Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing
The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.
Sean Combs and Cassie in 2017. Pic: PA
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.
Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.
Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.
50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”
Pic: CNN via AP
Pic: CNN via AP
He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.
Read more: What is Sean Combs accused of?
The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.
‘Men who hurt women hate women’
He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…
“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”
The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs issues an apology
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
‘Disingenuous words’
Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
‘Leave god and mercy out of this’
US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”
It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.
Sean Comb’s home raided by federal law enforcement. Pic: AP
Multiple claims
In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.
In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.