 "'Beaten, filmed, humiliated': Ex-gf Cassie's explosive trial against Diddy")
Singer and model Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura, a former long-time girlfriend of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, took the witness stand on Tuesday in the ongoing federal case against the music mogul. At eight-and-a-half months pregnant, Ventura's testimony marked a pivotal moment in what is shaping up to be one of the most high-profile celebrity trials in recent memory.
Ventura’s detailed and emotional statements in court stem from her explosive 2023 lawsuit against Combs, in which she accused him of years of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Though that lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, it served as the catalyst for a sweeping federal investigation that ultimately led to Combs’s arrest in September 2024.
Her courtroom testimony — expected to span several days — offered a harrowing look into her relationship with Combs and the abusive power dynamics that, she alleges, governed her life for years.
Weekly ‘freak-offs’: A window into Diddy’s control
Ventura spoke about what she described as near-weekly ‘freak-offs’, a term used for orchestrated group sex events often involving escorts. According to her testimony, these sessions began early in their relationship when she was just 22, around 2008, and continued until at least 2017 or 2018.
Ventura explained, “It was the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean.” She said Combs would “watch me with the other person and actually direct us on what we were doing.”
She was frequently tasked with sourcing escorts herself — through classified ads on platforms like Craigslist and Backpage, and later via services like Cowboys 4 Angels. Escorts were typically paid in cash, with payments ranging from $1,500 to $6,000.
These encounters weren’t just sexual but heavily orchestrated. Combs allegedly controlled every aspect — from directing the acts to supplying a cocktail of drugs including ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, ketamine, and mushrooms.
The ‘freak-offs’ took place in cities across the globe: New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Ibiza, and Turks and Caicos.
Ventura also testified that hotels were booked under aliases such as ‘Frank Black’ or ‘Frank White’, often by her or Bad Boy Records employee Toni Fletcher.
Psychological and physical toll of ‘freak-offs’
Ventura’s testimony painted a deeply troubling picture of her mental and physical health during these years. “These weren’t things I wanted to do,” she said, describing herself as feeling “horrible”, “humiliated”, and “worthless”. Sessions could span two to four days with no sleep, sustained by drugs provided by Combs.
“Freak-offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but recover and just try to feel normal again,” she testified.
She further revealed that Combs would record these encounters, later using the videos as “blackmail material.”
“I felt disgusted. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it,” she said. Ventura claimed she was expected to participate even during menstruation and that, on some occasions, Combs instructed others to urinate on her. The bedsheets, she said, were often soaked in baby oil, blood, and urine.
“I just felt humiliated. It was disgusting. It was too much.” Combs’s legal team, for their part, has denied the allegations, insisting that all sexual acts were consensual. Combs pleaded not guilty.
Pattern of violence: ‘Too many to count’
Ventura also described a cycle of intimidation and physical abuse that left her living in constant fear.
“He would say, ‘Watch your mouth’,” she recalled, noting that even small perceived infractions could trigger violent outbursts.
She told the court that Combs would punch, kick, and stomp her. “Make the wrong face and the next thing I knew, I would get hit in the face,” she said.
In one instance, she was asked how many times Combs had thrown her to the ground, similar to what was captured in a now-infamous 2016 hotel surveillance video. Her answer: “Too many to count.”
“I didn’t want him to be upset or not trust me. He was a scary person. He would be violent,” she added.
Total control over Cassie's career and life
Combs, she said, had immense control not only over her personal life but also her professional trajectory.
“Control was everything,” Ventura testified. “He controlled a lot of my life — how I dressed, where I lived, who I talked to.”
Her manager, James Cruz, reportedly found it difficult to work with her due to Combs’s overarching authority. “It was like he was managing me with one hand tied behind his back,” she said.
Combs’s demands extended to her appearance, especially for the “freak-offs.” He required her to wear white or French-tipped nails, style her hair in a specific way, and don high heels. He even suggested breast augmentation to meet his preferences.
“He would have the rooms set up with coloured lights and scented candles,” Ventura testified. “He choreographed everything.”
She said Combs and his staff would routinely confiscate her phone or laptop as a form of punishment, depending on how long he wanted to isolate her.
Guns and a dangerous night with Suge Knight
Perhaps one of the most alarming episodes Ventura described involved Combs allegedly forcing her to carry a firearm. According to Ventura, Combs kept guns in safes at multiple properties. On several occasions, he allegedly made her handle them.
One such incident involved his longtime rival, Suge Knight. “We were having a freak-off in one of his homes in LA and he said Suge was at Mel’s Diner and we packed up and drove down there,” Ventura recalled.
“I was screaming and crying: ‘Please don’t do anything stupid.’ I didn’t know what they were going to do. I was terrified.”
[With agency inputs]