The Manhattan courtroom was heavy with tension on Tuesday, May 13, as the world got a deeper look into the shocking atrocities allegedly committed by music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, 38, once his protégée and longtime partner, spoke as the star witness in the federal sex trafficking, racketeering, and abuse case brought against Combs.
Her account described graphic, emotional, and detailed scenes of the control, violence, and exploitation she allegedly endured.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution, appeared in court with a calm look and was flanked by his legal team and supported by his mother, Janice Combs, and six of his children.
The Backstory
Ventura first met Combs in the mid-2000s, when she was a rising singer and he was a powerful industry figure. However, what began as a professional relationship quickly turned romantic, and then controlling and abusive.
“Control was everything,” she told the jury. “From how I looked to who I could talk to. If I made the wrong face, I was hit. He controlled my hairstyle, my breast size, my piercings, everything.”
According to Ventura, Combs once directed staff to remove her belongings from properties he paid for when she disobeyed him. “If I was a brat or something, he would tell me to ‘fix my face’ or ‘watch my mouth,’” she testified.
Perhaps the most shocking allegations were centered around what Ventura and others described as “freak offs,” which were multi-day sex parties hosted by Combs that allegedly involved escorts, drugs, violence, and humiliation.
Ventura testified that these encounters began in the first year of their relationship. “He wanted to watch me with another man,” she said. “I didn’t understand how that was a turn-on, but I accepted it because I was in love and wanted to make him happy.”
Eventually, the events grew into elaborate spectacles involving multiple participants, excessive drug use, ecstasy, marijuana, ketamine, mushrooms, and baby oil.
“He would have us apply heated baby oil every five minutes,” she recalled of an event at the Montage Beverly Hills. “We used at least 10 bottles. There was once an inflatable pool filled with it.”
According to Ventura, Combs insisted that she participate even while menstruating. “He wanted that. Blood would get on the linens,” she testified, adding, “I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated.”
In one of the most disturbing moments of her testimony, she described being forced to endure a man urinating in her mouth while Combs watched and masturbated. “I choked. I didn’t want to do it. Sean urinated on me too. I was humiliated,” she said. “I thought it was obvious that I didn’t want to do it.”
Ventura also recounted physical abuse, including a 2016 attack at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. After walking out of a “freak off” before it concluded, she said Combs followed her into the hallway, threw her to the ground, kicked her, and dragged her back to the room.
“I had a movie premiere coming up,” she explained. “If I pleased him with a freak off, my premiere would go smoothly.”
She left the hotel with a black eye. The incident was captured on hotel surveillance footage, later published by CNN in 2024. Despite Combs’ legal team arguing the footage was misleading due to editing speed, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled it admissible. Prosecutor Geragos called it “overwhelming evidence of domestic violence.”
Officer Israel Florez, then a security guard at the InterContinental, testified that Combs tried to bribe him with “a stack of money” to look the other way. He declined to call the police only because Ventura refused to answer questions and said she just wanted to leave.
On May 12, Daniel Phillip, a male escort and former stripper, testified that he was paid several thousand dollars to have sex with Ventura while Combs watched, masturbated, and sometimes joined in.
“We rubbed baby oil on each other,” Phillip said. “He was sitting in the corner in a robe and bandanna. I recognized his voice.”
Phillip said this happened multiple times at hotels like the Gramercy Hotel and in Combs’ homes. Sometimes, Combs recorded the conversations, and sometimes, he threatened Ventura with the tapes.
Phillip also testified to witnessing Combs drag Ventura by her hair into a room, where “slapping” noises followed. “She was screaming,” he said. “It was terrifying.”
After another violent episode at the Essex House hotel in New York, Phillip said Ventura tried to downplay the attack. “She sat in my lap and said, ‘I’ll be OK,’” he said. “But I told her she was in real danger.”
Prosecutor Emily Johnson painted Combs as a kingpin who used his businesses and inner circle to facilitate criminal activity, describing him as someone who expected everyone around him to cater to his every whim.
“He used his companies to manipulate women, forcing them into sex acts while he watched,” she said. “He beat Ventura brutally when she dared defy him.”
According to Johnson, Combs once threatened to release humiliating footage of Ventura if she ever left or disobeyed him again.
In contrast, defense attorney Teny Geragos said the case was about turning “a flawed man’s private sex life into a criminal enterprise.” She admitted Combs was “mean,” had “anger issues,” and used drugs, but denied criminal conduct.
“This case is about consensual sex, not trafficking,” Geragos told the court. “The government wants to make being a jerk illegal. That’s not how justice works.”
What’s Next
The trial is ongoing in Manhattan federal court with a jury of eight men and four women. Presiding Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors he hopes the trial concludes by July 4, 2025, though delays may occur.
Ventura’s testimony is a wake-up call to those suffering in silence, hidden under fame, money, or control.
“I felt worthless. I felt like I couldn’t get out,” she said. “But now I’m here.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual abuse, please reach out to trusted support systems.
