R&B singer Cassie Ventura described the first time Sean “Diddy” Combs savagely beat her nearly 20 years ago as she testified in the hip-hop mogul’s federal sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Ventura, 38, told jurors in the high-profile case that the violent attack erupted inside an Escalade SUV in 2007 after she shrugged her shoulders at Combs, her then-boyfriend, as he flirted with another woman inside a restaurant.
“When we got in the car, he knocked me around,” said Ventura – who would have been about 21-years-old at the time of the vicious beating, which she said unfolded in front of Combs’ security guard and driver.
“He hit me on the side of the head, he knocked me to the floor of the car.”
Ventura testified that she was “shocked” and confused by Combs’ explosive reaction – later recounting another rage-filled outburst while the pair were driving around Los Angeles, California.
The married mother of two, who is eight months pregnant with her third child, said Combs’ “eyes went black” after she hit him for calling her a “slut or b—h or something.”
He then started “stomping on my face with his foot” during the 10-minute car ride – where she attempted to “defend” and “cover” herself as he ruthlessly attacked, Ventura recalled.
Sean “Diddy” Combs listens as his former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura testifies as a video from a hotel is played at his sex trafficking trial in NYC on May 14, 2025. REUTERS“I had never experienced anything like that, when I was really badly beaten,” said Ventura, who described bottling out of the car and down the street as Combs’ security guard caught up to her and brought her inside the musician’s home, where she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Singer Britney Spears, Rapper P. Diddy and Singer Cassie pose for photos at Cassie’s 21st Birthday at Jet Nightclub at The Mirage Hotel and Casino on September 08, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. WireImage“I didn’t look like myself at all. I was swollen, everything, it was horrible.”
Ventura said she “was vomiting” when Combs entered the room and saw her – later working with his team to sneak her out of the house and put her up at the London Hotel for a week.
Follow the latest on Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ federal sex-trafficking trial:
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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura reacts during testimony to prosecutor Emily Johnson at Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 13, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERSShe told the rapt Manhattan federal jury she was isolated from everyone except her stylist and was instructed by Combs to stay inside and cover her face – despite her pleas to leave the hotel.
Ventura’s testimony is the key part of prosecutors’ case against the disgraced hip-hopper and producer, who is accused of trafficking women for sex during so-called “freak-offs” and other crimes.
The pair were together for 11 years.
He has pleaded not guilty and could face up to life in prison, if convicted.
