NEW YORK (AP) — Cassie, the R&B singer and former girlfriend of Sean ‘Diddy Combs, testified on Tuesday that the music mogul abused and sexually exploited her for years, as she took the witness stand for the first time during his sex trafficking trial.
Sighing heavily and pausing to compose herself at times, Cassie told the jury in New York that she felt compelled by Combs to participate in elaborate sexual marathons called “freak offs” involving male sex workers. She also 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, leaving her bruised and bloodied.
She said it was difficult to refuse Combs’ demands because she feared he would hurt her or leak videos of the “freak offs” to the internet.
She and Combs met in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.
“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything,” Cassie testified.
Under questioning by a prosecutor, Cassie said her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.
“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Cassie said. Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: “Too frequently.”
Cassie sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue while on the stand. She is pregnant and would occasionally rest her hands on her belly.
Now 38, Cassie said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do a “freak off.” The encounters would go on for 36 or 48 hours, and she said the longest lasted four days. She said they stemmed from Combs’ interest in voyeurism.
Cassie said the “freak offs” involved hiring a sex worker and “setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean” while Combs watched. This took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs’ very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities and gossip columnists.
Cassie said she felt obligated to go along with future “freak offs.”
“I just didn’t want to make him upset,” she said. “I just didn’t want to make him angry and regret telling me about this experience that was so personal.”
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 star 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.
Defence attorney Teny Geragos said in opening statements on Monday that jurors might think Combs is 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.
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