issued a statement following the raids and said that Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.” He described the raid as an ambush, saying there’s been a rush to judgment based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” Dyer said. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
