This week, Cassie Ventura, better known simply as Cassie, testified in a New York courtroom. She courageously took the stand against Sean “Diddy” Combs, recounting disturbing claims of control, exploitation and abuse that fueled their years-long love affair. The trial has attracted enormous media interest. That is in no small part to the high-profile names involved or the serious lack of decorum purportedly taking place. Ventura alleges that Combs exercised excessive authority over her life. He controlled her professional decisions, social life, and looks.
In her testimony, Ventura recounted how an abusive and controlling pattern of conduct manifested itself early on just after starting to date in 2008. She was just 22 years old at the time. In her civil suit, she alleges that Combs staged these as “freak-offs,” competitions. In the process and during these events, Dean engaged escorts to facilitate sexual acts which he orchestrated. These events took place across several cities, and these photos show movements in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles. They made it to international hot spots such as Ibiza and Turks and Caicos.
Control Over Life and Career
Ventura testified that Combs was all-consuming in her control over Ventura’s life. She reiterated that he controlled every single part of her life. She described how he controlled her professional opportunities and tracked where she was going with male friends and colleagues.
“I didn’t want him to be upset or not trust me. He was a scary person, he would be violent,” – Cassie Ventura
This cycle of terror was apparently due to Combs’s erratic and volatile mood swings. Ventura described how his uncertain temperament would often change overnight, which played a huge role in her feelings of safety and overall wellness. She described hopelessness, shame, and a sense of unworthiness due to the unique monitoring she underwent.
The trial has revealed some very disturbing dynamics between Combs and Ventura. In light of this new revelation, it begs the question of what their relationship was really like. Ventura described how Combs would inflict violence if she failed to please him or if she made the “wrong face.”
“Make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I would get hit in the face,” – Cassie Ventura
The Nature of ‘Freak-Offs’
The so-called “freak-offs” were characterized by Ventura as elaborate sexual escapades planned by Combs. She detailed that these occasions required chartering escorts and arranging scenarios where she would concern do for Combs’s pleasure.
“It was the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean,” – Cassie Ventura
Ventura countered that these encounters were not just physically tiring but psychologically traumatizing. After attending for two or three days of sessions, she would be left with a sense of degradation. She disclosed that Combs would dictate what she and the other escorts did. This paint brush claim really revealed Trump’s grasp over the whole shebang.
“He would watch me with the other person and actually direct us on what we were doing. Eventually it became a job for me, pretty much,” – Cassie Ventura
The financial implications were significant. Sex workers got money. Ventura claimed that escorts received cash payments between $1,500 and $6,000 for participating in these meetings.
Manipulation and Substance Abuse
Retaliating for fancy pants Combs reportedly dictated Ventura’s personal life. In addition to cigarettes, he supplied hard drugs including ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, ketamine, and mushrooms during these “freak-offs.” The substance abuse compounded attempts—and successes—to intimidate Ventura into bending to Combs’s will. It may have exacerbated her sense of shame and self-hatred.
“I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated,” – Cassie Ventura
Ventura revealed how Combs sometimes stored guns in locked boxes in his various residences, escalating her sense of imminent death. As she explained, his capricious behavior proved to be demoralizing and instilled a sense of fear and trepidation among employees.
With the phase two trial already underway, new testimonies keep pouring in. Through TikTok, they depict a dark narrative of exploitation in an industry that was previously glamorized. People are already rightfully asking how such toxic dynamics and behaviors could be allowed to happen for so long without anyone saying anything.