A towel-clad Sean Combs is seen chasing his then-girlfriend Cassie down a hotel hallway as she flees, throwing her to the ground, kicking her several times, and attempting to drag her away in newly unearthed surveillance video obtained by CNN.
The video footage was dated March 5, 2016, according to the news outlet, and seems to correspond to an alleged incident from a sex-trafficking lawsuit filed by Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) last November. Ventura noted in her lawsuit that video of the alleged attack existed, but she believed Combs had paid the hotel $50,000 for the security footage. Rolling Stone has reached out to a representative for Combs for comment.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Ventura’s attorney Douglas Widgor said in a statement. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
The security footage, which has no sound, shows a barefoot Ventura quickly walking out from a hotel room with personal items in her hand while wearing an oversized hoodie. In her lawsuit, Ventura claimed she was at the hotel because Combs had her participate in a “freak-off” — where she was forced to have sex with male sex workers while Combs watched. During the freak-off, Combs “punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye,” the lawsuit claims, and Ventura waited until Combs was asleep to sneak out of the hotel.
Seconds after Ventura leaves the room, a nearly-naked Combs is seen sprinting down the hallway after her. Finding Ventura waiting for the elevator, he forcibly grabs her by the back of her sweater and throws her to the ground and kicks her. As Ventura lies on the floor in a fetal position, Combs picks up her bags and kicks her again. He then begins to drag her back toward the hotel room as Ventura appears to cry out.
Combs lets Ventura go, and he proceeds to carry her bags back to the hotel room as she waits near the elevator. Combs then returns and appears to shove her and throw a glass object at her.
In her lawsuit, Ventura said she eventually “managed to get into the elevator, and when she got to the lobby, quickly took a cab to her apartment. Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser.”
In a statement after the 2016 video surfaced, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office explained why it could not pursue assault charges against Combs. “We are aware of the video that has been circulating online allegedly depicting Sean Combs assaulting a young woman in Los Angeles. “We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the LA DA office wrote on socil media.
“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted. As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
The hotel incident is one of numerous instances Ventura claimed that Combs was physically abusive during their 10-year relationship, which began when she was an emerging singer signed to Combs’ label Bad Boy Records. The couple’s relationship ended for good in September 2018, shortly after Ventura alleges Combs raped her inside her home. Combs vehemently denied Ventura’s accusations, and the two came to a private settlement a day after she filed her lawsuit.
In the lawsuit’s wake, three more women and a man accused Combs of sexual abuse. Joi Dickerson-Neal claimed Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991. She claimed Combs filmed the incident and showed the video to others in an act described as “revenge porn.” Through a rep, Combs denied the allegation, saying “[this] 32-year-old story is made up and not credible.”
Liza Gardner claimed she was 16 years old when Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping her following an Uptown Records event in 1990. She further claimed that Combs later began “assaulting and choking” her until she almost “passed out” because he was worried she might divulge what happened. “These are fabricated claims falsely alleging misconduct from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute,” a Combs spokesperson said of Gardner’s lawsuit. “This is nothing but a money grab.”
A woman from Detroit claimed Combs, former Bad Boy President Harve Pierre, and a third man gang raped her at Combs’ New York recording studio in 2003 when she was 17 years old. And in February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sued Combs for sexual assault, harassment, and not compensating him for work on the Grammy-nominated The Love Album. Combs’ representatives denied the allegations in both cases.
This story was updated on 5/18 with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office statement.
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