Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs Responds to Viral Assault Video

New York:

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized Sunday after hotel surveillance video surfaced showing him physically assaulting his then-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, in 2016.

Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a sexually violent predator who used alcohol and drugs to control his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.

Disturbing footage released Friday shows Combs attacking Ventura — a singer and model also known simply as Cassie — corroborating allegations she made in a now-settled lawsuit late last year.

“My behavior in this video is inexcusable,” Combs said in a video posted to Instagram, adding that he was “disgusted” and “sought professional help” after the incident, including therapy and rehabilitation.

“I’m really sorry,” he said. “I am committed to becoming a better man every day.”

The footage, published by CNN, shows the rap mogul punching, dragging and kicking Ventura, who in her recent trial said Combs subjected her to more than a decade of forceful coercion physical and drug abuse, as well as a rape in 2018.

In the video, Ventura leaves a hotel room after which Combs, appearing to be wearing only a towel, chases her before throwing her to the hallway floor and assaulting her.

“The heartbreaking video only further confirmed Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior,” read a statement from his attorney Douglas Wigdor.

Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall in an explosive lawsuit that was settled out of court but resulted in a series of equally sinister sexual assault claims against the hip-hop star. whoops.

Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.

Combs has previously vehemently denied all accusations against him.

“Enough is enough,” he said in a December 2023 statement, also on his Instagram page, saying the accusers were “looking for a quick payday.”

“For the last few weeks, I have sat in silence and watched people attempt to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.”

On Sunday, after the apology video was released, a second Ventura lawyer responded, saying Combs’ message “rings hollow.”

“The fact that he was only forced to ‘apologize’ after his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words,” said attorney Meredith Firetog , according to celebrity site TMZ.

In March, armed agents entered Combs’ sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, a high-profile bicoastal operation that suggested an investigation into the rapper was underway.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)