An attorney representing Casandra “Cassie” Ventura slammed Sean “Diddy” Combs on Sunday, saying the apology video the music mogul released earlier in the day is too little, too late.
Combs posted the apology on Instagram, two days after disturbing hotel surveillance footage surfaced, showing him assaulting a woman said to be Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Meredith Firetog, a partner at New York law firm Wigdor LLP, said Combs’ apology is a sign of the mogul’s “desperation.”
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt,” Firetog said in a statement to Urban Hollywood 411.
“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,” Firetog added.
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CNN posted the surveillance footage online Friday, May 17. The footage was recorded on March 5, 2016.
It showed Diddy chasing a woman down a hallway in the InterContinental Hotel. Once he caught up to the woman, he violently grabbed her by the back of the neck, shoved her to the ground, and kicked her multiple times. He then grabbed her by her sweatshirt and dragged her down the hall.
In his apology video on Sunday, Combs admitted his actions in the surveillance video were “inexcusable.”
He added, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
Ventura detailed the hotel incident in her 35-page civil lawsuit, filed in November.
The sexual abuse complaint alleged Combs paid thousands of dollars to keep the hotel video hidden. “Mr. Combs paid the InterContinental Century City $50,000 for the hallway security footage from that evening,” the lawsuit said.
Diddy settled Ventura’s lawsuit one day after it was filed. The mogul said at the time the settlement was not an “admission of wrongdoing.”
The Bad Boy Records founder has since been sued by three other women and male music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, all alleging sexual abuse.
In a statement in December, Combs insisted he was not guilty of the “awful things” his accusers alleged.
“Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” he said in a statement. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
Combs’ apology video is below:
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