Singer Cassandra Ventura, who performs under the stage name Cassie, has accused rapper-producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of subjecting her to physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape.
Cassie, who once dated Combs, sued him in federal court on November 16. In one of the allegations, she mentioned that Combs forced her to engage in sex acts with a succession of male prostitutes he hired while he watched and filmed the encounters for his own pleasure.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, also accuses Combs of regularly beating Ventura over the course of a 10-year professional and romantic relationship in which he controlled her through intimidation and by plying her with drugs and alcohol.
Ventura alleges that Combs raped her near the end of their relationship in 2018 when she raised the idea of leaving him.
According to the lawsuit, Ventura met Combs in late 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. She signed a 10-album recording deal with Bad Boy Records within months and began a romantic relationship with him a few years later.
The lawsuit says Ventura seeks ‘justice for the decade of her life that Mr. Combs took away from her with threats of violence, excessive use of drugs, physical and psychological abuse and sexual slavery.’
In a statement, Combs’ lawyer, Ben Brafman, said his client ‘vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.’
He said Ventura resorted to filing a lawsuit after a failed attempt to blackmail Combs into paying her $30 million by threatening to write a damaging book about their relationship.
Who is Combs?
Combs is the founder of the landmark label Bad Boy Records and is one of the most influential producers and executives in hip-hop and a hugely successful performer in his own right, as well as the impresario of his own Sean John clothing line.
In 2017, Forbes magazine ranked him as the world’s highest-paid musician.
Also Watch | 'Modern Family' reunion: Sofia Vergara and others pose together; Ty Burrel skips party; see pics