Former Danity Kane singers Aubrey O’Day and Dawn Richard have voiced support for Cassie Ventura after she filed a sexual abuse lawsuit on Thursday against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Combs signed O’Day and Richard to Bad Boy Records when they competed on the MTV reality series Making the Band in 2005.
On Thursday, the two singers reacted on social media to Cassie’s federal lawsuit against Combs alleging rape, sexual battery, and human trafficking.
“Praying for Cassie and her family, for peace and healing. You are beautiful and brave,” Richard wrote on X (formerly Twitter), shortly after news of the lawsuit broke.
Related Story: Diddy Settles Sex Abuse Lawsuit With Cassie After One Day
In a 2019 interview with Variety, O’Day called working with Diddy, also known as Puff Daddy, a “scary” experience.
“We were scared to death with what would happen with Puff each day,” she told the outlet. “There was just no room for error. Diddy was one of the most intense people you could ever work with. I experienced everything from race [remarks] to sexism and a lot of it was scary.”
In a December 2022 interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, O’Day said Combs fired her from Danity Kane because she declined his advances, and “wasn’t willing to do what was expected.”
On Thursday, the singer reminded her Instagram followers that she’d previously spoken out against Combs.
“Been trynna tell y’all for years. Prayers up for this queen @cassie,” she wrote in an Instagram Story.
O’Day reiterated her support for Ventura in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“I am in full support of Cassie. It isn’t easy to take on one of the most powerful people in this industry and be honest about your experience with them. I know what her heart is feeling right now, because I have done so as well,” she said. “May her voice bring all the others to the table, so we can start having more transparent conversations about what is actually happening behind the scenes. There is a lot more to all of our stories!”
Her former Danity Kane groupmate, D. Woods, offered support to Ventura in a post on Instagram Friday.
“Self worth, peace of mind and the right to speak your TRUTH,” Woods wrote in her statement. “Cassie @Cassie, you are incredibly brave to shine light on what you endured in the dark. I’m sorry you had to go through this alone. I’m praying for your continued strength and I offer my full support to you.”
Ventura, 37, said in her lawsuit that she met Combs in 2005, when she was 19 and he was almost 20 years older. He signed her to his label and the two dated on-and-off for about a decade.
The court documents allege Combs, 54, “often punched, beat, kicked and stomped on Ms. Ventura, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding.”
The suit also said he introduced her “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse,” and coerced her “to engage in a fantasy of his called ‘voyeurism,’” in which she had sex with male prostitutes, while Combs allegedly filmed the encounters.
The lawsuit lists a string of luxury hotels in New York City and Los Angeles where the “voyeurism” encounters allegedly occurred, and alleges Combs would masturbate while watching the sex acts.
Combs’ attorney Ben Brafman responded to the filing by accusing Ventura of trying to blackmail and shake down the music mogul.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” Brafman said. “For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail.”
Ventura’s lawyer released a statement to the media claiming Combs offered the “Me & U” singer eight figures to keep quiet.
The lawsuit contains a “trigger warning” on the first page, and says Ventura needed intense psychological counseling after leaving Combs.
