Jurors can see video of Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating Cassie at hotel in
2016, judge rules
[April 26, 2025]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors at Sean “Diddy” Combs ' upcoming federal sex
trafficking trial can show jurors video of the hip-hop mogul hitting and
kicking one of his accusers in a Los Angeles hotel hallway, a judge
ruled at a hearing Friday.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs' lawyers failed to
convince him that the explosive security camera footage should be
excluded. Its relevance to the case outweighs any potential prejudice to
the 55-year-old defendant, the judge said.
Subramanian ruled on the video as he set ground rules for the May 5
trial in New York City.
Combs sat between his lawyers in a yellow jail suit, his formerly jet
black hair now almost fully gray because dye isn’t allowed at the
Brooklyn federal lockup where he's been held since his arrest last
September.
Prosecutors disclosed that Combs was offered a plea deal, which he
rejected.
The video shows Combs — wearing only a white towel — punching, shoving
and dragging his former protege and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, and
throwing a vase in her direction on March 5, 2016, at the
InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles’ Century City district.
The video wasn’t public until CNN obtained and aired it in May 2024. The
network turned the footage over to prosecutors in response to a
subpoena.
Prosecutors say it's “critical to the case.”
Combs' indictment alleges he tried to bribe a hotel security staffer to
stay mum about the video. Cassie, in a since-settled November 2023
lawsuit alleging years of abuse, claimed he paid $50,000 for the
footage.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have
been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie, whose
legal name is Casandra Ventura, did.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex
trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with
help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims
through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical
beatings.
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Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the
Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Jordan
Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
 Federal prosecutors allege the Bad
Boy Records founder used his “power and prestige” as a music star to
induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual
performances with male sex workers in events dubbed “freak offs.”
Earlier this month, prosecutors obtained a new indictment that added
two charges to Combs’ case and accused him of using force, fraud or
coercion to compel a woman to engage in commercial sex acts from at
least 2021 to 2024.
Prosecutors say they expect four accusers to testify against Combs.
They contend the assault on Cassie depicted in the 2016 video
happened during a “freak off.” Combs' lawyers have argued that the
footage was nothing more than a “glimpse into a complex but
decade-long consensual relationship.”
Combs apologized after CNN aired the footage, saying in a social
media video statement that he was “truly sorry” and that his actions
were “inexcusable.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions," Combs said, adding that
he “was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
In seeking to exclude the video from the trial, Combs' lawyer Marc
Agnifilo argued that the footage was “deceptive and not in
accordance with the actions that took place.”
Agnifilo said certain portions of the video were sped up by as much
as 50% or taken out of order, making it a “misleading piece of
evidence.”
Prosecutors told Subramanian that they were working with Combs'
lawyers to come up with a suitable version that can be shown by
jurors. They said that includes having a video expert review the
footage and slow down the clips to reflect the speed at which the
event shown actually transpired.
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