Sean 'Diddy' Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie testifies in his sex trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, told a jury Tuesday that the music mogul abused and sexually exploited her for years, as she took the witness stand for the first time during his sex trafficking trial in New York.

Sighing heavily and pausing to compose herself, Cassie recounted feeling compelled by Combs to participate in lengthy “freak off” sex parties involving male sex workers. She said Combs assaulted her numerous times during their turbulent relationship.

“He would mash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me. Stomp me in the head if I was down,” she said, causing bruises and black eyes.

She said it was difficult to refuse Combs’ demands because of fears of violence and blackmail videos from the “freak offs” being disseminated on the internet.

Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of abuse. The suit was settled within hours but dozens of similar legal claims followed, sparking the criminal investigation.

She is the star witness for prosecutors who accuse Combs of using his status as a powerful executive to orchestrate a deviant empire of exploitation, coercing women into abusive sex parties and becoming violent if they refused.

Lawyers for three-time Grammy winner argue that although he could be violent, Combs never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering, telling jurors that the sexual acts were consensual.

An attorney for Combs, Teny Geragos, said in opening statements on Monday that Combs’ accusers were after his money, adding that jurors might think he’s a “jerk” and might not condone his “kinky sex,” but that “he’s not charged with being a jerk.”

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty. He has been jailed since his arrest in September. If convicted, could get at least 15 years and up to life in prison.

Cassie testifies about violence and abuse

Under questioning by a prosecutor, Cassie said her relationship with Combs ran the gamut from good times to arguments and physical altercations.

“If they were violent arguments, it would usually result in some sort of physical abuse and dragging, just different things,” Cassie said. Asked how frequently Combs became violent with her, Cassie softly responded: “Too frequently.”

Cassie appeared emotional at times during her testimony. She is pregnant and occasionally would rest her hands on her belly.

They met in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating. As she testified, the prosecution showed numerous photographs of Combs and Cassie at events in the mid-2000s.

“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything,” Cassie testified.

Cassie felt she couldn't refuse ‘freak offs’

Now 38, Cassie said she was barely 22 when Combs first asked her to do the highly orchestrated “freak offs,” which she said stemmed from Combs’ interest in voyeurism. The marathon encounters lasted anywhere from 36 or 48 hours, and she said the longest was four days.

Cassie said these encounters involved hiring an sex worker and “setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean.” This took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs' very public White Parties in the Hamptons that attracted A-list celebrities and gossip columnists.

She felt “confused, nervous, but also loved him very much.” Much of her week became geared toward the “freak offs,” she said.

"Freak offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” she said. Each time, she said, she had to recuperate from lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs “and other substances,” and “having sex with a stranger for days.”

Shown still images from the now-infamous 2016 security camera footage of Combs beating her, Cassie said that prior to the altercation: “We were having an encounter called a ‘freak-off’ and I was leaving there.”

Diddy was ‘a really polarizing person’

Combs became increasing controlling during their relationship, Cassie testified, and would get abusive over the smallest perceived slights. “You make the wrong face, and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she said.

“Sean is a really polarizing person, also really charming,” Cassie said. “It’s hard to really be able to decide in that moment what you need, when he’s telling you what he wants. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what would happen.”

The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.

Hotel video is a key piece of evidence

On Monday, jurors were shown the hotel security video, which CNN aired last year, leading Combs to apologize. The video shows Combs wearing only a white towel, punching, kicking and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway.

Israel Florez, a former security officer at the hotel, testified Monday that he refused when Combs offered him a stack of money and said “Don't tell nobody."

Earlier Tuesday, the trial resumed with Combs' lawyer questioning Daniel Phillip, a male stripper who says he was paid to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched. Phillip testified on Monday that he stopped seeing the couple after Combs assaulted Cassie.

Judge Arun Subramanian said Tuesday that he’s inclined to grant a request by media organizations to view what a defense lawyer described as pornographic videos that will be shown to the jury as evidence in the case. But he’s giving the parties another day to make submissions on the matter.

Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. The founder of Bad Boy Records is a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and Usher. He also created the fashion clothing line Sean John and produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.

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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.