Former Bad Boy Records rapper Shyne has taken aim at Sean “Diddy” Combs, after the music mogul was shown on surveillance video from 2016, physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
The ex-rapper is now an opposition leader in the Belize House of Representatives, and in recent weeks has made a series of comments distancing himself from Combs.
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In a strongly-worded statement posted to Instagram on May 19, Shyne criticized Combs for attacking Cassie.
“I vehemently denounce the repugnant behavior of Sean Diddy Combs captured on the video in which he is seen physically assaulting Mrs. Cassie Ventura-Fine,” he wrote. “There is no place for Violence against Women anywhere on the planet. As a father of a precious daughter, a global citizen and the next prime minister of Belize, I want absolutely nothing to do with people who engage in this pattern of diabolical behavior.”
He continued by voicing support for Cassie and others who’ve alleged in a string of recent civil lawsuits that they were abused by Combs.
“My prayers are with Cassie and all the other victims who have come forward with horrendous allegations against Mr. Combs,” Shyne added.
Shyne, whose legal name is Moses Michael Levi Barrow, was convicted of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession for a 1999 New York City nightclub shooting involving Combs. He served eight years in prison and was deported back to his homeland of Belize.
Combs was found not guilty of all charges.
The rapper-turned-politician held a news conference in April and told reporters in Belize that he was a “fall guy” for Combs in the after the 1999 shooting.
“I’ve been saying this all along. Everyone knew all along that I was the fall guy,” Shyne said. “I maintained that I never shot nobody, that there were other guns there, I have always said that and that has not changed.”
Combs issued an apology on May 19 amid public outcry over the hotel footage, which showed him pushing, kicking and dragging Cassie down a hallway at the now-closed InterContinental Century City hotel in Los Angeles.
“I was fu–ed up. I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” he said in the apology video posted on Instagram. “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.”
An attorney representing Cassie slammed the statement and said it was too little, too late.
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt,” Meredith Firetog, a partner at New York law firm Wigdor LLP, 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.
Ventura detailed the hotel incident in her November lawsuit. The sexual abuse complaint alleged Combs paid 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. An attorney for the mogul said at the time the settlement was not an “admission of wrongdoing.”
