Nationwide — Singer and mannequin Cassie Ventura testified this week a few violent incident in August 2013 during which she sustained a deep gash above her eyebrow after being thrown down by Sean “Diddy” Combs throughout an argument in her house. New York Submit stories that Ventura instructed the court docket that Combs was enraged that she had not packed for an upcoming journey, and after a wrestle that concerned two of her pals making an attempt to restrain him, he threw her down onto the nook of her mattress, inflicting the eyebrow damage. She was taken to a plastic surgeon the identical day by one in all Combs’ safety guards and nonetheless has a everlasting scar that she now conceals with make-up.
The testimony is a part of an ongoing federal investigation into Combs, who’s dealing with a number of lawsuits and accusations associated to sexual assault, abuse, and human trafficking. Ventura’s detailed recollection provides to the mounting authorized stress surrounding the hip-hop mogul, who has denied all allegations. Her courtroom statements mark one of many first occasions she has publicly spoken below oath in regards to the abuse she claims to have endured throughout their relationship.
Ventura described waking as much as Combs screaming and aggressively confronting her in her house. “He was yelling about me being asleep and never having packed,” she stated. The scenario escalated rapidly, and when her two pals intervened by leaping on his again to guard her, the confrontation moved from the lounge to the master suite. That’s the place Combs allegedly threw her to the bottom, inflicting the eyebrow damage.
After the assault, Ventura stated she texted Combs a photograph of her bloodied face with the message, “So you’ll be able to bear in mind.” She defined on the stand that she hoped he would acknowledge the seriousness of his actions. “On the very least, I simply wished him to be sorry about it,” she stated. Regardless of the incident, she stayed silent publicly on the time, a choice she now says was motivated by concern and emotional manipulation.
Jurors have been proven a photograph of Ventura attending a music pageant shortly after the incident, the place she appeared alongside rapper French Montana. She testified that she deliberately styled her hair to cowl the wound, concealing it from public view. “I didn’t need individuals asking questions,” she stated, including that she was already making an attempt to mentally deal with the trauma.
Ventura’s testimony is seen as a pivotal second within the broader authorized case towards Combs, which has drawn nationwide consideration. Prosecutors are utilizing her account, together with proof from different alleged victims, to ascertain a sample of violence and coercion. Because the case unfolds, Ventura’s voice is including gas to a reckoning that has shaken the leisure business and raised critical questions on accountability and abuse of energy.