Casandra “Cassie” Ventura spoke publicly for the first time in regards to the alleged sexual, bodily and emotional abuse she endured throughout her decade-long relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs, going into painstaking element in regards to the drug-fueled “freak-offs” which have develop into synonymous with the accusations towards Combs.
The 38-year-old R&B singer, mannequin, and actress took the stand on Tuesday within the first week of Combs’ intercourse trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial. The hip-hop mogul has pleaded not responsible to the 5 costs towards him.
Tuesday marked the primary time the previous movie star couple have seen one another in individual since their 2018 breakup. Supported in court docket by her husband, Alex Tremendous, her brother, and different family members, a composed Ventura testified for almost all of the day in regards to the alleged ritualistic and “choreographed” sexual encounters that she “hated” however felt had no selection however to conform.
Ventura informed jurors that after her first freak-off at age 22 — a time that she described herself as “naive” and “enamored” together with her label boss Combs — the days-long, “humiliating” sexual encounters with Combs and male escorts occurred nearly weekly. Ventura testified the male escorts had been paid 1000’s of {dollars} in money, and their cost was contingent on the completion of their efficiency in the course of the sexual encounter.
She alleged that Combs managed almost each facet of her each day life and that she was fearful of creating him offended, which may lead to bodily violence. When it got here to testifying about collaborating in freak-offs, Ventura — who’s greater than eight months pregnant together with her third little one — briefly grew to become overwhelmed with emotion and cried when attempting to clarify why she continued to have interaction in freak-offs and the general toll it took on her.
Ventura is anticipated to testify for a second day on Wednesday about her decade-long “abusive” relationship with Combs. Prosecutors indicated they might be asking additional questions in regards to the InterContinental Lodge assault from March 2016 that was caught on surveillance video, in addition to introducing photograph proof associated to videotaped freak-offs. Following direct examination, Combs’ all-star protection workforce plans to query Ventura effectively into Thursday.
Listed here are seven of the largest takeaways from Ventura’s testimony.
1. Contained in the Alleged “Freak-Offs”
Ventura walked jurors by each step of the extremely ritualistic “freak-offs” that she claimed Combs orchestrated and managed. Though the places diverse, Ventura testified, the setup was often related: the lodge suites and private bedrooms had been stocked with bottles of child oil, lubricant, and strong-smelling temper candles. In later years, Ventura stated the lighting was switched to LED-colored lights utilized in recording studios.
The sexual encounters with male escorts adopted a sample, Ventura stated, with the pair rubbing child oil on one another till they had been “glistening.” Touching and massaging got here subsequent, in keeping with Ventura, adopted by oral intercourse after which intercourse. “It was his fantasy,” Ventura stated. “He was controlling the entire state of affairs. He was directing it. He was doing the lighting. He was telling us the place to be, what to say, how you can act within the room.”
Typically, Ventura stated, she’d attempt to “pace up” the occasions as a result of she simply needed to be alone with Combs. “I, as a rule, would simply need to have the ability to get to the opposite room the place we may simply spend time with one another alone,” she stated.
2. Combs’ “Controlling” Nature
Ventura stated she signed to Combs’ file label as a “naive” 19-year-old, and by the point they entered right into a relationship, she was “enamored” with him. Ventura claimed that Combs asserted dominance each over her profession and private life.
Combs allegedly directed Ventura on her coiffure and the colour she ought to paint her nails, even suggesting sure physique piercings. “Sean managed a variety of my life, whether or not it was profession, the best way I dressed, like, every thing,” Ventura testified. “I simply didn’t really feel like I had a lot say in it at the moment being a extremely tremendous younger, naive, whole people-pleaser.”
Relating to her residing state of affairs, Combs paid for almost all of Ventura’s flats in New York Metropolis and Los Angeles — all handy distances from his residence.
Regardless of signing a 10-album cope with Combs’ label Unhealthy Boy, Ventura solely launched one studio album. Ventura stated she was continuously recording new music, however it wasn’t getting launched. A lot of the songs she recorded “simply didn’t see the sunshine of day,” Ventura testified.
Enterprise stated that Combs needed to know the place she was always, and if he couldn’t come up with her by cellphone instantly, Combs would incessantly name till she responded. Different occasions, Combs allegedly despatched his workforce of safety guards to bodily observe down Ventura. She claimed he’d usually take away her automobile and cellphone, and kick her out of her residence as a type of punishment.
3. Allegations of Frequent Bodily Abuse
Ventura claimed Combs started bodily abusing her by the point she was 22 years previous. “He would mash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, um, stomp me if I used to be down,” she testified.
She stated the abuse occurred “too steadily,” leading to “knots in my brow, busted lips, swollen lips, black eyes, the whites of my eyes can be crimson, um, bruises throughout my physique.”
Ventura stated that the bodily beatings may stem from a shift in Combs’ temper. “I make the mistaken face, and the following factor I knew, I used to be getting hit within the face,” she testified. Ventura stated she was significantly involved about doubtlessly setting Combs off and would go to nice lengths to keep away from making him offended.
4. The Psychological Toll of Freak-Offs
Throughout her a number of hours of testimony, Ventura broke down when she tried to clarify her rationale for persevering with to take part in freak-offs with Combs. “I simply didn’t need something unhealthy to occur,” Ventura stated, clarifying that “something unhealthy” may very well be Combs “being violent” together with her in addition to him discovering one other lady keen to do freak-offs with him. “Once you actually care about anyone, and also you’re in love with them, you don’t need to disappoint them,” she added.
However persevering with to take part within the freak-offs, Ventura testified, took a detrimental toll on her psychological well being. “I simply felt, like, it was all I used to be good for to him,” she stated shakily. “I simply felt fairly horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I used to be humiliated. I didn’t have these phrases to place collectively on the time, like, how horrible I actually felt.”
5. Male Escorts’ Cost Was Contingent on Efficiency
Ventura alleged that the male escorts had been sometimes paid a number of thousand {dollars} on the finish of freak-offs. She stated that some males had hassle sustaining an erection. “It was really fairly frequent with those who we didn’t know effectively,” Ventura stated. “They might specific … each time Sean would discuss, it could throw them off, or if he moved a candle, simply was distracting.”
Those that had been unable to carry out in the best way Combs anticipated, Ventura claimed, “undoubtedly didn’t receives a commission the conventional quantity” for the encounters.
6. Making Positive Escorts Had been “Secure”
Ventura claimed Combs directed her to rent the male escorts for freak-offs and provides them a spiel in regards to the state of affairs once they arrived on the lodge suite or considered one of their properties.
She stated she was liable for making certain the individual was “secure.” Ventura clarified that it meant that Combs “needed me to make clear if the individual was a cop,” she stated. “At first, I didn’t perceive, and I discovered later why.”
7. “Humiliating” Sexual Acts
Ventura testified that Combs made her and the male escorts carry out sexual acts that she discovered “humiliating,” together with having freak-offs whereas she was menstruating and males urinating on her.
“It was disgusting,” Ventura stated. “It was an excessive amount of. It was overwhelming. I choked. There couldn’t have been something on my face that was studying that I needed to be doing that. I simply laid on the ground able that I couldn’t simply get out of.”
From Rolling Stone US.