Sean 'Diddy' Combs Attacks Cassie Ventura in Disturbing 2016 Video

The video is from hotel surveillance footage captured in 2016.

By Ashley Turner

Warning: Includes description of violence and abuse that may be triggering to some readers.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is seen physically assaulting his former partner, Cassie Ventura, on surveillance footage released on Friday. Dated March 5, 2016, the video obtained by CNN depicts an incident between Combs and Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. In the video, Combs can be seen pursuing Ventura down a hallway.

During an altercation in the footage, Sean "Diddy" Combs is seen grabbing, shoving, dragging, and kicking Ventura, the same claims made in Ventura's November settlement lawsuit. The video shows Ventura exiting a hotel room and walking to an elevator bank. In pursuit of Ventura, Combs runs down a hall while carrying a towel around his waist. As he grabs her by the back of her neck, he throws her to the ground. The video shows him still holding his towel closed when he kicks her.

Combs retrieves Ventura's purse and suitcase from the floor near the elevators while she is on the ground. Ventura lies motionless on the floor as he kicks her again. A few moments later, he walks away from Ventura after dragging her by her sweatshirt toward a room.

Then, Ventura slowly stands up, picking up items from the floor near the elevators and grabbing a phone on the hallway wall. Combs returns dressed in a towel and socks, and a mirror directly across from the security camera shows him appearing to push Ventura.

Then, Combs sits down on a chair, grabs something off a table, and throws it aggressively toward Ventura. As Combs walks away, someone appears to be exiting the elevator, and he turns back to Ventura.

Ventura's attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, told CNN in statement: "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."

Ventura, a model and singer known for songs like "Me & U," was in an off-and-on relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018. Ventura's complaint states that the altercation occurred "around March 2016," at which point Combs was "extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye."

Ventura tried leaving the hotel room after Combs fell asleep, but he awoke and "followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her," the complaint said. "He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape," alleged the complaint.

In her complaint, Ventura states that after getting into the elevator, she took a cab home. "Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser," the complaint claims. "When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a cab and go to her apartment, suggesting that they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway."

According to the complaint, Combs paid $50,000 to the InterContinental Century City for the surveillance footage from the hallway. The incident was part of a number of allegations made in Ventura's lawsuit filed in November in which she claimed she was raped in 2018 and abused repeatedly by Combs for years.

Ventura, who was signed to Combs' label, alleged in her lawsuit that he "exerted his power and influence" over her during the course of their relationship. The complaint states that she was 19 when they met, and Combs was 37, and their business relationship continued until 2019. As detailed in the lawsuit, at the time, Combs physically abused Ventura and forced her to perform various sex acts with other men.

Combs' lawyer, Ben Brafman, told CNN the day the suit was filed, "Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations." On the following day, the suit was settled.

There have been five other lawsuits filed against Combs since November accusing him of sexual misconduct and other illegal behaviors. He has denied the allegations. The Department of Homeland Security team that handles human trafficking crimes conducted a federal investigation in April and searched Combs' homes in California and Florida, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Law enforcement sources familiar with the search say the investigation is based on similar allegations made in the lawsuits. During that time, Aaron Dyer, the lawyer for Combs, condemned the searches as "gross overuse of military-level force."

"This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits," he said. "There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name."

The mother of 30-year-old Justin Combs, one of Comb's sons, shared dramatic video of the raids on Instagram and criticized the authorities for using "militarized force" in removing him and one of his brothers from the Holmby Hills property.

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Taking to social media the following Monday, Combs shared a message that read, "time tells truth." A caption accompanying the post read, "LOVE ️."

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also chat with a representative at thehotline.org or by texting "START" to 88788.

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