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CBS News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Who is Cassie Ventura in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial? What to know about key names in the case
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial continued Wednesday in New York City. His ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was back on the stand for a second day. The hip-hop mogul is accused of running a criminal enterprise since at least 2004 that manipulated women into participating in commercial sex acts with him, and sometimes male sex workers, during what prosecutors described as drug-fueled parties called "freak offs." Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn since his arrest last September. He faces five counts from four different women, including Ventura. So far, jurors heard from a former security manager at the Los Angeles hotel where Combs was seen on a now infamous video attacking Ventura in 2016, along with a man who says he was hired to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched, and Ventura herself. Here's what to know about the charges and key names in the case. Who is Cassie Ventura? Hotel video a key piece of evidence Ventura, who performs under the name Cassie, rose to fame with the single "Me & U" on her self-titled debut album. The song landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2006. In her testimony, she said she signed with Bad Boy Records when she was 19, and Combs first kissed her on her 21st birthday. She and Combs dated off-and-on for more than 10 years, from about 2007 to 2018. She said she recorded hundreds of songs as part of a 10-album deal, but most were never released. She testified Combs became controlling and violent, and the "freak offs" became her job. Ventura spoke about years of alleged psychological and physical abuse. She also said Wednesday that he raped her after they had broken up in 2018. The security video of Combs attacking Ventura in the hallway of the InterContinental hotel is a key piece of evidence in his trial. The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs throw her onto the floor before kicking and dragging her. Prosecutors allege the hotel assault happened during a "freak off," but Combs' lawyers, who sought to have the video excluded from trial, argue it was a "glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship." Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of rape and physical abuse. The suit also said Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage. "After years in silence and darkness, I am 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," Ventura said in a statement to CBS News at the time. "With the expiration of New York's Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life." Combs later apologized for the behavior seen on the video, but denied the allegations in the lawsuit. In a social media post that has since been removed, he said he was "f---ed up" and "hit rock bottom." "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video," he said. "I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry." One day after the suit was filed, a settlement was announced. While the details were not disclosed, Ventura said in a statement, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control." Combs' defense attorneys said in their opening statements that he and Ventura hadn't seen each other since his ex, Kim Porter's, funeral in 2018. Ventura is now married and pregnant with her third child. Her husband and brother have both been seen in court for support. Who are Diddy's other accusers? Since 2023, dozens of women and men have filed lawsuits against Combs alleging sexual and physical abuse. Many of the accusers said they were drugged and then abused while incapacitated, and some claimed other celebrities were present or participated in the abuse. However, the majority of those allegations are not part of the criminal case. Prosecutors have chosen to focus on allegations where there is physical evidence or witness corroboration. The other three women involved in the trial have not been publicly named and they are expected to testify using pseudonyms. The indictment refers to them as Victim-1, Victim-2 and Victim-3. Combs has denied all of the allegations through his lawyers, who described the women as "former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships." Other high-profile names in the Sean Combs case Prospective jurors were asked if they were familiar with a list of some 190 celebrities, including Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West and Mike Myers, though it wasn't clear how those people are related to the trial, if at all. The judge overseeing the case is U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Columbia Law School graduate and former clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Joe Biden appointed Subramanian as a federal judge in 2022. The prosecution team is made up of eight assistant U.S. attorneys, seven of them women. They include Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. She was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and sexually abuse teenage girls. Combs' defense team is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who along with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo is also defending Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Also on the seven-person defense team is Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that lasted nearly two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges. Can you watch the Diddy trial live? Per federal court rules, photos and videos from inside court are not allowed. Courtroom sketches, however, are permitted. The highly anticipated trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. For the first week, court will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. CBS News New York's Alice Gainer will be at the courthouse for the duration of trial and provide real-time updates. Renee Anderson Renee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV. contributed to this report.
1News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
What to know about Cassie, singer testifying against Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer and actor known simply as Cassie, began testifying yesterday in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial. She was expected to return to the stand overnight. The music mogul is charged with leveraging his status to coerce women — including Cassie — into abusive sexual encounters and using violence if they refused. He has pleaded not guilty. Cassie sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of rape and abuse. The suit was settled within hours, but was followed by dozens of similar legal claims and touched off a criminal investigation. Here's what you need to know about the 38-year-old star witness: A talented performer ADVERTISEMENT A singer, actor, dancer and model, Cassie's professional ambitions began in adolescence, when she signed to the top-tier talent and modelling agency Wilhelmina. Her music career launched shortly thereafter, when she left her home state of Connecticut for New York, where she signed with manager Tony Mottola and first met Combs. Cassie is perhaps best known for the 2006 hit single Me & U, which secured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 all genres chart. Cassie Ventura cries while giving evidence in this court sketch. (Source: Associated Press) It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song was the lead single of her only studio album, released by Combs' Bad Boy Records, and was self-titled. She left the label in 2019. As an actor, she appeared in several television and film projects including Fox's Empire, The Perfect Match and Spenser Confidential. She made her acting debut in 2008 in Step Up 2: The Streets and contributed the song Is It You to its soundtrack. She appeared in a number of music videos as well, including Wiz Khalifa's Roll Up and Mario's Just A Friend 2002. Although she never released her long-teased sophomore album, at one point tentatively titled Electro Love, she did drop a few tracks: the R&B-pop 'Official Girl' with Lil Wayne, 'Must Be Love' with Combs, and 'Let's Get Crazy' with Akon. And in 2012, Nicki Minaj tapped her for a feature on 'The Boys' from Minaj's 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded — The Re-Up.' ADVERTISEMENT Cassie is also a wife and a mother. She married personal trainer Alex Fine in September 2019. Their first daughter, Frankie Stone Fine, was born that same year and they welcomed their second daughter, Sunny Cinco Fine, in 2021. She is currently pregnant with their third child, a son. Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs appear at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" in New York on May 4, 2015. (Source: Associated Press) The Combs connection Cassie met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating. In her 2023 civil lawsuit, Cassie alleges Combs trapped her in a 'cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking' for more than a decade, including raping her and forcing her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers. Combs settled the lawsuit the next day. In May 2024, CNN aired video that showed Combs attacking Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016. The video closely mirrored an assault described in her lawsuit, which said Combs had already punched her that night, and she was trying to leave the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles when he woke and came after her. In the footage, a man who appears to be Diddy, wearing only a towel, punches Cassie, kicks her, and throws her on to the floor. The lawsuit alleges Combs paid $50,000 to bury the video at the time. ADVERTISEMENT Later, Combs apologised for the assault on Cassie in his first real acknowledgment of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began. Among other things, Cassie alleges Combs raped her when she tried to leave him and often punched, kicked and beat her, causing injuries including bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding. She also alleges that Combs was involved in blowing up rival rapper Kid Cudi's car when he learned that Cudi was romantically interested in her, and she alleges that Combs ran out of his home with guns when he learned that Suge Knight, a rival producer, was eating at a nearby diner. On the first day of Combs' sex trafficking trial, a witness, Daniel Phillip, said he was a professional stripper who was paid US$700 to US$6,000 to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched and gave instructions, with the first encounter in 2012. Phillip told jurors that he stopped meeting with the couple after he saw Combs throw a bottle at her and then drag her by her hair into a bedroom as she screamed. The trial continues in New York. 'Freak off' parties described in court: Watch more on TVNZ+
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Who are the witnesses in Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial? What to know about Cassie and other accusers expected to testify.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial is underway with testimony in New York City. The hip-hop mogul is accused of running a criminal enterprise since at least 2004 that manipulated women into participating in commercial sex acts with him, and sometimes male sex workers, during what prosecutors described as drug-fueled parties called "freak offs." Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn since his arrest last September. He faces five counts from four different women, including singer and ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The first week of trial is expected to include testimony from an FBI analyst who could break down the now-infamous 2016 video of Combs and Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel, along with a male escort and Ventura, according to CBS News' Jericka Duncan. Here's what to know about the charges and key names in the case. Who is Cassie Ventura? Hotel video a key piece of evidence Ventura, who performs under the name Cassie, rose to fame with the single "Me & U" on her self-titled debut album. The song landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2006. She and Combs dated off-and-on from about 2007 to 2018. Security video of Combs attacking Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 is expected to be a key piece of evidence in his trial. The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs throw Ventura onto the floor before kicking and dragging her. Prosecutors allege the hotel assault happened during a "freak off," but Combs' lawyers, who sought to have the video excluded from trial, argue it was a "glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship." Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in 2023, accusing him of rape and physical abuse. The suit also said Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage. "After years in silence and darkness, I am 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," Ventura said in a statement to CBS News at the time. "With the expiration of New York's Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life." Combs later apologized for the behavior seen on the video, but denied the allegations in the lawsuit. In a social media post that has since been removed, he said he was "f---ed up" and "hit rock bottom." "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video," he said. "I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry." One day after the suit was filed, a settlement was announced. While the details were not disclosed, Ventura said in a statement, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control." Who are Diddy's other accusers? Since 2023, dozens of women and men have filed lawsuits against Combs alleging sexual and physical abuse. Many of the accusers said they were drugged and then abused while incapacitated, and some claimed other celebrities were present or participated in the abuse. However, the majority of those allegations are not part of the criminal case. Prosecutors have chosen to focus on allegations where there is physical evidence or witness corroboration. The other three women involved in the trial have not been publicly named and they are expected to testify using pseudonyms. The indictment refers to them as Victim-1, Victim-2 and Victim-3. Combs denied all of the allegations through his lawyers, who have said the women are "former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships." Other high-profile names in the Sean Combs case Prospective jurors were asked if they were familiar with a list of some 190 celebrities, including Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West and Mike Myers, though it wasn't clear how those people are related to the trial, if at all. The judge overseeing the case is U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Columbia Law School graduate and former clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Joe Biden appointed Subramanian as a federal judge in 2022. The prosecution team is made up of eight assistant U.S. attorneys, seven of them women. They include Maurene Ryan Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. She was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and sexually abuse teenage girls. Combs' defense team is led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who along with his wife Karen Friedman Agnifilo is also defending Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Also on the seven-person defense team is Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that lasted nearly two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges. Can you watch the Diddy trial live? Per federal court rules, photos and videos from inside court are not allowed. Courtroom sketches, however, are permitted. The highly anticipated trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. For the first week, court will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. CBS News New York's Alice Gainer will be at the courthouse for the duration of trial and provide real-time updates. contributed to this report.
