CNN
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Surveillance video from 2016 obtained exclusively by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs grabbing, shoving, dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend, Kathy Ventura, during an argument. That's consistent with allegations in a now-settled federal lawsuit filed by Ventura in November.
The footage, edited from multiple camera angles and dated March 5, 2016, appears during an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, according to Ventura's complaint. , appears to mirror Ventura, a rapper, producer, and business mogul. CNN verified the location based on publicly available interior photos of the former hotel.
In the video, Ventura leaves his hotel room and walks to the elevator line. Combs wraps a towel around his waist and follows Ventura down her hallway. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her to the floor. He held the towel closed with one hand, then turned around and tried to kick her, the video shows.
While Ventura is on the ground, Combs retrieves a purse and suitcase from the floor near the elevator. He turned around and kicked Ventura again, who was lying motionless on the floor. According to the video, there is about four seconds between the two kicks. He then grabbed Ventura's sweatshirt and dragged him a short distance toward his room before walking away.
Ventura is then seen slowly getting to his feet. She collects things from her floor and moves to pick up the phone on the hallway wall near the elevator. Combs returned with a towel and her socks on. A mirror directly across from the security camera shows Combs appearing to shove Ventura.
After a few seconds, he sat down, grabbed something from the table, and threw it forcefully at Ventura. Combs was seen leaving and he turned to Ventura again as the elevator doors opened and someone appeared to exit.
Mr. Ventura reached a private settlement with Mr. Combs, but declined to comment on the video obtained by CNN.
“This heartbreaking video provides further evidence of Mr. Combs' disturbing and predatory behavior,” said Douglas H. Wigdor, Mr. Ventura's attorney. Words cannot describe the courage and fortitude that Mr. Ventura showed in coming forward to bring this issue to light. ”
CNN has reached out to a representative for Combs for comment. Combs previously denied Ventura's claims.
“This hotel is no longer under the control of IHG and we do not have access to any records or footage of past incidents,” a representative for InterContinental Hotels told CNN on Friday.
Combs and Ventura, a model and singer known for songs such as “Me & U,” dated on and off from 2007 to 2018. The two were photographed together at the Los Angeles premiere of the movie “Perfect Match.” March 7, 2016.
Ventura's complaint, which said the altercation took place “in or about March 2016,” said Combs was “extremely intoxicated and punched Ventura in the face, blackening his eye.”
After Combs fell asleep, Ventura tried to leave her hotel room, but he woke her up and “followed her into the hotel hallway while yelling at her,” the complaint said.
“He grabbed her, picked up a glass vase from the hallway and threw it at her, causing the glass to shatter around the vase as she ran to the elevator to escape,” the complaint states.
After Ventura took the elevator, her complaint states she took a taxi to her apartment.
“Realizing that if she ran away, Mr. Combs would become even more angry and that she would be completely trapped in the cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel intending to apologize for running away from her abuser.” Filing a complaint. “When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back in her taxi and go to her apartment, and security footage showed Mr. Combs punching Ms. Ventura and throwing a glass at her in the hotel hallway. He suggested that he may have seen it.
According to the complaint, Combs paid InterContinental Century City $50,000 for security footage of the hallway during the incident. The incident was part of a number of allegations made in a November lawsuit in which Ms. Ventura alleged that she was raped in 2018 and that Mr. Combs repeatedly subjected her to physical and other abuse over many years.
Chris Delmas/AFP/Getty Images/File
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of “The Perfect Match” in Los Angeles on March 7, 2016.
Ventura, who is officially signed to Combs' label, alleges in the lawsuit that Combs “exerted power and influence” over her throughout their professional and romantic relationship. She was 19 and Combs was 37 when they met, and their business relationship continued until 2019, according to the complaint. The suit alleges in detail that Combs physically assaulted Ventura, during which time he forced her to perform various sexual acts with other men.
Combs' attorney, Ben Brafman, said in a statement to CNN on the day of the charges: Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous claims. ”
The lawsuit was resolved the next day.
“The decision to resolve the case, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Brafman told CNN in a statement at the time. “Mr. Combs' decision to settle the lawsuit in no way detracts from his blanket denial of the claims. He is pleased that a mutual settlement has been reached and wishes Mr. Ventura the best of luck. .”
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Since November, Combs has faced five other civil lawsuits accusing him of various sexual and other misconduct. He denies the charges and the case is still ongoing.
Authorities raided Combs' homes in California and Florida in March as part of a federal investigation conducted by a Department of Homeland Security team that handles human trafficking crimes, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. I searched. The investigation stems from many of the same sexual assault allegations brought in the civil lawsuit, according to another law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
Combs' attorney, Aaron Dyer, issued a statement at the time calling the search a “gross excessive use of military-level force.”
“This unprecedented ambush, combined with a sophisticated and organized media presence, hastened the early sentencing of Mr. Combs and is nothing short of a witch-hunt based on baseless accusations made in a civil lawsuit,” he said. No,” he said. “There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability for these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every day to clear his name.”
Editor's note: If you or someone you know is suffering from intimate partner violence, the following resources are available: National Domestic Violence Hotline.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated when Didi's home was raided. They occurred in March.
