Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, testified on Wednesday that the music mogul raped her in 2018 following the end of their decade-long relationship. Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie, also told the court that Combs paid her a $20 million settlement to resolve a civil lawsuit she filed against him in November 2023—just 24 hours after the case was lodged.

The testimony was delivered on the third day of Combs’ criminal trial, where the 55-year-old artist has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and could be sentenced to life.

Ventura, 38, grew emotional as she recounted the alleged rape in her living room, telling jurors, “I just remember crying and saying no, but it was very fast.” She said she filed the lawsuit nine months after beginning trauma therapy to deal with “horrible flashbacks” and suicidal thoughts.

Asked why she chose to testify, Ventura replied, “I can’t carry this anymore. I can’t carry the shame, the guilt, the way he treated people like they were disposable. What’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong. I came here to do the right thing.”

Combs’ legal team is expected to begin cross-examining Ventura on Thursday, a process that may take two days. His lawyers have indicated they intend to question her about what they have described as her own history of domestic violence.

Wearing a turtleneck dress and dark jacket, Ventura took the stand for the second day as the prosecution’s key witness. Combs appeared in court dressed in a cream sweater and collared white shirt, flanked by his mother and two of his children.

Ventura testified that Combs physically abused her during drug-fuelled sex parties referred to as “Freak Offs,” claiming he would threaten to release compromising videos of her and destroy her career.

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

She also described a 2013 incident in which Combs allegedly threw her against a bed frame, leaving a gash above her eyebrow. When she confronted him with a photo of the injury, Ventura said Combs replied, “You. Don’t know. When to. Stop. You have pushed it too far and continue to push. Sad.”

Prosecutors presented jurors with seven still images taken from videos of the so-called “Freak Offs,” featuring Ventura and other women. One juror visibly recoiled, while another leaned back sharply after viewing the photos.

Jurors were also shown photos taken by Ventura’s mother, depicting bruises on Ventura’s back and legs, allegedly caused by Combs kicking her.

Ventura told the court that resisting Combs often escalated the violence. “It would just make him more violent, make him stronger, make him want to push me harder,” she said. “He said that it would ruin everything that I had worked for, that it would make me look like a slut. That I would be shamed. Nobody should do that to anyone.”

She admitted to initiating physical confrontations with Combs at times but said she never noticed any injuries on him. Ventura also testified that she was heavily addicted to opiates during their relationship and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, sleepwalking, and blackouts by the time the relationship ended.

Faridah Abdulkadiri

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