Latest news with #sexparties
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Telegraph
The sex parties coming to a stately home near you
The affluent south London borough of Dulwich is known for many things. It has a renowned art gallery, prestigious private schools and an idyllic park. Most people don't associate it with 'wax play', naked fire shows and parties stocked with 2,000 condoms. But that's exactly what guests got at Belair House, Dulwich, in April, when it was hired by the 'naughty events' company Heaven Circle. Not surprisingly, residents were less than impressed to learn that their local Georgian manor house, just a six-minute walk from Dulwich College, was being hired out for sex parties. The East Dulwich Forum, an online message board, was brimming with disgust and outrage and complaints were lodged with the local council. 'I've noticed these sex events happening in the last few months at a place that's supposed to be a restaurant and venue,' said one resident called Michelle. 'I was planning my wedding there and was appalled by the setup for those events. When I discovered what was going on, I was disgusted by how they were using the same rooms as 'playrooms' where families are supposed to eat. The hygiene and safety concerns are just unacceptable. They're destroying a sacred, Grade II listed building, and it's just not right. The owners need to be held accountable for their actions. It's time for us to stand up and protect our heritage and ensure that these spaces are used appropriately, especially when they should be serving families and the community.' But other locals were more sanguine. 'I've been to some kids' parties at Belair House and also for brunch in the restaurant. It is a lovely venue but it's looking shabby and needs some serious renovation,' wrote Nicola, a resident of 10 years' standing. 'I am surprised that it's being used for high-end swinging parties, and I do think it would be better used as a community space which everyone can enjoy. But I don't blame the owners for needing to fund the upkeep of a building like that.' Dating back to 1785, Belair House is described by its owners as a 'timeless function space that works perfectly for any occasion'. It has been used as a film set and for weddings and parties. To hire the venue for the evening on a weekend costs £7,000. Belair House didn't respond to our request for a comment. Sage Waterhouse has worked for Heaven Circle since September 2024, and says the party it held at Belair House was 'her favourite so far'. The invitation on the company's Instagram promised '500 candles, 500 roses, 1 stunning mansion from the 1700s, Two DJs, THE BIG BED, 3 playrooms, 5 performers, 1 shibari artist, 1 Domme, 2,000 condoms and 60 toys.' 'It was a wonderful venue,' she says. 'Normally our parties are held in more open-plan spaces, but this was like a townhouse, so it felt a lot more intimate and each room had a very different energy. We had naked fire shows, DJs and wax play. It was my first time modelling shibaru [the Japanese art of knot tying] and so that was very special for me.' Waterhouse says that finding venues to agree to let them host their parties is 'very difficult'. 'There are certain presumptions about the swinger lifestyle that are very misunderstood and negative, and so often when we approach a venue we'll just get a flat no,' she says. 'But the staff at Belair House were lovely and the owners of the property have nothing against us.' Heaven Circle brings all its own equipment to a venue and takes it away when a party is over. Waterhouse says that for this event – named 'Knights of St Francis' – it brought in eight single mattresses and erotic artwork. 'I understand there was a slight issue with the public and concerns about it being near schools or the venue being used for kids' parties,' she says, 'but I think it's such a shame that we face this kind of judgment.' Heaven Circle has been running since 2014, and prides itself on its exclusivity. Waterhouse explains that partygoers must apply to become a member. 'We have 12 members of staff who we call 'the masons', who verify and approve every [application] that gets sent in,' she says. 'Prices for tickets vary depending on the event and whether you're a guy, a girl or a couple, but they're typically around £80. The range of people we get is extraordinary.' Waterhouse says that the parties are funded by ticket sales and donations from wealthy individuals. 'Swinging and sex parties have definitely evolved in recent years and become more mainstream, appealing to a different kind of clientele as a result,' says Chris Haywood, a reader in critical masculinity studies at the University of Newcastle. 'The type of person who would go to a party in a mansion tends to be very different from the type who would be comfortable seeking out a traditional sex club. We're seeing more millennial and Gen Z couples, more middle-class women.' Haywood has been researching the UK swinging scene since 2018 and says that the average age for a swinger is 45, and 70 per cent of female swingers identify as straight but are 'bi-curious'. 'For many people, sex parties have shaken off their seedy image, and we're seeing black-tie balls in stately-home-type venues becoming more popular. Social media and the ability to hear about parties online has also opened up the scene in a new way.' Heaven Circle claims to have 114,000 members and Waterhouse says it will 'most likely' hold another party at Belair House. 'We've also thrown a party in a castle in Scotland and we're looking at venues in Surrey and Hertfordshire, too,' she says. 'My best party was a 'sorority party', just for women, where I arranged a nude ballerina and a human fruit table.' Meanwhile, Belair House is back to hosting more traditional events, including a Tesla test-drive event, a 40th birthday and lavish white weddings. Although, in light of the Heaven Circle bash, even the most wholesome occasions take on a new meaning. Anyone fancy tickets to the 'Sunday jazz and roast'?
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Diddy's ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura told rapper in text messages she was 'always ready' to take part in 'Freak Offs', court hears
The ex-girlfriend of Sean ' Diddy ' Combs told him in text messages that she was 'always ready' to take part in sex parties, a court heard yesterday. Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, 38, told the rapper 'I just want it to be uncontrollable' while discussing one of the so-called 'Freak Offs' where she had sex with a male escort in front of him, jurors were told. In other texts the R&B singer told Combs that she 'never felt so loved, safe, empowered' as when she was with him and that she felt 'protected when I'm in your arms'. The messages were introduced by the hip-hop star's lawyers as they sought to undermine Ms Ventura's claims that she was coerced into taking part in the parties. Ms Ventura is the star witness in the New York trial of Combs, 55, a three-time Grammy award winner who had a string of hits in the 1990s. She has claimed she was forced to take part in hundreds of 'Freak Offs' during the decade she was with the hip-hop mogul. She met Combs in 2006 when she was 19 and he was 36. They soon began a relationship and stayed together until 2018, when she broke things off. During cross-examination by Combs' lawyer Anna Estevao yesterday, Ms Ventura was shown text messages in an attempt to demonstrate she was a willing participant in the sex parties. Cassie Ventura, ex-girlfriend of Sean 'Diddy' Combs (pictured in 2007) told him in text messages that she was 'always ready' to take part in sex parties, a court heard yesterday Ms Ventura giggled while reading messages from 2007, just a few months into their relationship, which she likened to a 'journal entry'. She wrote: 'We've only really had one week of each other just together and I can say it's been the best and the worst... I've never felt so loved, safe, empowered since we've come together. 'I feel protected when I'm in your arms. You are one of the sweetest, most sincere people... I can't help but sit with you and dream up a beautiful future together.' In another message, dated August 5, 2009, Combs wrote to Ms Ventura: 'When do you want to Freak Off LOL.' Ms Ventura replied: 'LOL I'm just going up to change. I'm always ready to Freak Off LOLOL'. Asked if this was 'typical' of her communications with Combs, Ms Ventura said: 'Somewhat typical.' Two days later, on August 7, 2009, Combs wrote to Ms Ventura: 'I can't wait to watch you, I want you to get real hot.' She replied: 'Me too I just want it to be uncontrollable.' Combs built up Ms Ventura with an 'inspiring energy', but at times was critical of her, she told the court. On December 8, 2009, Ms Ventura voiced concerns that the last 'Freak Off' left her feeling 'dirty and grimy', jurors heard. In a message, she said: 'I get nervous that I'm just becoming the girlfriend you get your fantasies off with and that's it. I don't get the other part... any more at least.' But by July 2012, her feelings seemed to have changed again, and Ms Estevao read out messages to suggest she went along with the 'Freak Offs'. Combs wrote to Ms Ventura: 'One of my fav times was when we FOed [Freak Offed] and made love after.' Ms Ventura replied: 'I love when we make love after [a Freak Off]. The last time was so good.' On Wednesday, jurors were shown images of what Ms Ventura described as bruises inflicted by Combs. The court heard the rapper suspected Ms Ventura was having a revenge affair with actor Michael B Jordan. Ms Ventura said she dumped Combs in 2015 after seeing a video of him and a woman called Gina at an event while she was on a film set in South Africa. She said Combs suspected she got together with Jordan, who was in Cape Town at the same time. Ms Ventura said she 'wasn't there' to see how Combs reacted when he found out about her relationship with Jordan. Ms Ventura and Combs eventually patched things up and stayed together until 2018. In a civil lawsuit she filed against Combs in 2023, Ms Ventura said she began a 'flirtatious relationship' with Jordan while she was in South Africa – and that they did have an affair. 'She spent New Year's Eve with this actor but Mr Combs soon found out,' the lawsuit stated. 'Mr Combs called the actor and threatened him. The actor proceeded to call Ms Ventura and tell her, 'You really need to call Mr Combs'.' Ms Ventura also revealed that she was jealous of the rapper's ex-partner Kim Porter because Combs was still publicly linked with the mother of his children. She said she was upset when he spent special occasions with Ms Porter and his children instead of with her. Combs and Ms Porter were in an on-off relationship from 1994 to 2007. Ms Porter had been photographed with Combs and their children in the months before her death in 2018. Judge Arun Subramanian said he wanted Ms Ventura, who is eight months' pregnant with her third child, off the stand by today. Combs denies sex trafficking, racketeering and other charges. He faces life in jail if convicted.
The Australian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
P Diddy trial: Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy' Combs grills star witness Cassie Ventura over ‘freak offs'
A lawyer for Sean 'Diddy' Combs on Thursday argued that singer Cassie Ventura was so deeply in love with the music mogul that she willingly participated in days-long, drug-fuelled sex parties. During the cross examination of Ventura, who is prosecutors' star witness, Combs lawyer Anna Estevao and the singer read for the jury a series of BlackBerry messages exchanged by the couple. In one 2009 message, Combs asks Ventura when she wanted to have a 'freak off,' or sex session during which Combs would watch her have sex with a male escort. 'I'm always ready to freak off, LOLOL,' said Ventura, 38 years old, reading her reply from the witness stand. The pair then discussed scheduling the freak off, with Ventura saying that a Friday night would be best so they could recover for the workweek. Combs's lawyer then displayed an explicit message Ventura wrote to Combs. 'I can't wait to watch you,' said Estevao, reading a message from Combs. 'I want you to get real hot.' Ventura, who is eight-and-a-half months pregnant, then asked the judge for a break. Thursday was the third day on the stand for Ventura. Prosecutors have accused Combs of running a criminal enterprise for two decades with the help of his bodyguards and other high-ranking employees. They said that he physically abused and sexually exploited Ventura for years, and forced her to have sex with male escorts during elaborately choreographed group sex sessions. Under questioning by a prosecutor earlier this week, Ventura told jurors that Combs used threats and violence to control her. Lawyers for Combs have acknowledged his 'swinger' lifestyle and violent behaviour, but said his alleged victims were adults who chose to take part in the sexual activity. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other offences. Thursday's cross-examination is key to the defence's argument that the sexual activity was consensual, not coerced. Defence attorneys are also expected to highlight a $20-million settlement of a lawsuit Ventura filed against Combs in 2023. Earlier Thursday, defence lawyer Estevao showed jurors a series of messages Combs and Ventura exchanged in the early years of their relationship. Ventura told the jury that Combs was sweet and attentive, and she wanted to make her boyfriend happy. 'You and Sean Combs were in love for 11 years, right?' Estevao asked Ventura. 'Yeah,' replied Ventura softly. Some of the messages showed she craved more time with Combs, whom she calls 'Pop pop.' 'I haven't talked to you at all,' she wrote in 2010. 'I know you can take three minutes out of your day to talk to me and you don't even try.' The Wall Street Journal Iran had said after last weekend's talks there were still significant differences between the two sides. The Wall Street Journal The major US retailer, which counts 90pc of Americans as customers, plans to raise prices this month with other retailers likely will follow.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sean Combs trial: ‘Wanna get nasty': Sordid Diddy freak off texts
The jury in the New York trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs has seen graphic, sexually explicit texts exchanged between the star and then girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, some regarding his now infamous 'freak off' sex parties. These sex sessions would involve Ms Ventura having sex with male sex workers while Combs watched on and sometimes participated. On Thursday, US time, Combs also seemed more animated than previous court appearances scribbling away taking notes while Ms Ventura was cross examined. His defence team also sought to throw doubt on Ms Ventura's claims she was naive sexually when she began dating Combs pointing out she was already in a relationship with an 'older man'. Singer Ms Ventura is the star witness in Combs' trial where he is charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking and racketeering. Combs could face life in jail for just the racketing charge. He denies all charges. Ms Ventura began her second day of questioning by Combs' lawyers on Thursday. Despite the graphic and deeply personal subject matter, she remained composed. The court had heard earlier testimony from Ms Ventura, who dated Combs for 11 years from 2007, that she initially agreed to take part in the freak offs because she was naive and in love with the musician and producer. But she later felt cajoled and blackmailed into continuing with the frequent and often days long drug fuelled sex parties. However, Combs' defence produced texts and emails on Thursday from Ms Ventura saying she was 'always ready' for a freak off several years after the sex parties began. And when she did question them it was suggested it was more to do with the level to which Combs loved her than the sex sessions themselves. In court, Combs' lawyers revealed romantic texts from 2009. He would often call her 'baby girl' or 'BG' and her nickname for him was 'Pop Pop'. 'I love you so much. It makes me feel like I can't wait until we don't have to care anymore,' one text from Ms Ventura to Combs read. His lawyers said that message showed how keen Ms Ventura was to go public with their relationship which had been under wraps. 'Pop pop, I really miss you,' she wrote. 'Me too baby,' replied Combs. 'Damn I can't wait to see you again'. 'Wanna be nasty' In August 2009, two years after she and Combs started dating and around a year and a half after the freak offs began, Combs texted Ms Ventura asking 'when do you want to freak off?' 'I'm always ready to freak off, LOL,' replied Ms Ventura. In court she said her texts seeming to approve of freak offs were 'just words at that point'. Further messages from around the same time were more sexually focused. 'There are things I want to do for you and to you,' wrote Mr Combs in December 2009. 'I wanna be nasty for you.' The jury were also shown texts from 2012 of Combs' asking Ms Ventura if she was 'horny' and her replying 'you like it when I moan'. 'One of my favourite times is when we freak off and we make love after,' he wrote. 'I love when we make love after,' she replied. Graphic, personal messages The court was shown even more graphic texts about sexual positions and Ms Ventura describing male genitalia. 'I can't wait to watch you,' wrote Combs, about his girlfriend having intercourse with another man. 'I want you to get real hot'. Ms Ventura replied: 'Me too. I want to be uncontrollable'. 'Dirty, grimy' Nonetheless, not all of Ms Ventura's communications with Combs about freak offs were positive. In 2009, after Combs said he wanted to 'get nasty' Ms Ventura said she needed to feel she 'trusted' the star 'beyond it being just sexual'. 'The last time was a mistake,' she said referring to a sex party. 'It made me feel dirty and grimy, not sexual and sensuous. 'That's the reason I go back and forth in my mind with wanting a not wanting to do freak offs when we're so in love'. Ms Ventura wrote that initially freaks offs 'felt right' but later 'I get nervous I've just became the girlfriend that you get your fantasies off with and that's it'. Earlier in the week, Ms Ventura has given testimony where she claimed she was 'sexually inexperienced' when she met Combs. She said Combs 'introduced me to the idea of oral sex' at the Trump International Hotel in New York. 'It was not something I did or understood.' But defence lawyer Anna Estevao raised the fact that Ms Ventura had already been in a relationship with music producer Ryan Leslie. 'It wasn't the first time you'd been dating an older man, right?' she asked. Ms Ventura conceded she had been in a romantic relationship immediately before Combs.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Diddy's ex Cassie Ventura tells court rapper 'forced her into orgies' and 'left guns lying around to scare her'
The ex-girlfriend of rapper Sean ' Diddy ' Combs took part in his days-long sex parties because she feared he would blackmail her if she refused, jurors heard yesterday. Cassie Ventura, 38, faced the hip-hop mogul in court as she revealed intimate details of their relationship on the second day of his trial. She said Combs, 55, forced her to participate in the parties, known as 'Freak Offs', where she would have sex with male escorts while he watched. They became her 'job' and she carried on taking part because she feared Combs would release videos he had filmed of the parties, the court heard. The R&B singer said Combs, who signed her to his Bad Boy Records label, controlled every aspect of her life during their decade-long relationship and kept her in check through violence, and left guns lying around to 'scare' her. Ms Ventura described how he would 'stomp me in the head if I was down' and beat her so badly that the whites of her eyes would turn red. Prosecutors claim that Combs, who won three Grammys during a music career spanning four decades, ran a 'criminal enterprise' built around coercing women into sex and threatening them if they went public. His lawyers claim that all the sex acts were consensual and that his appetites were 'kinky' but did not amount to sex trafficking. Ms Ventura gave evidence to the trial in New York despite being eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her third child. Her husband Alex Fine, 32, is a personal trainer who was hired by Combs to work with her. Combs's lawyers sought to have Ms Ventura seated in the witness box before the jury came in on the grounds that her being so heavily pregnant might influence them. But the judge disagreed and she was allowed to walk into court wearing a brown, tight-fitting bodysuit which showed off her baby bump. Her testimony came a day after prosecutors showed jurors a video of him beating her in a hotel in 2016. Ms Ventura detailed the arguments she had with Combs, who she began dating in 2006 when she was 19 and he was 17 years older. She said: 'He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down.' Prosecutor Emily Anne Johnson asked how frequently this happened. 'Too frequently,' she replied. Ms Ventura said she remembered 'my stomach falling to my butt' when Combs suggested the idea of 'Freak Offs'. She told the court: 'Within the first year of our relationship Sean proposed to me this idea this sexual encounter that he called voyeurism where he'd watch me in sexual activity with a third party, specifically another man.' She added: 'Pretty quickly I knew that it wasn't something I wanted to be doing. Especially as regularly as it became but I was in love and wanted to make him happy. It got to a point I didn't feel I had much of a choice.' Ms Ventura said she did not want to make Combs 'angry' because he 'controlled a lot of my life' and she feared he would put the explicit videos of her online. She told jurors: 'Over time it turned into the fact there were blackmail materials to make me feel if I didn't do it, it would be hung over my head or these things would become public.' Ms Ventura said that before she met Combs, she thought he was a 'larger-than-life' figure in the music industry, while she was 'completely sexually inexperienced'. She repeatedly called herself 'naive' and said: 'I was insanely jealous but also super young, didn't get it at all, I didn't get that he was him. 'As he would say, I'm Puff Daddy and Puff Daddy has many women, he likes the company of women. I had to learn that over time. He made me feel like we were in a monogamous relationship.' Ms Ventura wept as she spoke about her first 'Freak Off' party and how she did not want to engage in any of them. 'I just felt it was all I was good for,' she said. 'I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusted. I was humiliated, I didn't have those words to put together at the time, how horrible I felt. I couldn't talk to anybody about it so.' Ms Ventura said the only part of the 'Freak Offs' she enjoyed was the 'time' she spent with Combs during them. She told the court: 'Plainly the Freak Offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and try to feel normal again. Staying up for days on end, taking drugs and other substances, drinking. Having sex with a stranger for days.' Asked how long the 'Freak Offs' lasted, Ms Ventura replied: 'They ranged anywhere from 36, 48 to 72 hours. The longest one ever was four days. Maybe even more on and off with breaks.' She said about 10 large bottles of baby oil were used at each party. Ms Ventura also claimed that Combs would leave guns lying around his homes to scare her. 'The guns came out here and there – I always felt it was a little bit of a scare tactic,' she said. Earlier, Judge Arun Subramanian indicated he could make the 'Freak Off' videos and photos public despite pleas from Ms Ventura to keep them sealed. Combs, who has worked with Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Lopez, who he also dated for a time, denies racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces life in jail if convicted.
