{"id":137334,"date":"2025-05-14T00:13:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/cassie-testifies-at-diddys-sex-trafficking-trial-of-abuse-and-humiliation-from-freak-offs-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T00:13:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:13:59","slug":"cassie-testifies-at-diddys-sex-trafficking-trial-of-abuse-and-humiliation-from-freak-offs-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/cassie-testifies-at-diddys-sex-trafficking-trial-of-abuse-and-humiliation-from-freak-offs-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassie testifies at Diddy's sex trafficking trial of abuse and humiliation from 'freak offs' – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

BREAKING: Menendez brothers can be resentenced for their parents’ murders, judge rules<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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The R&B singer Cassie gave uncomfortable\u00a0testimony on Tuesday during the sex trafficking trial<\/a> of music mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs, detailing allegations of physical abuse and control that included dayslong, drug-fueled sexual encounters with male escorts under his direction.
\u201cI felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated,\u201d Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, said in a federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan, describing how at times Combs\u2019 \u201ceyes would go black. The version I knew of him was no longer there.\u201d
Ventura, the star prosecutorial witness whose 2023 lawsuit against Combs became a framework for the government\u2019s sprawling case<\/a> against him, took the stand\u00a0for several hours on the\u00a0trial\u2019s second day<\/a>. Wearing a modest long-sleeved brown dress accentuating her pregnant belly, Ventura, 38, remained mostly calm and soft-spoken.
She said she didn\u2019t want to engage in the encounters, known as \u201cfreak offs,\u201d but \u201cfelt I didn\u2019t have much of a choice.\u201d She testified that she first participated in them around 2008, when she was 22, and they continued while she dated Combs on and off before the pair split in 2018.
The sex would occur in Combs\u2019 homes, her homes and in hotel suites around the world, and Ventura said they might find escorts off of Craigslist, paying them between $1,500 to $6,000.
While her testimony was almost somber at times, she became emotional in the early afternoon, when prosecutor Emily Johnson asked her what she enjoyed when being with Combs, and she recalled the time alone she would get with him after the \u201cfreak offs.\u201d
\u201cWhen you care about somebody and love them,\u201d she said after wiping away tears, \u201cyou don\u2019t want to disappoint them.\u201d
Ventura testified that she first met Combs, now 55,<\/a> in 2005, when she was 19 and he was a \u201clarger than life\u201d hip-hop artist and music producer. He signed her to his Bad Boy label with a 10-album deal, releasing her debut,\u00a0\u201cCassie,\u201d in 2006.
She recorded \u201chundreds\u201d of songs in the following years, but most of them were shelved as her career stalled and she did not release any more albums. She sighed when she told Johnson that arranging \u201cfreaks offs\u201d for Combs\u00a0instead \u201cbecame a job.\u201d
\u201cI accepted the responsibility,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cI was confused, nervous, but also loved him very much and wanted to make him happy.\u201d
During her testimony, Combs leaned back, appearing to listen intently.
Ventura went on to say that angering him would result in physical and ongoing psychological abuse.
\u201cIf I looked a certain way that he didn\u2019t like, he would let me know to fix my face,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cMake the wrong face, and the next thing I knew, I would get hit in the face. He would say, \u2018Watch your mouth.\u2019\u201d
The allegations mirror what was first described in her lawsuit against Combs, in which she accused him of physically assaulting her, forcing her to have sex with male sex workers and raping her in September 2018.
Combs settled the suit<\/a> privately in one day, with the terms undisclosed.
One of his lawyers, Ben Brafman, said at the time that Ventura\u2019s demands for money came \u201cunder the threat of writing a damaging book,\u201d but that Combs\u2019 decision to settle was \u201cin no way an admission of wrongdoing.\u201d
Ventura, who in legal filings was referred to as Victim-1, is one of at least three accusers expected to testify against Combs.
The five criminal counts, which include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, allege Combs used violence and threats against women to force them to participate in the \u201cfreak offs.\u201d He has adamantly denied the allegations against him.
Ventura said Combs controlled much of her life, and that she permitted\u00a0it, being both young and afraid of how he might react and that he could potentially blackmail her with recorded sex acts.
\u201cI didn\u2019t know if he would be upset enough to be violent or not want to be with me at all,\u201d she testified. \u201cOver time, if I didn\u2019t do it, materials would be hung over my head or it would become public.\u201d
Ventura\u2019s testimony was the first time in six years that she and Combs had seen each other in person. When she first entered the courtroom, Combs turned to her, but she did not look at him, walking straight to the witness box.
Before Ventura took the stand, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that her husband, Alex Fine, could remain in the courtroom, but would have to leave in the event the accusation of the\u00a02018 rape was discussed.
Ventura\u2019s testimony concluded with discussion about a 2016 surveillance video from a Los Angeles hotel that has become key evidence in the case and shows Combs assaulting Ventura. The footage was initially released by CNN a year ago.
When asked if she ever left one of Combs\u2019 alleged \u201cfreak offs,\u201d Ventura responded yes. Video from the assault was played for jurors.
\u201cI chose to leave,\u201d Ventura testified. \u201cI got out and Sean followed me into the hallway, and grabbed me, shoved me to the ground, kicked me and dragged me back to the room and took my stuff.\u201d
Following the release of the surveillance footage, Combs apologized<\/a> for his \u201cinexcusable\u201d behavior in a since-deleted Instagram video. During opening statements, his defense team admitted there was domestic violence, but said Combs\u2019 ex-girlfriends were engaged in consensual relationships.
Ventura\u2019s testimony is expected to continue Wednesday and could last through the week.
If you or someone you know is facing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline for help at (800) 799-SAFE (7233), or go to\u00a0<\/em>www.thehotline.org<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for more. States often have domestic violence hotlines as well.<\/em>
Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she\/her.
Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.
Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BREAKING: Menendez brothers can be resentenced for their parents’ murders, judge rules ProfileSectionsLocaltvFeaturedMore From NBCFollow NBC News news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeThe R&B singer Cassie gave uncomfortable\u00a0testimony on Tuesday during the sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs, detailing allegations of physical abuse and control that included dayslong, drug-fueled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}