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Salon
Salon
Lifestyle
Joy Saha

Diddy accused of rape and abuse by ex

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued by his longtime ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura (stage name Cassie), who claimed the music mogul raped and beat her throughout their 11-year relationship.

Ventura claimed in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court Thursday that Combs brought her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” shortly after she met him and signed onto his label Bad Boy Records in 2005. At the time, Ventura was 19 while Combs was 37. 

The suit alleges that Combs plied Ventura with drugs and alcohol, “causing her to fall into dangerous addictions that controlled her life,” per Variety. Combs “was a serial domestic abuser, who would regularly beat and kick Ms. Ventura, leaving black eyes, bruises, and blood,” according to a statement.

The suit also claims Combs forced Ventura to engage in sexual intercourse with male prostitutes, while Combs allegedly masturbated and filmed them. When Ventura attempted to end the relationship in 2018, she was forcibly raped by Combs in her Los Angeles home, the suit adds.

“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. “With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”

Combs’ lawyer said his client “vehemently denies” the allegations.

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