A former romantic partner of hip hop music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a civil lawsuit against him accusing him of raping and sex trafficking her for a decade.
The suit filed by Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, also names Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records, and Combs Enterprises as defendants.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Ventura said in a statement about her lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, according to NBC News.
Ventura cited New York’s Adult Survivor’s Act, which gave gave accusers a one-year window to file claims of sexual abuse that would otherwise be barred because of the statute of limitations.
Combs, also known by the stage names Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, “vehemently” denied the accusations in a statement issued by his lawyer, Ben Brafman.
“Ms. Ventura’s demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” Brafman said. “Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation, and seeking a pay day.”
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, countered that Combs, 54, “offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit. She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all woman who suffer in silence.”
According to the lawsuit, Ventura claims that Combs lured her into a professional relationship in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37, by signing her to his Bad Boy Records label. Over the course of time, the suit says, he induced her into a sexual relationship that included requiring “her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions.
The lawsuit claims that Combs raped Ventura in her home when she tried to leave him, “blew up” a man’s car after he expressed interest in her, and frequently beat and kicked her when he flew into “uncontrollable rage.”.
Further, the suit says, Combs “forced Ms. Ventura to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters.”
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[Featured image: FILE – Cassie, left, and Sean “Diddy” Combs arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story” at the Writers Guild Theater on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)]
