The following article will focus on allegations of abuse and many possibly triggering topics.
Casandra Ventura, or the singer known as Cassie, filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs on the sixteenth of November in Federal District Court in Manhattan, detailing alleged rape, sexual trafficking, and physical assault. Just one day after the lawsuit was filed, both parties reached an out-of-court settlement for the case. The factors of the settlement have not been disclosed to the public. Although, they did release a joint statement in which Ventura says that she “decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control.” Combs and his legal team have been adamant to the press that a settlement out of court does not equate to an admission of guilt. This lawsuit covers almost 10 years of claims of abuse.
In 2006, Ventura signed a record deal to Bad Boy Records, Comb’s label. This was the start of an incredibly abusive, toxic, and on-and-off relationship between the two. Ventura was only nineteen years old when she signed; Combs was 37 years old. According to the suit, after Ventura signed with Combs, he “plied the vulnerable Ms Ventura with drugs and alcohol, causing her to fall into dangerous addictions that controlled her life.” The suit details that her heavy substance use allowed her to disassociate during many different instances of sexual abuse in different cities, resulting in Ventura becoming a victim of sex trafficking. There are many allegations of rape against Combs as well as claims that when she would try to leave him, he would “often punch, beat, kick and stomp on Ventura, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding.” In 2012, Combs blew up Kid Cudi’s car after finding out that Ventura and the rapper were romantically involved. The suit goes into detail of many more horrible claims of sexual, mental, and physical abuse.
As mentioned earlier, Combs absolutely denies any and all allegations of abuse. He claims that this is a case of ongoing and “blatant blackmail” from Ventura for $30 million dollars. It is unknown if that was the sum that was agreed upon in the very quick settlement. Some speculate that such a fast settlement was advantageous for both sides of the suit. For Combs, this prevents the spread of any more abuse claims from Ventura as well as a deeper dive into the evidence that could corroborate her story. For Ventura, she does not have to relive her trauma through the course of a trial, but still has her story known.
In fact, Ventura chose to speak now as she was “finally ready to tell [her] story, and to speak up on behalf of [herself] and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.” After years of keeping this to herself, why did she choose to file a lawsuit in 2023? Trauma and abuse takes a long time to overcome; there is no timeline to recovery. Also, New York’s Adult Survivors Act was expiring very soon. As this article is published, it has already expired.
The Adult Survivors Act is a state law in New York that allows survivors of sexual abuse to file civil claims after the statute of limitations has expired. Over 2,500 lawsuits were filed under the law, which allowed for an extra year longer to file than the usual time to sue over sexual abuse. Unfortunately, this act has expired meaning that abuse victims will not be able to file lawsuits against their abusers after their statute of limitations has passed. In Ventura's lawsuit, she thanked the Act for giving her an opportunity to “confront her abuser, and to hold him and those who enabled his abuse accountable for their actions.”