Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized on Sunday, following the release of a video showing him attacking ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Combs said in a video statement posted to Instagram. “I was fu–ed up. I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is 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.”
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Meredith Firetog — a partner at New York law firm Wigdor LLP, which represents Ventura — said the apology video is a sign of Diddy’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.”
CNN posted the surveillance video online Friday, May 17. The footage has a timestamp saying it was recorded on March 5, 2016.
The video shows a woman said to be Cassie, walking barefoot out of a room at the InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles. Dressed in a hooded sweatshirt, the woman is carrying her bags and quickly walks toward the elevators.
Wearing only a towel and socks, Diddy chases her down the hallway. Once he catches up to the woman, he violently grabs her by the back of the neck, shoves her to the ground, and kicks her multiple times. He then grabs her by her sweatshirt and drags her down the hall.
Another camera angle shows Diddy sitting in his room while still wearing the towel and throwing an object at the woman.
Ventura detailed the hotel incident in her 35-page civil lawsuit, filed on Nov. 16, 2023.
Combs settled the lawsuit one day after it was filed. The music mogul said at the time that the agreement was not an “admission of wrongdoing.”
Ventura’s 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.
The lawsuit noted that the incident happened “around March 2016,” during “an FO.” Ventura explained in her sexual abuse suit that an “FO” or “freak off” was an encounter with male sex workers that Combs allegedly forced her to participate in, as he watched and recorded.
In a statement to Urban Hollywood 411 on Friday, Ventura’s attorney Douglas H. Wigdor reacted to the hotel video.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor said.
Ventura’s lawsuit was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA). The landmark law created a one-year lookback window allowing adult victims of sexual abuse to pursue claims in court.
Three other women filed lawsuits against Combs in the days that followed. The mogul called the allegations “sickening” and insisted he was innocent.
“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 December. “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.”
In February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a suit accusing Combs of sexual assault and harassment. The mogul maintained his innocence.
The bombshell complaint has a trigger warning on the front page noting that it contains “graphic images of the aftermath of a shooting, redacted images of sexual intercourse, redacted images of minors, sex workers and prostitutes, details of sex trafficking, and the illegal distribution of guns, and drugs.”
Shawn Holley, an attorney representing Combs, called the claims in Jones’ lawsuit “complete lies.”
On March 25, federal agents raided Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami in connection with a sex trafficking investigation. He was not arrested.
Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Combs, called the raids “a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
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