In a federal lawsuit filed in Manhattan’s Federal District Court, Cassie, an R&B singer once signed to Sean Combs’s label, has accused the renowned music producer and hip-hop mogul of rape and repeated physical abuse over about a decade.
Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleges that shortly after meeting Combs in 2005 at the age of 19, he initiated a pattern of control, drug-induced manipulation, physical assaults, and coerced sexual encounters with male prostitutes, all documented by Combs. The suit, filed near the end of their relationship in 2018, accuses Combs of forcefully entering her home and raping her.
In response, Combs’s lawyer, Ben Brafman, vehemently denies the allegations, claiming that Cassie sought $30 million from Combs, threatening to write a damaging book about their relationship. Despite withdrawing the initial threat, Cassie filed a lawsuit, which Brafman characterizes as baseless, and seeking a payday.
The case involves additional defendants, asserting that others collaborated to control Cassie through threats or concealment of Combs’s actions. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, Diddy, and Love, is a prominent figure in the commercialization of hip-hop, having founded Bad Boy in 1993 and collaborated with artists like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. The suit portrays Combs as a violent individual, alleging instances of physical assault, coercive control, and even implicating him in acts such as threatening a rival suitor and endangering a friend of Cassie’s by dangling them over a hotel balcony.
According to Cassie’s account in the lawsuit, she became entangled in Combs’s high-profile lifestyle after signing with Bad Boy in 2006. However, the suit details Combs’s increasing control over her life, including her career, finances, and access to personal medical records. It further alleges a consistent supply of drugs, instances of violent beatings, and the imposition of a coercive atmosphere that discouraged her from seeking help.
The lawsuit paints a disturbing picture of Combs coercing Cassie into engaging in a fantasy called ‘voyeurism,’ where she participated in sexual encounters with male prostitutes. At the same time, Combs watched, documented, and even instructed her to search for male sex workers. These incidents, termed ‘freak offs,’ continued for years in upscale hotels and Combs’s residences across the United States. The suit contends that Cassie was a victim of sex trafficking as a result of these encounters.
The case, brought under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law allowing civil suits for sexual abuse victims after the statute of limitations has expired, is part of a recent wave of sexual assault lawsuits against prominent figures in the music industry. Cassie’s legal action underscores the urgency of addressing trauma and seeks to hold Combs accountable for the alleged abuses she endured during their relationship.
Source: The New York Times
