A former assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs said she was not surprised this week when footage surfaced of him violently beating his ex-girlfriend, Kathy Ventura, in a hotel room.
Susie Siegi had been the music mogul’s assistant since 2008 and 2009, when they began dating Ventura. told CNN “Not a single cell in my body was surprised” by the disturbing footage from 2016, he said.
“I felt sick and angry,” she said of how she felt after watching the video. “I’m very worried even though there is no lie in the video.”
Siegel said that while she was employed as Combs’ assistant, she spent a lot of time with the couple in limousines and at parties, but that she “didn’t see Combs being harsh with her, or verbally abusive to her, or anything like that.” I had never seen it before,” he said.
“I was around him a lot so I knew what he was like,” she continued. “I didn’t see anything that would get him into trouble, but I think the dynamics in those situations were an issue, especially early in her career,” she said.
Combs was 37 and Ventura 19 when they began dating on-again, off-again. Ventura signed with Combs’ label, and their business connection continued until 2019.
“Imagine what that would be like. And he’s rich. And not only is he rich, he’s in control of your career,” Siegel said.
She said it was her “female intuition” that led her to believe Combs was capable of violence, as well as the way he interacted with those around him.
“Nobody was being abused from what I saw, and I didn’t feel like I was being abused, but again, this is a gut feeling…He knew when he saw you I just didn’t see the humanity,” she said.
Security camera footage showed Ventura running barefoot from Combs’ room at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles and attempting to get into an elevator. Combs then marched towards her with a towel in his hand, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground.
The footage showed a man kicking her, dragging her by her sweatshirt and throwing things at her as she lay on the floor in the hallway.
The assault supports allegations outlined in a post-settlement lawsuit filed by Ventura. Mr. Ventura alleges in his filing that Mr. Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for security footage. The lawsuit was settled one day after it was filed.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said Combs cannot be prosecuted based on the video because the incident occurred outside the state’s statute of limitations for simple and felony assault.
Since November, Combs has been embroiled in five other cases accusing him of rape, sexual misconduct and other crimes.
Then in April, federal agents conducted extensive searches of his mansions in California and Florida as part of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s human trafficking team.
He has not been charged with any crime and denies the charges.
