Singer and model Cassie Ventura testified for a third day in New York City for the federal criminal sex trafficking case against hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Ventura, who on Tuesday and Wednesday provided her testimony to prosecutors about the alleged sexual abuse and violence she endured during her years-long relationship with Combs, faced cross-examination from Diddy’s defense team on Thursday. According to CNN, Ventura was questioned in detail about text exchanges with Combs, most notably in March 2016, leading up to one of Diddy’s drug-fueled “freak offs,” just before the now-infamous surveillance video captured the rap star brutally assaulting her in a hotel hallway.
Defense attorney Anna Estevao suggested that Ventura proposed and encouraged the “freak off,” pointing to a message she sent Combs that read: “We can have fun, I don’t want you thinking I don’t want to.” The singer told Diddy to set it up.
However, Ventura pushed back. She explained that Combs repeatedly asked about her plans for the evening, which was his way of proposing the “freak off.” She said that when you are with someone long enough, “You know what they mean when they text certain things.”
Cassie testified that her friends knew about the alleged abuse she suffered from Combs, noting that they sometimes witnessed it. She shared that she also eventually told her parents and brother about the abuse.
Ventura was also questioned about an incident detailed in her civil lawsuit against Diddy in which he allegedly dangled her friend, Bryana “Bana” Bongola, over a balcony.
Estevao suggested that Ventura didn’t actually see the incident when it happened but instead heard about it after the fact, to which Cassie asserted, “I saw what I saw.” When asked if she had taken any drugs that night, Ventura said she could not recall.
Diddy’s defense lawyers also questioned Ventura about her and the hip-hop star’s drug use. She testified that Combs was at times “explosive” when he would find out that she had taken drugs with her friends or had taken his drugs without his knowledge.
“If we weren’t getting high, or if I wasn’t doing it with him, it was a problem,” she testified.
Ventura was also questioned about Diddy’s suspicions that she began dating actor Michael B. Jordan after she briefly broke off their relationship while working on a film in South Africa. Cassie told the defense she did not know how Combs reacted to the alleged romance because she wasn’t with him.
Estevao did not elaborate on the alleged relationship with Jordan and moved on from that line of questioning.
The defense’s cross-examination of Cassie Ventura is expected to continue on Friday. After they conclude, Ventura will testify again under the prosecution’s redirect examination.
Sean “Diddy” Combs faces felony criminal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted of all five counts, he could be sentenced up to life in prison.
