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Cassie Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, testified about the “freak offs,” physical abuse and blackmail she allegedly endured at the hands of her ex during the music mogul’s sex-trafficking trial in New York on Tuesday.
Ventura, 38, testified in Manhattan federal court that Combs, 55, physically abused her during their decade-long relationship.
“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Ventura, who is currently eight months pregnant, told jurors.
The R&B singer and model detailed the horrific abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of Combs, telling jurors he would “smash” her head, drag her, kick her and stomp on her head.
When asked how frequently Combs would become violent, Ventura quietly replied: “Too often.”
Early in her testimony, prosecutors asked Ventura about so-called “freak offs,” which were orchestrated sex parties held at Combs’ request that would set up “this experience so that I could perform for Sean,” she said.
Ventura testified that she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to participate in a “freak off,” and that the she was “confused, nervous, but also loved him very much.”
“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was my career, the way I dressed, everything, everything. I just didn’t have much say in it at the time,” she testified.
Ventura went on to describe why she felt it was so hard to decline Combs’ request, saying she feared violence and blackmail videos from “freak offs” being disseminated on the Internet. She also testified that Combs would blackmail her with pictures and videos of her encounters with escorts.
“Sean is a really polarizing person, also really charming,” she said. “It’s hard to really be able to decide in that moment what you need when he’s telling you what he wants. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what would happen.”
Shown still images from security camera footage of Coombs beating her at a L.A. hotel, which was aired last year by CNN, Ventura claimed that prior to the altercation, “We were having an encounter called a ‘Freak Off’ and I was leaving there.”
While she described initially being “enamored” by Combs, Ventura testified she eventually saw “a different side of him, which was his abusive side.”
Ventura testified that as their relationship progressed, Combs became increasingly more violent and controlling of her life.
“You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she testified.
Combs had mood swings that impacted her “greatly,” she testified. She also said that if she didn’t respond to a call from Combs, he and his staff would incessantly contact her until she got back to him.
Ventura filed a bombshell lawsuit against Combs in 2023 alleging she was raped, abused and sex-trafficked.
This is a developing story.
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