Two days after CNN published video footage showing him punching, kicking and dragging his ex-girlfriend, Sean Combs posted the video on social media on Sunday, saying his actions were “excusable.” It was criticized as “too difficult”.
Video released Friday showed Combs, the hip-hop mogul known as Puff Daddy and Diddy, kicking and dragging his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, in 2016.
Last year, Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse, which was quickly settled. The footage, which appeared to be from a security camera and released Friday, matched some of the allegations in a lawsuit accusing Combs of assaulting his girlfriend as she tried to leave the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016.
“It's so hard to look back on the darkest times of your life, but sometimes we have to,” Combs said in an apology video posted on Instagram. “I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses. My actions in that video are inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. It's disgusting. When I did that, I was fed up.''
Mr. Combs' attorney previously denied the allegations in Mr. Ventura's lawsuit. In a statement after the lawsuit filed in November, his attorney said Combs “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.” The next day, Combs said, “We have decided to resolve this issue amicably.''
In her lawsuit, Ms. Ventura accused Mr. Combs of forcing her to have sex with a male prostitute in front of her in an encounter she called a “freak-off,” and claimed that Mr. Combs directed the arrangement. According to her court filing, the 2016 assault occurred after an unusual incident during which Combs “became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, blacking her eye.” Stated. According to her complaint, after Ms. Combs fell asleep, Ms. Ventura tried to leave her hotel room, but Mr. Combs woke her up and began screaming, followed her down the hallway, and smashed her glass. He allegedly picked up a vase and threw it at her.
She managed to leave the house and take a taxi back to her apartment, but then decided to return to her hotel “with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser,” according to her account in the filing.
“When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back in the taxi and go to her apartment,” the complaint states, adding that “Mr. Combs was punching Mr. Ventura and throwing glass at him. “This suggests that they watched security footage of the incident.” This is the hotel hallway. ”
The complaint accuses Combs of paying the hotel $50,000 for security footage from that night.
IHG, which owns the InterContinental, said in a statement that the hotel is no longer under its control and it does not have access to footage or records of the incident.
After the hotel footage surfaced, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office released a statement saying the assault happened too long ago to warrant charges.
After Ventura settled her lawsuit, Combs was sued by three women who accused her of rape and a male music producer who accused her of unwanted sexual touching. Combs categorically denied the charges in the civil suit, calling them “nasty allegations” from people looking for a “quick paycheck.”
Combs' legal troubles escalated in March, when federal agents searched his Los Angeles and Miami Beach homes, stopped him at a Miami-area airport and seized his electronic devices. Officials said the investigation is at least in part a human trafficking investigation.
Combs' lawyers are fighting the case in court, calling the raid a “grossly excessive use of military-level force.”
But in a video Sunday, Mr. Combs struck a tone of contrition in response to video evidence of his assault on Mr. Ventura.
“I went to seek professional help,” he said. “I started going to therapy and rehab. I had to ask for God's mercy and grace. I'm sorry. But I'm dedicated to becoming a better man every day. Forgiveness. I'm really sorry.”
