Cassie tells court ‘freak offs’ became like a job as she alleges years of abuse by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former girlfriend Cassie has told his sex-trafficking trial that “freak offs” with male escorts became like a job, as the music mogul allegedly abused and sexually exploited her for years.
The musician and model, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, did not look at Combs as she took to the witness stand in court in Manhattan, New York.
Over about six hours, the 38-year-old, who is eight months pregnant with her third child with husband Alex Fine, at times became emotional as she alleged she was degraded by her former partner during their 10-year on-off relationship.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 2 – As it happened
Combs made a heart gesture to family members in court. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
Ms Ventura became emotional at times. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty and strenuously denied allegations of sexual abuse. His lawyers argue that although he could be violent, he never veered into sex trafficking and racketeering, and that all sexual encounters were consensual.
Ms Ventura, who is the central witness in the prosecutors’ case, began by telling the jury how Combs was violent to her over the course of their relationship, giving her black eyes and bruises.
The hip-hop star became increasingly controlling, she said, and was allegedly abusive over the smallest perceived slights. “You make the wrong face, and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she said.
Ms Ventura was 19 when she signed to his label, Bad Boy, she said, and 22 when, during the first year of their relationship, Combs first proposed a “freak off” – a sexual encounter with a third party. Her “stomach churned”, she said, and she was “confused, nervous, but also loved him very much” and wanted to please him. She described him as “charming” but “polarising”.
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Combs’s family arrive for Day 2
‘There was no space to do anything else’
Throughout her time on the stand, she gave graphic details of these drug and drink-fuelled encounters with male escorts, saying Combs would watch and masturbate, and often record the encounters and watch the videos back.
They could last for hours or even days, she said – telling the court the longest went on for four days. They ended up becoming weekly events and took priority over her music career, jurors heard. While she had hits with singles Me & U and Long Way 2 Go in 2006, and signed a 10-album deal with Bad Boy, jurors heard she only released one album.
“Freak-offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again,” Ms Ventura said. Each time, she added, she had to recuperate from lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs “and other substances”, and “having sex with a stranger for days”.
Read more:
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Everything you need to know about the trial
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2017. Pic: zz/XPX/STAR MAX/IPx 2017/AP
Alleged violence detailed in court
Ms Ventura told the court she began feeling as if she could not say no to Combs’s demands because “there were blackmail materials to make me feel like if I didn’t do it, it would be held over my head in that way or these things would become public”.
She was also worried about potential violence, she told the court. When asked in court how frequently Combs became violent with her, Ms Ventura responded: “Too frequently.”
The rapper “would mash me in the head, knock me over, drag me, kick me”, she said. “Stomp me in the head if I was down”.
Ms Ventura also told the court that Combs kept cash, jewellery, guns and “sometimes tapes from cameras” in safes at several properties in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Alpine, New Jersey.
“The guns came out here and there. I always felt it was a little bit of a scare tactic,” she told the court.
This footage from 2016 was made public in 2024. Pic: CNN via AP
Towards the end of her first day of evidence, a surveillance video made public last year, which showed Combs allegedly beating Ms Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, was played to jurors in court for a second time.
“How many times has he thrown you like that before?” prosecutor Emily Johnson asked her.
“Too many to count,” Ms Ventura replied.
On Monday, prosecutors in their opening statement told the court that while Combs’s public persona was that of a “charismatic” hip-hop mogul, behind the scenes he was violent and abusive.
His defence lawyers argued that the case is really about nothing more than the rapper’s sexual preferences, which they said should remain private, and do not make him a sex trafficker.
The trial is to last about eight weeks.
Ms Ventura is set to continue giving evidence on Wednesday.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show will return to ABC affiliates belonging to Sinclair and Nexstar after the two major network operators took his programme off-air over his comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Kimmel was accused of being “offensive and insensitive” after using his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the killing.
Disney-owned ABC suspended the show last week following threats of potential repercussions from the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission.
Sinclair, which controls 38 ABC affiliates from Seattle to Washington DC, called on Kimmel to apologise to Mr Kirk’s family over the comments and asked him to “make a meaningful personal donation” to Turning Point USA, the nonprofit that the conservative activist founded.
Actor Gregg Donovan holds a sign that says “Welcome Back Jimmy”. Pic: AP
On Tuesday, Disney announced the return of the programme after backlash to its suspension, but both Sinclair and Nexstar, which own more than 20% of ABC affiliates, initially said they would not resume airing the show.
Kimmel criticised the ABC affiliates who preempted his show during his TV return, saying: “That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American.”
Three days later, the two major network operators announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live would return to their TV stations after the week-long boycott.
The move came after Sinclair received “thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders”.
In its statement, the company pointed to its “responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honouring our obligations to air national network programming.”
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Protests held outside company buildings in support of Kimmel
Nexstar, which controls 28 ABC affiliates from Kansas to New Orleans, said in a similar statement that it was airing content that is “in the best interest of the communities we serve”.
Both companies said their decisions were not affected by influence from the Trump administration or anyone else.
The president had criticised the programme’s return on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that he “can’t believe” ABC gave Kimmel his show back and hinted at further action.
“Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” Mr Trump wrote.
“He is yet another arm of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this.”
Donald Trump criticised the return of Kimmel’s show. Pic: Reuters
During Kimmel’s first show since being taken off-air, the presenter said it was “never my intention to make light of” Mr Kirk’s death.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said as he choked up.
“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make”.
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Speaking on Tuesday night’s show, Kimmel said he understood why the remarks “felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both”.
New episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live air Monday to Thursday, and Friday night’s rerun will be of Tuesday’s show, meaning viewers of Sinclair stations will be able to watch Kimmel’s emotional return to the air.
The Prince of Wales has told Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy that 2024 was the “hardest year” of his life.
The future king told the Hollywood star about last year, which saw his wife, the Princess of Wales, and his father, the King, both undergoing treatment for cancer.
The pair were catching up over a pint in a pub as part of Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy, which will air next month.
The Prince of Wales and Eugene Levy in a pub in Windsor. Pic: PA
In the episode Living The Royal Life In The UK, William tells Levy: “I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had.
“Life is said to test us as well and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”
Eugene Levy and the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
The preview of the episode also saw Levy invited to “pop down” to Windsor Castle for a private tour by the prince.
Levy, 78, can be seen reading out an invitation saying: “I heard that your travels have brought you to the UK and I wondered if you might like to see Windsor Castle?
“If you’re free at 10 tomorrow, why don’t you pop down to the Castle for a private tour.
“Would be great to see you!”
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Pic: PA
After touring the castle, Levy asks William what he does when he is at home, and the prince laughs and replies: “Sleep. When you have three small children, sleep is an important part of my life.”
New episodes of The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy will premiere weekly until the finale on 31 October 2025.
The special episode with William will air on 3 October.
Entertainment
Wallace and Gromit creator talks clay and creativity – as he returns home to reopen museum
It’s hard to believe it’s 35 years since a plasticine man in a sweater and slippers, along with his voiceless, but hugely expressive dog, burst on to our screens and won the hearts of millions with their mix of humour, charm and nostalgia.
Wallace and Gromit managed to be both familiar and fresh, and their modest creator Nick Park couldn’t have foreseen how their handmade adventures would change the world of animation and make Wensleydale cheese internationally famous.
But three decades on and Preston-born Park is beginning to realise that his flair for feel-good filmmaking has made him a very big deal.
Nick Park picking up the special recognition award for Wallace and Gromit at this year’s National Television Awards. Pic: PA
Oscar wins and box office hits aside, his latest accolade, in the Lancashire city where he was born and bred, clearly means a lot.
A new Wallace and Gromit exhibition is being showcased at the Harris Museum, which Park visited frequently growing up.
A life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit’s living room
The historic landmark looms large over the city centre and is filled with artefacts and treasures that inspired him as a boy.
He was drawn to the library and devoured books on his favourite subject, you guessed it, animation.
The museum has been closed for four years as part of a £19m revamp. And who better to re-open it this weekend than Park.
The exhibition features a raft of items
As we meet at the exhibition, he tells me he was a quiet child who loved drawing. Visits to the museum helped shape his creativity and storytelling.
He said: “I used to love spending a day around here looking at all the artefacts, the paintings. I used to come to the library here, there was no internet, and so I would look for books on animation.
“I would scour the library for anything I could get my hands on.”
We chat in a life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit’s living room. The wallpaper, standing lamp and armchair are so familiar.
Park says it’s like sitting in one of his own sets.
The living room was actually based on his grandma’s house, which he describes as a cosy 1960s home. And as he sits in the chair with his cup of tea, he jokes that he’s now turned into Wallace.
He said: “I feel like I’m made of clay, sitting on a replica set, it’s just incredible.”
The Wrong Trousers, released in 1993, took home the Oscar for best animated short film
But that’s the joy of his films – the personal touch. And whilst they’re unmistakably Northern, inspired by Park’s family and upbringing, they’re also universally relatable.
He said: “I used to draw from my own childhood a lot, and that’s what inspired me. Because it feels true to do that.
“So, I went to memories of my granny, the lamp stand that my granny had and other objects, toasters, clocks, you name it.”
The exhibition opens on Sunday and will run until January
Park is now arguably as famous as his much-loved characters. Something he seems to be finally getting used to.
He says he’s honoured and a little overwhelmed that his hometown holds him and his clay creations so close to his heart.
He said: “I was a shy teenager, and just talking about this hobby, I never imagined they would become household names.
“So, to have statues of my characters in the centre of town and now to be opening this newly refurbished exhibition and my own exhibition. To be here with my own characters, it’s just crazy.”
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I ask what this stop motion supremo makes of the use of AI and technology in film.
He said: “We need to hang onto our values, there’s something about handmade quality that gives everything charm and appeal.
“It would probably be wrong to completely ignore that.”
The exhibition is immersive and emotive. Being up close and personal with the models, drawings, and characters evokes the same feelings as the films do. Warmth, humour and nostalgia.
A journey through the formative years of a young filmmaker and the birth of one of cinema’s unlikeliest heroes.
Park is now inspiring the next generation of storytellers and filmmakers at the museum, which played such an important part in his own success story.
Wallace and Gromit in A Case at the Museum Exhibition opens on Sunday and runs until January.
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