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Casandra Ventura, the former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs, testified this week in the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial in Manhattan, taking the witness stand for four straight days.
Ventura, a singer who goes by Cassie, answered questions from prosecutors and the defense about the physical and sexual abuse she says she suffered at the hands of Combs over the course of their 11-year relationship. She has said she was an unwilling participant in “freak offs,” which prosecutors have described as drug-fueled sexual encounters organized by Combs that often involved male escorts. The defense has admitted Combs was violent with Ventura at times. It alleges Ventura consented to participate in the sexual encounters.
Combs, 55, has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
Ventura’s pregnancy is a point of contention for the defense and the judge
Ventura, 38, is eight and a half months pregnant, visibly so, and the subject of her pregnancy took center stage at times this week as the defense sought to obscure this fact by having her seated in the witness box before the jury entered.
“I think there is a prejudicial quality,” Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo told Judge Arun Subramanian, who is presiding over the case, on Tuesday, the first day of Ventura’s testimony.
“Pregnancy is beautiful and wonderful. It also is a source of potential sympathy,” Agnifilo continued, according to The New York Times, citing the official court transcript.
Subramanian appeared to have rejected the request, as Ventura stood or walked in front of the jury several times throughout the course of the week.
On Thursday, he snapped at the defense for not committing to wrapping up its cross-examination of Ventura by the end of the week. “In what universe did you not understand that this was important?” the judge said when discussing the need for Ventura to finish her testimony by Friday.
Ventura says Combs was controlling and abusive, alleges ‘freak offs’ took ‘big chunk’ of her life
Ventura described the “freak offs” as sometimes weekly sexual encounters in which male escorts, often paid by Combs, would have sex with Ventura while Combs watched and masturbated. She said that, on other occasions, she would watch Combs have sex with women.
She testified that the “freak offs” made her feel “disgusting” and “humiliated,” and caused her “nervousness” and “confusion.”
“Eventually it became a job for me,” she said, adding that the encounters “took a big chunk of my life.” She said the “freak offs” could last days and that she would sometimes be exhausted and dehydrated afterwards, needing days to recover.
Ventura said she was often high during the “freaks off,” calling into question her ability to consent. The defense has sought to convince jurors that she was often sober.
Ventura testified that she continued to participate in the “freak offs” in part because she was scared that Combs might hurt her physically if she refused. She was also concerned he might use videos of her participation in the encounters as blackmail.
Ventura alleged Combs was extremely controlling during their relationship. She testified that at times he would order his security to confiscate her phone and computer as a form of punishment.
“Make the wrong face, and the next thing I knew, I was getting hit in the face,” she testified.
Combs’ lawyers acknowledged their client had acted violently toward Ventura and suggested his actions were fueled by drug use and jealousy.
March 2016 hotel surveillance video reviewed
At several points this week, the jury has been shown hotel surveillance video from March 2016 in which Combs is seen physically assaulting Ventura in a hallway.
The video was published by CNN last year after Combs publicly denied Ventura’s claims that he had physically abused her. Following the video’s release, Combs released a video apologizing for his “actions.” Ventura testified that the assault left her with a black eye.
When asked by prosecutors how many times Combs had thrown her to the ground during their relationship, as he did in the hotel surveillance video, Ventura testified, “Too many to count.”
The defense sought to exclude the video from the trial, but a judge denied the request.
Defense highlights Ventura’s loving texts to Combs
Combs’ lawyers questioned Ventura about multiple text messages they had exchanged during their relationship, with the defense seeking to convince jurors that her participation in the “freak offs” was consensual.
“I miss you sooo much and I’d fly wherever you needed me whenever!!!!!!!” Ventura wrote in one 2008 text to Combs.
“I’m always ready to freak off lolol,” she wrote in a 2009 message.
In another 2009 message, Ventura told Combs, “When we used to freak off when we were so in love. There were no questions asked, it felt right, like it literally made sense for the next step in our sex life together. I get nervous that i’m just becoming the girlfriend that you get your fantasies off with and that’s it.”
Ventura says she previously sought $30 million from Combs for rights to her story
The defense has also sought to portray Ventura as merely seeking a payout. Ventura testified this week about beginning to write a book about her experiences with Combs and then asking Combs for $30 million to buy the rights to her story.
“I wanted to be compensated for the time, the pain,” she testified, adding that she did not receive any money at the time.
She filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, which he agreed to settle for $20 million without admitting wrongdoing.
Defense frames Combs violence as drug-fueled, floats possible bipolar diagnosis
Combs’ lawyers have sought to show their client’s volatility as due in part to drug use. Ventura testified that Combs was heavy into opiates at times during their relationship.
“He needed to recover,” Ventura said. “I would say he was an addict.” She added that he would seem “pretty irritated” when going through withdrawal.
The Times reported that the defense has tried to link Ventura’s accusation that Combs raped her in 2018 to a potential bipolar diagnosis for Combs. According to the Times:
One interesting tidbit from the exchange between Casandra Ventura and Sean Combs’s defense lawyer about her accusation that Combs raped her in 2018: The lawyer, Anna Estevao, raised the fact that Ventura told investigators initially that Combs was acting strangely at the dinner before the incident.
According to Estevao, Ventura wondered if the attack was linked to Combs’s bipolar disorder, because he had been acting strangely — “nice but strangely,” she confirmed on the stand — and did not respond when she told him to stop. The defense had never before mentioned a potential bipolar diagnosis at the trial.
The trial is set to resume on Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET.