ENTERTAINMENT DESK:
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs reportedly gave the InterContinental Hotel $50,000 to acquire the recently revealed hallway footage depicting him assaulting his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie.
CNN released a disturbing surveillance video on May 17, depicting a March 2016 incident where Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura, aged 37 at the time, leaves a hotel room and heads towards an elevator while being pursued by Combs, aged 54, clad in a towel.
Upon reaching her, Combs seizes her by the neck and forcefully pushes her to the ground. With Ventura lying still, Combs proceeds to kick her before seizing her purse and suitcase.
Shortly after, Combs reapproaches Ventura by the elevator, then takes a seat nearby, retrieves an item from a table, and hurls it forcefully at her.
Douglas H. Wigdor, Ventura’s lawyer, conveyed in a statement to PEOPLE on Friday, “the gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
IHG Hotels, in a separate statement provided to PEOPLE, addressed the recently emerged footage, saying, “This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage.”
Ventura’s lawsuit, initiated in November and acquired by PEOPLE, extensively recounted the hotel episode, claiming, “in or around March 2016, during an FO [“freak off”] at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”
The lawsuit further claimed, “Upon information and belief, Mr. Combs paid the InterContinental Century City $50,000 for the hallway security footage from that evening.”
In her legal action, Ventura outlined various additional allegations against Combs, asserting that he sexually assaulted and trafficked her during their relationship spanning from 2007 to 2018, describing it as a “cycle of abuse” and “violence.”
Just a day following the filing of the lawsuit, Combs and Ventura came to an agreement, declaring that they had settled the allegations to their “mutual satisfaction.”
