Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing
The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.
Image: Sean Combs and Cassie in 2017. Pic: PA
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.
Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.
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Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.
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50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”
Image: Pic: CNN via AP
Image: Pic: CNN via AP
He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.
The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.
‘Men who hurt women hate women’
He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…
“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”
The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.
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1:08
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs issues an apology
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
‘Disingenuous words’
Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
‘Leave god and mercy out of this’
US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”
It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.
Image: Sean Combs’ home raided by federal law enforcement. Pic: AP
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.
Two people have been killed and nine injured in a shooting in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park on Memorial Day.
Police said a large number of people were gathered near Lemon Hill Drive and Sedgley Drive at around 10.30pm local time on Monday when shots were fired.
A man and a woman were killed, and three teenagers – aged 15, 16 and 17 – were among the injured, all of whom were said to be in a stable condition.
“We have not recovered any weapons at this time,” a police officer told reporters.
“This is significant. It’s Memorial Day… we understand the significance of this event and we will make sure to provide an update on Tuesday.”
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States, usually observed on the last Monday of May.
The day is dedicated to honouring and mourning military personnel who have died in the performance of their duties.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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2:38
Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Image: Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
In Minneapolis, the spot where George Floyd was murdered has been turned into a mural.
His face is depicted in street art on a pavement covered in flowers, rosaries, and other trinkets left by people who have come to pay their respects in the last five years.
His final moments, struggling for breath with white police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck, were captured in a viral video that provoked anger, upset, and outrage.
Image: Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck
In Minneapolis and other parts of America, there were protests that at points boiled over into unrest.
The events to mark the fifth anniversary of his death took on a very different tone – one of celebration and joy.
Behind a wooden statue of a clenched fist on one end of a junction now renamed George Perry Floyd Square, people gathered in the morning.
There was a moment of prayer before a brass band began to play and the group marched, while singing and chanting.
Image: George Perry Floyd Square, a makeshift memorial area
‘It made us want to fight harder’
Among those gathered in front of a makeshift stage built in the square were two of Floyd’s family members – his cousin Paris and aunt Mahalia.
To them, the man whose death sparked a racial reckoning in America and further afield, was simply “Perry,” a larger-than-life figure whose presence is missed at family gatherings.
Speaking to me while the speakers behind them thumped and people danced, they didn’t just reflect with sadness though.
There was also pride at a legacy they felt has led to change.
“It made us want to fight harder,” said Mahalia, “and it’s a feeling you cannot explain. When the whole world just stood up.”
Image: George Floyd’s aunt Mahalia and cousin Paris
Referring to Chauvin’s eventual murder charge, Paris added: “I think that from here on out, at least officers know that you’re not going to slide through the cracks. Our voices are heard more.”
The tapestry of items outside the Cup Foods convenience store, now renamed Unity Foods, is not the only makeshift memorial in the area.
A short walk away is the “Say Their Names” cemetery, an art installation honouring black people killed by the police.
Meeting me there later in the day, activist Nikema Levy says the installation and George Floyd Square are called “sacred spaces” in the community.
As someone who took to the streets at the time of Floyd’s death and a community organiser for years before that, she’s constantly stopped by people who want to speak to her.
Image: Activist Nikema Levy speaking to Sky News
‘White supremacy on steroids’
Once we do manage to speak, Levy reminds me of a wider political picture. One that goes beyond Minneapolis and is a fraught one.
In the week of the anniversary, the US Department of Justice rolled back investigations into some of the largest police forces in the country, including in Minneapolis – a move she calls “diabolical.”
“That type of cruelty is what we have seen since Donald Trump took office on January 20th of this year,” she continued.
“From my perspective, that is white supremacy on steroids. And it should come as no surprise that he would take these types of steps, because these are the things that he talked about on the campaign trail.”
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3:23
Has US changed five years after George Floyd’s death?
‘True healing has never taken place’
Trump has argued his policing reforms will help make America’s communities safer.
Even on a day of optimism, with a community coming together, Levy’s words in front of headstones bearing the names of black people who have died at the hands of the police are a reminder of how deep the racial divides in America still are – a sentiment she leaves me with.
“From the days of slavery and Jim Crow in this country, we’ve just had the perception of healing, but true healing has never taken place,” she says.
“So the aftermath of George Floyd is yet another example of what we already know.”