Singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura said Thursday that domestic violence has “broken” her, in her first comments since a video surfaced of her being beaten by rap mogul and ex-partner Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Ventura did not mention Combs in her Instagram post, but her comments came a week after CNN aired hotel security camera footage from 2016 that showed the hip-hop star punching, dragging and kicking her.
“Domestic violence is the problem. It has reduced me to someone I never thought I would become,” she wrote, thanking supporters for their response.
“The outpouring of love has given me a place of comfort and security at a young age, but this is just the beginning.”
Ventura, who also goes by the nickname “Kathy,” accused Combs of repeated abuse in a federal lawsuit filed in November, but the suit was settled for an undisclosed amount. Combs did not admit to wrongdoing.
Surveillance footage from 2016 obtained by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs violently grabbing, shoving, dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, during an argument at a California hotel. https://t.co/JrnJhWOaQt pic.twitter.com/xeRBtoGBDV
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
Two days after the video was released by CNN, Combs apologized, calling his actions “unacceptable.”
Other civil lawsuits have been filed against the hip-hop star, including one filed this week by former model Crystal McKinney, who claims Combs got her drunk and pressured her into having sex.
“All I ask is that everyone open their hearts to believe victims for the first time. It takes a lot of courage to speak your truth from a place of powerlessness,” Ventura wrote on Instagram.
“This healing journey will never end, but this support means everything to me.”
Ventura was 19 and Combs was 37 when they met, and the two became romantically involved after Combs signed her to his record label.
