Sean “Diddy” Combs has issued an apology in response to a 2016 video that appears to show him assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a hotel.
On Sunday morning (May 19), the hip-hop mogul took to social media to share a 70-second video of himself taking responsibility for his actions in the disturbing clip.
“It's so hard to reflect on the darkest moments in your life, but sometimes you have to,” Diddy says in his apology video, which he posted on Instagram. “I was upset. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I find no excuses. My behavior in this video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in this video. loathe. I was disgusted when I did it, I am disgusted now.”
In the video, secured by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs is seen pushing Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kicking her several times while she is lying on the ground and dragging her down the hall.
Combs continued his apology, saying, “I went out and got professional help. I had to go to therapy, to rehab. He had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I am committed to being a better person every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I am really sorry.”
The hip-hop star's apology comes on the heels of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office issuing a statement that Combs will not be prosecuted for his actions in the 2016 video.
“We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon's office wrote in a statement on Instagram on Friday (May 17). “If the behavior depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would not be able to charge as the behavior would have occurred beyond the time frame where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
The statement added that law enforcement has not presented the LA County DA's office with “a case related to the assault depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim of or witnessed a crime to report it to law enforcement or contact our office for support from the Office of Victim Services.”
The content of the video mirrors an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November, in which she also alleged an incident of rape and another incident of Combs forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he was masturbating. .
“The shocking video further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Ventura's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said in a statement sent to Advertising sign. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude Ms. Ventura displayed in bringing this to light.”
Ventura was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they broke up in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his label Bad Boy Records, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” of her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit late last year, Combs has received four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the tycoon stepped down as chairman of digital media company Revolt, before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents raided Combs' LA and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things that they claim,” he said in a statement posted on social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and the truth.”
Watch Diddy's Instagram apology video below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sean-diddy-combs-apology-cassie-ventura-hotel-video-1235687254/
