Cassie Ventura and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attend the Catholic Icon & Fashion Dress Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.
John Shearer | Getty Images | The Hollywood Reporter | Getty Images
Hip hop music and fashion mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with a civil lawsuit Thursday accusing him of raping and sex-trafficking singer Cassie, his romantic partner, over a decade. .
In addition to Combs, the suit names Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records and Combs Enterprises as defendants.
Combs, one of the most influential and successful operators in music, formed Bad Boy in the early 1990s. He also launched a clothing label, Sean John, and developed the Ciroc vodka brand. As of last year, Forbes pegged his net worth at $1 billion.
“After years of silence and darkness, I’m finally ready to tell my story, and speak up for myself and for the benefit of other women facing violence and abuse in their relationships,” Cassie said in a statement about the blast. her suit, filed in US District Court in Manhattan.
“When New York’s Adult Survivors Act quickly expired, it became clear that this was an opportunity to talk about the trauma I experienced and will be recovering from for the rest of my life. life,” said Cassie, whose law. Her name is Casandra Ventura.
The Adult Survivor Act from last November allows prosecutors to file civil claims of sexual abuse in a one-year window that would be barred by statute of limitations.
Combs “vehemently denies these offensive and shocking allegations,” his attorney Ben Brafman said in a statement.
“Ms. Ventura’s request of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, was flatly rejected as blatant blackmail,” Brafman said. “Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now begun filing a lawsuit full of baseless lies, aimed at defaming Mr. Combs, and seeking payday. “
Cassie’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, shot back: “Comb offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to keep her quiet and block this lawsuit. She rejected his efforts and decided to speak to the every woman who suffers in silence.”
“Ms. Ventura should be commended for her bravery,” Wigdor said. “No one should have to suffer what Ms. Ventura suffered. “
Cassie charges
Cassie’s suit alleges that in 2005, when she was just 19 years old, Combs, then 37, lured the singer into a professional relationship by signing her to his label , Bad Boy Records.
Within several years he introduced her to sexual intercourse, and introduced her to a “lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to obtain illegal prescriptions to to satisfy his own addiction,” the suit alleges.
The suit alleges that Combs raped Cassie in her home after she tried to leave him, “bombed” another man’s car after learning of his romantic interest in the singer, and frequently beat and kicking her.
And it says that Combs, who has seven children, “forced Ms. Ventura to engage in sexual activities with male sex workers while they masturbated and filmed the incident.”
“Throughout their relationship, Mr. Combs was prone to uncontrollable rages, and often brutally beat Ms. Ventura,” the suit alleges.
“These beatings were witnessed by the employees of Mr. Combs and the employees of Bad Boy Entertainment and the businesses associated with Mr. Combs, but no one wanted to speak out against their fearful and vicious boss.”
Cassie’s suit is the latest legal challenge for Combs. Earlier this year, he sued the Ciroc owner Diageo for alleged racial discrimination, saying they neglected Ciroc and its tequila brand, DeLeon. The company ended its relationship in June after about 16 years.
Combs was also a close friend of rapper Notorious B.I.G., known as Biggie. He was in Biggie’s entourage, in a separate vehicle, when the rapper was shot in 1997.
– Additional reporting by Stephen Sykes and Mike Cali
