Cassie has spoken out following CNN’s release of a 2016 surveillance video that showed her ex-boyfriend and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs violently attacking her in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.
On Thursday, Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, released a statement on Instagram, saying, “Thank you for all the love and support from 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. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would be. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past. Thank you to everyone that has taken 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,” the R&B singer added.
Cassie’s statement follows CNN’s release of the 2016 surveillance video last weekend and the subsequent public outrage against Combs after he was shown punching and kicking Cassie, as well as shoving and dragging her, and throwing a vase in her direction.
Last November, Cassie sued Combs, accusing him of rape and severe physical and emotional abuse. The suit was immediately settled but shed light on Combs’s behavior over the years as additional civil lawsuits against the rapper emerged. In March, federal agents raided multiple properties of Combs including in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex-trafficking investigation.
Combs was not detained during the raids or named as the target of the investigation and said that he cooperated with authorities at the time.
On Sunday, Combs responded to the 2016 surveillance footage, saying, “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that … I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help.”
Following the public spread of the video, a new federal lawsuit against Combs emerged on Tuesday, with former model Crystal McKinney accusing him of forcing her to perform oral sex on him at his recording studio in New York in 2003.
The lawsuit marks the sixth complaint of sexual assault filed against the rapper in six months.
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
