Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and singer Cassie settle abuse lawsuit one day after filing
Sean “Diddy” Combs and singer Cassie said on Friday that they have settled a lawsuit containing allegations of beatings and abuse by the music producer.
Combs, a hip-hop icon and the founder of Bad Boy Records, was accused of rape and abuse in a major lawsuit filed by Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, that alleges he used his powerful network to keep her trapped in a violent relationship with him.
The settlement, one day after the lawsuit was filed, was announced in a release sent by attorney Douglas Wigdor, representing Ventura.
In his statement, Wigdor said: “I am very proud of Ms Ventura for having the strength to go public with her lawsuit. She ought to be commended for doing so.”
Ben Brafman, an attorney for Combs, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. On Thursday, he said Combs “vehemently denies” the allegations.
The release said they had reached a deal to their “mutual satisfaction” on Friday evening but no terms of the agreement were disclosed.
In a statement reported by NBC News on Friday, Cassie said: “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”
In a separate statement, Combs said: “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best,” before adding, “Love.”
Cassie Ventura and rap mogul Sean Combs dated for more than a decade. Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
The two met around 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. Combs signed Ventura to his Bad Boy Records label with a 10-album deal.
They dated for more than a decade. She alleges that over the course of their relationship, Combs assaulted her multiple times – viciously beating and raping her – and controlled every aspect of her life, the New York Times first reported on Thursday. She faced “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” until their relationship ended in 2018, according to the lawsuit.
A representative for Combs denied the claims, calling the allegations “offensive and outrageous” after Ventura demanded $30m from the mogul.
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A lawyer for Ventura told the New York Times that she was offered “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit”, which she rejected.
The lawsuit alleged the now 54-year-old Combs was allegedly prone to “uncontrollable rage” and forced Ventura to regularly “engage in sex acts with male sex workers” that he photographed and filmed. She was given drugs before and during, allowing her to “disassociate during these horrific encounters”, according to the suit. Ventura was a victim of sex trafficking as she was required to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple cities, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, as Ventura was trying to end the relationship in 2018, Combs forced himself into her Los Angeles home and raped her.
“Her volatile and abusive partner – who also owned her label and therefore held her future success in his hands – had fully exerted control over every aspect of her life,” the lawsuit stated.
Ventura said in a statement to the Times that after “years in silence and darkness”, she was “finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships”.