A towel-clad Sean Combs is seen chasing his then-girlfriend Cassie down a hotel hallway as she flees, throwing her to the ground, kicking her several times and attempting to drag her away, in newly unearthed surveillance video obtained by CNN.
The video footage was dated March 5, 2016, according to the news outlet, and seems to correspond to an alleged incident from a sex trafficking lawsuit filed by Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) last November. Ventura noted in her lawsuit that video of the alleged attack existed, but she believed Combs had paid the hotel $50,000 for the security footage. Rolling Stone has reached out to a representative for Combs for comment.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Ventura’s attorney Douglas Widgor said in a statement. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
The security footage, which has no sound, shows a barefoot Ventura quickly walking out from a hotel room with personal items in her hand while wearing an oversized hoodie. In her lawsuit, Ventura claimed she was at the hotel because Combs had her participate in a “freak-off” — where she was forced to have sex with male sex workers while Combs watched. During the freak-off, Combs “punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye,” the lawsuit claims, and Ventura waited until Combs was asleep to sneak out of the hotel.
Seconds after Ventura leaves the room, a nearly-naked Combs is seen sprinting down the hallway after her. Finding Ventura waiting for the elevator, he forcibly grabs her by the back of her sweater and throws her to the ground and kicks her. As Ventura lies on the floor in a fetal position, Combs picks up her bags and kicks her again. He then begins to drag her back towards the hotel room as Ventura appears to cry out.
Combs lets Ventura go and he proceeds to carry her bags back to the hotel room as she waits near the elevator. Combs then returns and appears to shove her and throw a glass object at her.
In her lawsuit, Ventura said she eventually “managed to get into the elevator, and when she got to the lobby, quickly took a cab to her apartment. Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser.”
This is a developing story
