Cassie Shares Why She Cried The First Time Diddy Kissed Her On 21st Birthday
Cassie Ventura has taken the stand to speak her truth in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
On Tuesday (May 13), the 'Me & U' singer revealed that her 11-year relationship with Diddy didn't begin with the honeymoon stage and butterflies, but rather with confusion and tears. Cassie testified to the latter by sharing how their first kiss came on her 21st birthday in Las Vegas, after a VMA afterparty in 2007. Instead of feeling swept off her feet, she was left crying, per People.
'There was a 17-year age difference,' she told jurors. 'I was really confused at the time… new artist. I was pretty naive.' When asked directly if she wanted the kiss, her answer was clear: 'No, not on my birthday.' According to Cassie, their professional and personal relationship quickly became blurred. She described frequently visiting Combs' Trump Hotel suite in New York, and explained that she wanted to be around him because he was powerful, magnetic, and very much in control of her career.
Per NBC, she continued, 'I was just so young and did not have the vocabulary for some of the things we talked about. I was just trying to understand it, just completely inexperienced at that point.'
The federal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs began Monday (May 11) in Manhattan, and the courtroom was immediately met with disturbing footage from 2016, showing Combs violently assaulting Cassie in a hotel lobby — a moment prosecutors say is just one of many in a long-standing pattern of abuse.
Combs' legal team, however, is painting a very different picture. They argue the relationship, though tumultuous, was entirely consensual — including Cassie's decision to remain with him for over a decade. 'She made a choice every single day for years — to stay, to fight for him,' said defense attorney Teny Geragos. 'When she made the choice to leave, she ran into the arms of another man.' That man is now Alex Fine, her husband and the father of her children.
On the stand, Cassie opened up about the physical violence she says she endured throughout their 11-year relationship. 'He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,' she testified, recalling how their arguments would often escalate into what she described as routine abuse. When asked how often the violence occurred, Cassie simply replied, 'Too frequently.' She detailed the aftermath — busted lips, swollen knots on her forehead, and bruises covering her body.
Cassie also spoke candidly about the 'freak-offs,' the alleged orchestrated sex acts that became a recurring part of their relationship. While she admitted to going along with them, she said it came from a place of emotional manipulation and confusion. 'I also felt a sense of responsibility. It was him sharing something like that with me. I was confused, nervous, but also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy,' she said. 'I knew it wasn't something I wanted to be doing — especially as regularly as it became — but again, I was just in love and wanted to make him happy.'
As for why she didn't put a stop to it sooner, her response was raw and revealing. 'It got to a point where I just didn't feel like I had much of a choice, didn't really know what 'no' could be or what 'no' could turn into. I didn't know if he would be upset enough to be violent or if he would write me off and just not want to be with me at all,' she said.
If convicted on all charges — including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transporting individuals for prostitution — Combs could face life in prison. For now, he remains behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Complex in Brooklyn.
More from VIBE.com
Cassie Testifies Against Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Takeaways From Her Bombshell Testimony
50 Cent Mocks Diddy After Claim He Made Escort Perform Urine-Related Sex Act On Cassie
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