The R&B singer is back on the witness stand for a third consecutive day, facing cross examination by Combs’ attorneys
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The bombshell lawsuit Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2023 accusing him of beating her and forcing her to have sex with other men destroyed the music mogul’s career, his attorney alleged in court.
Ventura, 38, who is the star witness for federal prosecutors, filed her lawsuit in November 2023 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, just before its deadline.
The lawsuit accused Combs of rape, physical abuse and coercing her into drug-fueled sex acts with male escorts, which he allegedly filmed and used as blackmail.
Within 24 hours, Ventura and Combs settled the case. On May 14, Ventura revealed for the first time on the witness stand that she settled it for a $20 million payout.
Though the suit was quickly settled, it opened the floodgates to a host of other similar lawsuits filed against Combs, followed by a broader federal investigation that ultimately led to his arrest by federal authorities in September 2024.
During the cross examination, Combs’ attorney Anna Estevao asked Ventura about the aftermath of when her lawsuit became public in November 2023.
“Fair to say his career was ruined after your lawsuit?” she asked Ventura.
Ventura responded, “I could understand that, yeah.”
On May 15, Ventura returned to the witness stand for a third consecutive day, facing cross examination by Combs’ attorneys in his federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
Married to personal trainer Alex Fine and eight months pregnant with their third child, she detailed the beatings she allegedly received at the hands of her boyfriend of 11 years.
One such attack was captured on surveillance video at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 when Combs was seen hitting and kicking Ventura as she lay on the floor near an elevator bank.
Arrested in September 2024, Combs pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs could face up to life in prison if he is convicted on all counts. Since his 2024 arrest, he has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
