A shocking video that apparently depicts Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura has surfaced, in leaked hotel footage posted on CNN.
The video, which was taken on March 5, 2016, appears to show Combs grabbing, shoving and kicking the singer, who filed a lawsuit against Combs in November. The footage matches allegations made in her lawsuit outlining an incident that occurred at the now-shuttered InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
The footage apparently shows a woman, allegedly Ventura, leaving a hotel room and walking to the elevators, only for a man, allegedly Combs, to emerge in a towel and throwing her to the ground. He then kicks her and attempts to drag her back to the room. She then makes her way to a phone next to the elevators, and the man reemerges and apparently shoves her into the corner, throwing an object from a table in her direction.
In a statement provided to Variety, Ventura’s attorney Douglas H. Wigdor said: “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.”
Representatives for the InterContinental Hotel did not immediately respond for comment.
Ventura’s complaint mirrors the footage and stated that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 to obtain the video from the incident. After this event, Ventura said she took a cab to her apartment. The incident at the InterContinental is one of the many allegations that Ventura made against Combs in her suit, including accusations of rape and abuse.
While Ventura’s suit was settled the day after it was filed, it triggered a series of lawsuits against Combs in the coming months. Within a month of her suit, he was hit with three lawsuits alleging sexual assault and in February, former associate Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a suit claiming unwanted sexual advances and coercion to hire sex workers and engage in relations with them.
In March, Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by Homeland Security. While it was unclear what agents were trying to find, three women and a man were interviewed by federal officials, per an unnamed source at NBC News, about allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms. It’s unclear if Combs was the subject of the investigation.
A month later, Combs posted a full-length video from his 1998 song “Victory,” where he’s shown running from Los Angeles police, on social media with the caption “Bad Boy for life.”