Sean “Diddy” Combs’s life changed forever one year ago.
On Nov. 16, 2023, Cassie Ventura — the “Me & U” singer with whom Combs had an off-and-on relationship that spanned a decade — filed a bombshell lawsuit against him alleging rape, abuse and sex trafficking. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows sexual abuse victims to file civil suits against their alleged assailants despite the statute of limitations having expired.
One day later, Combs settled the lawsuit with Ventura. However, it didn’t magically erase her explosive allegations against him. Ventura claimed that she was subjected to years of abuse and sex trafficking. She claimed Combs, whom she started dating in 2007, gave her drugs and would beat her and force her to have sex with male sex workers while he filmed the encounters, known as “freak offs.” She also accused him of raping her at her home, after forcing his way in, in 2018.
Ventura’s lawsuit opened the floodgates to others coming forward with accusations of abuse against the music producer spanning decades. He faces over 100 sexual misconduct lawsuits as well as an assault claim. The fallout included the federal investigation into Ventura’s sex trafficking claims, which Combs was indicted for in September.
Combs maintains his innocence in his federal case, set to go to trial in May 2025, as well as in the civil lawsuits. In May, the “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper did acknowledge attacking Ventura after surveillance video of a 2016 incident surfaced.
Ventura’s lawsuit is ‘an example of the power survivors have when they are believed’
“Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit was impactful and an example of the power survivors have when they are believed by first responders, police, prosecutors, medical professionals, family and friends,” legal expert Judie Saunders, an attorney who leads the sex abuse and trafficking department at the law firm ASK, told Yahoo Entertainment.
Other alleged victims can learn from Ventura coming forward, Saunders says.
“Alleged victims should learn that surviving sexual violence is not a game of ‘he said, she said’ where the powerful always win,” Saunders said. “There is value in victims sounding the alarm on abusive institutions and individuals. Survivors of sexual violence are groomed to believe they are powerless and their credibility will be discounted. Survivors should learn that the right trauma-informed advisers and medical professionals will support them.”
In September 2023, Combs celebrated “Diddy Day” and was given the key to New York City. Two months later, his life began to unravel. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Ventura’s relationship with Combs ended in 2018. She went on to marry Alex Fine, an actor and model, and they have two children together. Filing the lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 was opening old wounds, but necessary “after years in silence and darkness,” Ventura said at the time.
An attorney for Combs went on the offensive against Ventura, claiming she tried to blackmail Combs. He also claimed that Ventura demanded $30 million or she would write a tell-all book. Combs’s attorney said her lawsuit was filled with “outrageous lies” in an attempt for “a payday.” In the war of words, Ventura’s attorney claimed Combs offered her “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of [the] lawsuit,” saying Ventura “should be applauded for her bravery.”
When the lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum on Nov. 17, 2023, Combs said in a statement, “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
What Ventura has said publicly since her lawsuit
Ventura hasn’t given an interview about the legal fallout Combs has faced over the last year. The presumption is she signed a nondisclosure agreement, which prevents her from speaking publicly about the case, but it would not stop her from testifying in the federal case against him.
After the lawsuit was settled, she released a brief statement saying she resolved her case “amicably” to maintain “some level of control.”
Ventura split permanently from Combs in 2018 and has since married and started a family. (Gotham/Getty Images)
When Combs’s homes were raided by federal investigators in March, Ventura’s attorney said in a statement, “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
In May, CNN released the video of Combs assaulting Ventura, which mirrored an incident she alleged in her lawsuit. Combs released a video taking “full responsibility” for his actions. Ventura issued a statement of her own, saying that domestic abuse “broke me down to someone I never thought I would become.” She called on people to “open your heart to believing victims the first time.”
After Combs was arrested on Sept. 16 — with federal prosecutors alleging that from 2008 on, he “abused, threatened and coerced women and others, and led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice, among other crimes” — Ventura’s camp said she was “hopeful that justice would come.”
“The amount of courage it took Cassie to speak out, and be one of the first to speak out, can’t be underscored enough,” a Ventura insider told People. “It was terrifying in a very real way. There have been so many people protecting Diddy for so long and it’s not an exaggeration to say her life was in danger through all this.”
Ventura’s testimony likely ‘necessary’ to prosecutors’ case
Combs continues to fight for his release from jail after being denied bail multiple times ahead of his criminal trial. It’s thought that Ventura will be called to testify against him, as a witness for the prosecution, because allegations in her lawsuit are similar to those outlined in the government’s indictment and may be at the heart of their case. (A federal grand jury has continued to hear new testimony against Combs with prosecutors saying their investigation is ongoing.)
“Based on the indictment, Ms. Ventura’s testimony may be necessary to prove elements of the government’s case,” Saunders told Yahoo.
Combs has been in jail since September with a trial date set for 2025. (Courtroom sketch by Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
And to think Combs’s undoing, after years of rumors and arrests that went nowhere, really all comes back to Ventura’s lawsuit one year ago.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how [Ventura’s lawsuit] was handled on behalf … of Combs,” trial attorney Joe Tacopina said on the Tubi series TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy in October.
“There’s no reason to have those settlement negotiations, which they were engaged in for quite some time, not agree to a settlement, let her file the case, have a front page of every newspaper have explosive allegations against your client, and then settle one day later. That was absolutely the worst of all worlds,” he said. Not only did it destroy his reputation, but “it’s actually what started this federal investigation.”
In a different episode of the series, BET News’s Marc Lamont Hill said, “Diddy’s most egregious and fatal error strategically was not settling with Cassie behind closed doors. If he settles with Cassie behind closed doors, there’s a good chance that none of this controversy is happening. There’s a good chance that other people wouldn’t have their own lawsuits pile on. There’s a good chance law enforcement wouldn’t have had their radars activated by all the allegations of illegal activity. There’s a chance Diddy would just be living his normal billionaire life right now.”
Combs, who faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, will be back in court on Nov. 22 for a hearing about whether he will be granted bail ahead of trial. It’s his third attempt at being released since his September arrest.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, free, anonymous help is available at RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-HOPE (4673) and at online.rainn.org.
