Diddy Responds to Video of Cassie’s Assault: A Timeline of Allegations Against the Rapper

Diddy has responded to disturbing footage of the rapper assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016. This hotel surveillance camera tape is the latest update following a string of allegations against him.

In March 2024, we learned that two homes owned by Sean Combs, better known to music fans as Diddy, were raided as part of an ongoing human trafficking investigation, according to CNN. The raids were carried out simultaneously in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

Per CNN, it is unclear whether Combs himself was specifically targeted; a source told the outlet that they were unable to reveal more information given the sensitive nature of the investigation.

It’s a fast-moving story, but here is a timeline of everything we know so far about the Diddy assault allegations.

November 16, 2023: Singer Cassie Ventura files a lawsuit accusing Combs of physical and sexual abuse that lasted for years, according to the Associated Press (AP). The pair dated on and off for over a decade between 2007 and 2018.

Through his lawyer, Combs denies the accusations. After Ventura’s lawsuit goes public, others come forward with similar lawsuits that also accuses the music mogul of sexual assault.

November 17, 2023: Ventura and Combs settle their lawsuit, according to separate statements obtained by CNN. “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love,” Combs says, per the news outlet.

As for Ventura, she says, “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans, and lawyers for their unwavering support.”

The settlement amount is not disclosed.

November 18, 2023: Ben Brafman, one of Combs’s lawyers, denies that settling the lawsuit equates to an “admission of wrongdoing” in a statement to CNN.

“A decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Brafman says. “Mr. Combs’s decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”

December 6, 2023: A woman identified as Jane Doe in legal documents becomes the fourth person to accuse Diddy of sexual assault—specifically, gang rape—as well as sex trafficking, per the AP. She alleges that in 2003, Harve Pierre, then president of Combs’s Bad Boy Records, flew her on a private jet from Detroit to New York, where Combs, Pierre, and a third man raped her when she was 17, a minor.

In a statement published on Instagram on December 6, Combs denies all accusations of sexual assault, writing, “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth.”

Police and Homeland Security officers are seen at the waterfront mansion of Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, in Miami during a bicoastal raid on March 25, 2024, in Miami Beach, Florida.

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March 25, 2024: Federal agents for the department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York raid Combs’s homes in Miami and LA, according to ABC News, as part of an “ongoing investigation” led by the Southern District of New York. Sources in law enforcement told the outlet that the investigation is related to alleged human trafficking. Rolling Stone reports that four Jane Does and one John Doe have already sat with investigators for interviews related to alleged sex trafficking, domestic violence, and racketeering.

According to NBC News, Combs was in Florida at the time of the raids, and his phones were seized by the authorities ahead of his scheduled trip to the Bahamas. Later that same day, TMZ publishes video of Combs apparently at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, reportedly just a few hours after the searches were executed at his homes.

Rolling Stone reports that Brendan Paul, who was accused in a recent lawsuit of being Combs’s drug “mule,” was arrested at 4:30 p.m. at Miami-Opa Locka airport on cocaine and marijuana possession charges. According to the arrest affidavit, police were working alongside Homeland Security agents when the arrest was made. At this time it is unclear if the arrest is related to the investigation into Combs.

March 26, 2024: TMZ publishes photos of Combs’s private jet landing in Antigua, though Combs himself did not appear to be on board the plane.

In the wake of the raids, a lawyer for Cassie and another unnamed alleged victim release a statement to Good Morning America, per ABC: “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law…. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”

March 27, 2024: Fans find and resurface a 2016 Howard Stern interview with singer Usher, who lived with Combs when he was a teenager starting out in the music business. In the clip he is vague about what he saw there, saying, “There were very curious things taking place.”

That same day Combs’s lawyer issues a statement, calling the raid an “excessive show” and an “ambush” that was executed as a media spectacle. He notes that Combs was never detained and says the rapper is cooperating with authorities. The lawyer describes allegations against Diddy as a “witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits” and reiterates that his client is “innocent.”

May 17, 2024 (Part I): People reports that Combs’s alleged drug mule Brendan Paul has accepted a plea deal on cocaine and marijuana possession charges. “Brendan accepted the prosecutor’s offer to permit his entry into the diversion program which, after completion, the case against him will be dismissed in its entirety,” Paul’s attorney Brian Bieber said in a statement.

May 17, 2024 (Part II): CNN shares a graphic surveillance video of Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura on March 5, 2016. In the video, Combs can be seen chasing after Ventura in a hotel hallway wearing nothing but socks and a towel around his waist. When Combs catches up to Ventura by the elevators, he can be seen pulling her to the ground by the neck of her hoodie before kicking her multiple times and attempting to drag her away.

The video later shows Ventura picking up a phone in the elevator bank before being shoved by Combs. Through a mirror, Combs can then be seen sitting in a chair and throwing something (presumably) toward Ventura.

This footage appears to match an incident described in Ventura’s lawsuit, which occurred “around March 2016.” According to the lawsuit, Combs punched Ventura in the face “while extremely intoxicated” at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City. Once Combs was asleep, Ventura attempted to leave the hotel. However, Combs woke up and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her.”

Per CNN, the complaint continued, “He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape.” The lawsuit also claimed Combs paid the since-closed hotel $50,000 for security footage of the incident.

Once CNN aired the footage in May 2024, Ventura’s lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor shared the following statement: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

May 18, 2024: The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office releases a statement explaining why Diddy will not be charged for assaulting Cassie in 2016. Noting that the footage was “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the DA’s office claims the incident has exceeded the statute of limitations.

“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” the office said in the social media statement. “As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”

May 19, 2024: In a new Instagram post, Diddy apologized for his “inexcusable” actions against Cassie Ventura, which were depicted in the recently released footage from 2016. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life,” he began the short video message. “Sometimes you got to do that. I was fucked up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”

Diddy went on to say he takes “full responsibility” for his actions “in that video,” though he didn’t expand on any other allegations. “I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now,” he continued. “I went and I sought professional help. Going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace.”

He concluded, “I’m so sorry, but I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

This story will be updated.