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Newly released video appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs beating his former singing protege and girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
The video was aired by CNN Friday six months after the R&B singer filed a lawsuit that set off a wave of similar cases and public allegations against one of the most influential music moguls of the past three decades.
Here is a look at the key events that have unfolded since late last year.
NOVEMBER 16, 2023
Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs’ label in 2005, and the two were on-again-off-again romantic partners for more than a decade starting in 2007. The lawsuit filed in federal court says Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and subjected her to “savage” beatings. It says he plied her with drugs, forced her to have sex with other men, and raped her in her home as she was trying to end the relationship in 2018. Combs, through his attorney, “vehemently denies” the accusations.
NOVEMBER 17, 2023
With staggering speed, Ventura’s lawsuit is settled the day after it is filed. The terms of the agreement are kept confidential. “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably,” Combs says in a statement. “I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
NOVEMBER 23, 2023
Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law permitting victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to file civil action regardless of the statute of limitations. The lawsuits, filed by Joi Dickerson and another woman who was not named, allege acts of sexual assault, beatings and forced drugging in the early 1990s by Combs, then a talent director, party promoter and rising figure in New York City’s hip-hop community. Combs’ attorneys called the allegations false.
