Diddy’s ex-girlfriend breaks silence on assault video

FILE PHOTOSinger Casandra Elizabeth Ventura also known as Cassie arrives for the screening of Killing Them Softly at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

LOS ANGELES – Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, who filed a lawsuit in November 2023 against Sean “Diddy” Combs accusing him of years of sexual abuse, posted on social media Thursday about the release of surveillance video showing her being allegedly attacked by Combs.

The video from 2016, taken in a Century City hotel, appears to show the rapper and producer physically assaulting then-girlfriend Ventura.

Ventura posted on Instagram that “Domestic Violence is THE issue.”

“Thank you for all the love and support for my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet. The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning. Domestic Violence is THE issue,” she wrote in a post.

“It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become,” she continued. “With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.”

Combs and Ventura were in a relationship off and on from 2007 to 2018. She thanked those who took “the time to take this matter seriously!”

“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,” she said in her post.

Ventura had claimed in a lawsuit in November that Diddy physically assaulted her in 2016, saying the rapper was drunk and punched her in the face. She alleged that when she tried to leave, Diddy followed her and eventually threw glass vases that were on display in the hallway at her. According to the suit, Ventura eventually got into an elevator and took a cab back to her apartment.

This frame grab taken from hotel security camera video and aired by CNN appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in March 2016. (Hotel Security Camera Video/CNN via AP)

The lawsuit also made more serious allegations of sexual assault and other acts of physical abuse inflicted by Diddy. The lawsuit was settled one day after it was filed, but no details were released.

The rapper had issued a statement vehemently denying the suit’s allegations, suggesting Ventura was looking for a “payday.”

Responding to the release of the video, Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, issued a statement to CNN saying, “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.”

In late March, federal agents raided Diddy’s homes in Miami and in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles.

According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, the raids were “part of an ongoing investigation,”  but no details were released.

Ventura in her post offered support for others in similar situations, and her “hand to those that are still living in fear.” (CNS)

WATCH: Video shows Diddy assaulting girlfriend at LA hotel