New York:
A disturbing surveillance video released Friday shows Sean “Diddy” Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in a now-settled lawsuit late last year.
Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.
The 2016 footage, obtained and published by CNN, shows the rap mogul hitting, dragging and kicking the singer known as Cassie, who in her recent lawsuit said Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, in addition to a rape in 2018.
In the video, Ventura leaves a hotel room and then Combs, appearing to be wearing only a towel, chases her before throwing her to the ground and attacking her.
“The heartbreaking video only further confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior. Words cannot express the courage and courage Ms. Ventura demonstrated in coming forward to bring this to light,” read a statement from her attorney Douglas Wigdor.
Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall, a bombshell lawsuit that was settled out of court but followed by a series of equally lurid allegations of sexual assault against the hip-hop star.
Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his record label and they began a romantic relationship.
Combs vehemently denied all allegations against him. His lawyer did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
In March, armed agents raided Combs’ sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, a heavily publicized operation in the coastal region that suggested an investigation into the rapper was underway.
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