Cassie began her fourth day of testimony in the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial on Friday, May 16, by discussing the 2016 incident where he physically assaulted her at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
The singer, 38, said she doesn’t remember “a whole lot” about the incident but agreed with defense attorney Anna Estevao that Diddy, 55, was “intoxicated” when it happened. (Diddy, who was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied the allegations against him.)
The defense showed a text message Cassie sent Diddy afterward that read, “When you get f***ed up the wrong way you always want to show that you have the power.” Days later, Diddy texted his then-girlfriend that he was “so horny” for her. After seeing this text in court, Cassie said it was “strange” for him to text her that so soon after the physical assault.
Cassie went on to claim that Diddy took her phone on multiple occasions during their relationship and looked through it, including once in 2016 when he believed she was dating a professional football player during one of their breaks. When Cassie returned home without her phone, her mother called the police.
The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs began in New York City on May 5 following his September 2024 arrest on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. The process began with jury selection, which was finalized on May 12 before opening arguments started that same day. Diddy, 55, has pleaded […]
Friday marked Cassie’s fourth day in a row of testifying against her ex-boyfriend. Judge Arun Subramanian had previously warned the defense to quickly wrap up their questioning of Cassie because she is eight and a half months pregnant. On Friday, the prosecution sent a letter to the judge asking that he use his power to limit the defense’s cross-examination of her if necessary, as a mistrial could happen if she goes into labor.
Since Diddy’s arrest last year, he and his team have repeatedly denied the charges as well as all additional allegations against him.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a September 2024 statement. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The arrest came nearly one year after Cassie filed a lawsuit accusing Diddy of sexual and physical abuse throughout their relationship, which lasted off and on from 2007 to 2018. The rapper denied her claims in a statement shared by his attorney.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” Diddy’s lawyer Ben Brafman said at the time.
One day after the suit was filed, Diddy and Cassie settled out of court. In May 2024, CNN published the hotel surveillance video of Diddy kicking and grabbing Cassie in 2016. He later apologized for his actions in a video shared via Instagram.
The video has been shown to jurors in the trial, and the hotel security guard who responded to the incident, Israel Florez, was questioned as a witness on Monday, May 12.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.