Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded with Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to call him after viciously beating her at a hotel in 2016, seemingly trying to gain her sympathy using his children as leverage, Ventura said on the witness stand Wednesday.
Ventura detailed to a Manhattan jury on Wednesday, May 14, the aftermath of the assault which was captured on hotel security camera, and published by CNN in 2024.
The video shows Combs running after Ventura in the hotel hallway, wearing a towel around his waist, and appearing to beat her to the ground and kick her as she lay motionless. Combs has since acknowledged the video and apologized.
Now Ventura is sharing how Combs begged her to answer his calls after she managed to escape the situation.
“I got 6 kids. Please call me,” he said in part of a text exchange following the incident, when he seemed to believe the cops would show up.
“I’m surrounded. Call me for my kids. Help,” he pleaded.
“You are sick for doing what you have done,” Ventura says later in the message as Combs continues pleading with her. “Stay away from me.”
She told the jury she did not actually believe police had responded to the hotel where the incident took place.
Combs is father to seven children with four different women. His adult children have been showing up in his favor in court, and have previously expressed their support for him on social media.
On the first day of the trial, his three daughters exited the courtroom during the testimony of a male escort, who alleged Combs beat Ventura during a sexual encounter, and provided other lurid details of Combs’ sexual activities.
Combs is on trial for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, stemming from a 2024 indictment. He has pleaded not guilty.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
