Popular American music executive and rapper, Sean “Diddy” Combs, is facing more intense scrutiny after his ex-girlfriend and R&B singer, Casandra Ventura, told a New York court that the mogul raped her in 2018 and later paid her $20 million to settle the case.

Ventura, who is famously known as Cassie, made the shocking disclosure during her emotional testimony on Wednesday, May 15, 2025, as part of the ongoing criminal trial against Combs, who is standing trial for multiple charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

According to the 38-year-old, the rape happened in her living room shortly after her relationship with Combs ended, following years of alleged emotional and physical abuse.

“I just remember crying and saying no but it was very fast,” she told the court, holding back tears.

Ventura said she filed the lawsuit in November 2023, just months after completing rehab and trauma therapy, prompted by “horrible flashbacks” and suicidal thoughts.

She explained that her decision to speak up publicly was because she could no longer live with the weight of her silence.

“I can’t carry this anymore. I can’t carry the shame, the guilt, the way he treated people like they were disposable,” she said.

“What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong. I came here to do the right thing.”

The court also heard that Combs allegedly beat Ventura during drug-fuelled sex parties known as “Freak Offs”, sometimes threatening to leak footage from the events to ruin her reputation.

“He would grab me up, push me down, hit me in the side of the head, kick me,” she recounted.

In one instance, she said he injured her eye in 2013 by slamming her against a bedframe, only to dismiss her injuries.

During Wednesday’s session, prosecutors reportedly presented seven still photos taken from videos of the alleged “Freak Offs”, but the media was barred from viewing them. One juror reportedly gasped while another looked away in shock.

Jurors were also shown photos of Cassie with visible bruises on her back and legs, allegedly taken by her mother after she was kicked by Combs.

Cassie admitted to sometimes trying to fight back but said it only made the situation worse.

“It would just make him more violent… make him push me harder,” she said, adding that Combs once told her: “It would ruin everything that I had worked for, that it would make me look like a slut.”

Cassie also admitted to using opiates heavily during their relationship and said she suffered PTSD, sleepwalking, and blackouts before finally quitting drugs in 2022.

She is currently pregnant with her third child.

Lawyers representing Combs are expected to cross-examine Ventura on Thursday, with reports suggesting they will try to challenge her credibility by referencing alleged violent behaviour from her end as well.

If found guilty on all counts, Combs, 55, could face a minimum of 15 years to life imprisonment.

Also known by stage names like Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs is the founder of Bad Boy Records, a label credited with launching the careers of major stars like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Usher, and Notorious B.I.G.

He currently faces several civil lawsuits from both women and men, all accusing him of various forms of sexual abuse. While Combs has consistently denied all allegations, he has admitted that some relationships were sexual but insisted they were consensual.

He is currently being held in custody in Brooklyn during the ongoing trial.