Cassie Ventura Testifies On The Aftermath Of 2016 Hotel Assault By Sean "Diddy" Combs

On May 14, 2025, Cassie Ventura entered a courtroom not to sing on stage or act in a film but to stand as a survivor, nervous yet determined, taking the stand in the high-profile sex trafficking trial of her former boyfriend, music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. In harrowing detail, Ventura described the visuals of the aftermath of an act of violence in 2016, bringing to light a traumatic chapter that had been shrouded for years behind closed bedroom doors and bright city lights.

His appearance in court Saturday followed the display by CNN of gut-wrenching new surveillance footage from a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, released just months ago. In the video, Combs, it is believed, chases Ventura down a hallway in nothing but a towel and appears to rough up the woman, drag her across the floor, and repeatedly kick her. The images horrified viewers across the nation and prompted discussions of abuse, power, and accountability in the entertainment industry.

To Ventura, however, the terror didn't stop in that hallway. During her testimony, the 38-year-old explained that only a few days after the attack, Combs had arrived at her apartment building "enraged." Although she lives in a secure high-rise, he somehow found himself on the 17th floor, and she was left scared and bewildered. There was "chaos outside the door, banging, kicking, yelling and banging," Ventura said, recounting the pounding, screaming, and kicking that shattered her feeling of security.

Read More: Cassie Ventura Details Painful “Freak Offs” With Sean "Diddy" Combs Amid UTI Struggles During Trial

At that time, Ventura was scheduled to speak at the premiere of The Perfect Match, a film in which she played a leading role. The days after the assault, however, were far from glamorous. Based on her sworn testimony, she was compelled to accompany the film premiere, her bruises on display as proof of the pummeling she'd taken. Pictures and texts entered into evidence seemed to back her up, showing Ventura in long sleeves and switching out her clothes in a bid to cover the leg injuries. She had applied a thick layer of foundation to her face to hide the black eye, swollen lip, and heavy makeup to disguise bruising and tire marks.

Ventura and Combs dated on and off for more than a decade before splitting in 2018. Last year, she filed a civil lawsuit alleging that he raped her and also abused her for years, a case that was settled within 24 hours. Although the settlement made Combs untouchable for prosecuting attorneys in New York, the release of the 2016 footage put the mogul back in the court of public opinion, and its viewing helped federal officials in their case against the music mogul. Ventura's attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, has commended Ventura for her courage, saying, "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."

Now married to fitness trainer Alex Fine and pregnant with her third child, Ventura is coming forward not only in a quest for justice but to shatter a cycle of silencing that she says all too often protects powerful men. Her testimony may significantly affect the government's case against Combs, whose attorneys have denied the allegations and pledged to challenge the charges. And as the trial of Ventura's story is a grim reminder that deep in the shadows of fame can lie deeply repressed trauma. Her tone, clear, steady, and defiant, reverberates far beyond the courtroom, reframing the conversation around celebrity, abuse, and survival.