Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura spoke out on Thursday, addressing the impact of domestic violence after video footage showed her being assaulted by her former partner, rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. She said the violence “broke” her.
“Domestic violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become,” she wrote, expressing gratitude to those who supported her.
Ventura, who is also known by her stage name Cassie, had previously accused Combs of repeated abuse in a federal court case last November, which was settled for an undisclosed amount. Combs did not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
A 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs violently grab, shove, drag, and kick his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura during an altercation in a hotel in California. https://t.co/JrnJhWOaQt pic.twitter.com/xeRBtoGBDV
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
Two days after CNN aired the video, Combs released an apology, describing his actions as “inexcusable.”
“My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in,” Ventura wrote on Instagram.
“This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me.”
Ventura met Combs when she was 19, and he was 37. He signed her to his recording label, and they subsequently started a romantic relationship.
