Cassie Ventura recounts alleged rape, abuse, and trauma during 11-year relationship with Combs, saying she can “no longer carry the shame and guilt”
The federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs reached a harrowing climax on Wednesday as singer and former partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura took the stand for her final testimony, breaking down as she recounted alleged rape, psychological abuse, and years of trauma.
During the final leg of her cross-examination, Ventura described a chilling 2018 encounter with Combs after their breakup. Though the two shared what she described as a cordial and even playful dinner in Malibu meant for “closure,” the night took a disturbing turn after Combs drove her home.
“He raped me in my living room,” Ventura said quietly, her voice trembling. She testified that despite repeatedly saying “no,” Combs continued, his eyes turning “black” as he assaulted her. “I was crying, saying no. It was very fast,” she said. He allegedly ejaculated inside her and left immediately afterward.
When asked by federal prosecutor Emily Johnson why she later had consensual sex with Combs, Ventura replied, “We had been together for over 10 years. You don’t just turn feelings off that way.”
Ventura, now married to personal trainer Alex Fine, described the deep psychological toll of her relationship with Combs. She said in early 2023, while living with her husband and their two children and expecting a third, she spiraled into a mental health crisis, suffering intense PTSD flashbacks.
“I didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she told the court, tearing up as she recalled a moment when she tried to walk into traffic before her husband stopped her. “I told him, ‘You could do it without me.’”
Ventura eventually entered trauma therapy and addiction rehab. After completing her program, she began writing a memoir with her mother’s support — a way to process what she called years of sexual exploitation, including being coerced into Combs’ alleged drug-fueled “freak-offs.”
She had her attorney send the manuscript to Combs’ legal team. “It wasn’t taken seriously,” she said. “I wanted him to understand the pain he put me through.”
In November 2023, Ventura filed a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of rape and long-term abuse. Though the suit was settled just 24 hours later, with Ventura receiving a $20 million payout from Combs and his companies, she took the stand this week in the federal trial against him — where he now faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could lead to life in prison.
Asked why she chose to testify despite the previous settlement, Ventura said: “I’m here to do the right thing. I can’t carry this anymore — the shame, the guilt.”
Combs continues to deny all allegations made against him. The trial remains ongoing.