Cassie: What Her 5 Day Testimony Against Diddy Tells Fellow Female Domestic Violence Survivors Around The World – And What Justin Bieber And Machine Gun Kelly Have To Do With It

I was hesitant to write this blog entry; mostly for its sensitive subject matter. I know we talk a lot about abuse and domestic violence on this blog, but this is on an entirely different level. With that being said, I have to give a warning for this particular entry. We already know that sometimes this blog can be a TMI type of content, but this particular post has very intimate, graphic details that could be triggering; so if this isn’t for you, please move on to the next post. I promise, I understand you completely. Those of you that have decided to stay here and continue reading, brave yourselves. Here, we’ll be discussing Diddy. More particularly, we’ll be heavily discussing his relationship with Cassandra Ventura; or as we all know her, Cassie. For the sake of this blog entry, we’ll be calling her by the name we all know her as.

Just recently, Cassie testified against Diddy under oath in his sex trafficking trial. For 5 days straight, she told the jury of agony she’d endured at the hands of Diddy throughout their 11+ years long relationship, which finally came to an end in 2018. Since her split with Diddy, she married Alex Fine, an actor and a fitness trainer, in 2019, and together they have two daughters and one on the way. Cassie, a singer in her own right, testified for 5 days straight and relived the horror she’d experienced at the hands of Diddy, as well as came face to face with him again, all while 8 months pregnant. I can’t even remotely imagine the strength it took her to do all this at such a vulnerable time.

Following her brave 5 day testimony, Cassie issued a statement which read, ‘This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that my testimony has given strength and a voice to other survivors, and can help others who have suffered to speak up and also heal from the abuse and fear. For me, the more I heal, the more I can remember. And the more I can remember, the more I will never forget. I want to thank my family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and I’m grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received. I’m glad to put this chapter of my life to rest. As I turn to focus on the conclusion of my pregnancy, I ask for privacy for me and for my growing family.’

Her husband released a statement of his own which read, ‘Over the past five days, the world has gotten to witness the strength and bravery of my wife, freeing herself of her past. There has been speculation online surrounding how it must feel for me to sit there and listen to my wife’s testimony. I have felt so many things sitting there. I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love for Cass. I have felt profound anger that she has been subjected to sitting in front of a person who tried to break her. So, to him and all of those who helped him along the way, please know this: You did not. You did not break her spirit nor her smile that lights up every room. You did not break the souls of a mother who gives the best hugs and plays the silliest games with our little girls. You did not break the woman who has made me a better man. I did not save Cassie, as some have said. To say that is an insult to the years of painful work my wife has done to save herself. Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free from abuse, coercion, violence and threats. She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her. All I have done is love her as she has loved me. Her life is now surrounded by love, laughter, and our family. This horrific chapter is forever put behind us, and we will not be making additional statements. We appreciate all of the love and support we have received, and we ask that you respect our privacy as we welcome our son into a world that is now safer because of his mom.’

In this scenario, while we’re all talking about Cassie’s strength and resilience, it’s important not to dismiss the strength and resilience of those close to her – her husband, her young children, her parents, relatives, as well as friends. They had to listen to extremely graphic details of what Cassie had to endure. I can’t imagine being her mother during these agonizing 5 days. It’s especially true as Cassie never told her mother of the true essence and nature of the trauma she’d endured throughout her relationship with Diddy. Her mother is set to testify in week two of his trial. That said, Cassie’s mother was very much scrutinized by social media users all around. One social media user wrote, ‘How is your mom your former best friend. This makes it seem like Cassie was chasing a lifestyle that became too much for her or her mom gave her to the industry.’ Another wrote, ‘Why? Where are the hired escorts and trafficked people at??? What can this girl mama possibly tell us that we haven’t heard from Cassie herself? Prosecutors had so much time to prepare and this is all they’ve got?’ And a third wrote, ‘Lady!! You raised that. U gonna say what? You allowed your 17 or 19 year old daughter attend these events, have no guidance, you didn’t teach her morals or how to respect herself. Yes! I will say this. My daughter is an Artist and from day 1 I never left her side. Even in her Adult years. You see her, you seen me.’ I can’t fully say I disagree… Nevertheless, Cassie has called both her parents her ‘Greatest Support System’. She also said that her parents were most real and true example of unconditional love. In Cassie’s lawsuit against Diddy, which we’ll get to later, it was stated that her parents were skeptical of his displays of wealth early in their relationship.

It’s also so important not to dismiss the strength of Diddy’s children, who had to deal with getting to know the truth of who their father really is. Cassie’s kids will know what a strong woman their mother is. Not only by what she’d endured at the hands of her disturbingly abusive ex, but by also testifying against him for 5 days straight so publicly at such a vulnerable time for her. His kids, on the other hand, are now faced with a whole new reality of getting to know a whole other version of the father that they used to know and love, as well as having to face themselves hearing the exact disturbing details of what their mother(s) had endured and other women too.

Singer Aubrey O’Day, former Danity Kane and former Diddy employee had a choice of words for allowing his kids to attend trial in support of their father. While appearing on Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, O’Day, who first met Diddy in 2005, said, ‘The fact that the kids are marching up to that court, praying over everything, and walking in with a bunch of women also that are encouraging it. I don’t know any father that would want their children to sit through testimony about how much their daddy liked to watch people [get] lubricated, f*cking, getting pissed on and urinated in their mouths, having his girlfriend come in the other room and rub their c*m all over his nipples. It’s concerning to me. The optics of them being there and supporting [their] father are obviously a very strong play for the defense. You’re a father first and as a father, I just wouldn’t want my two girls — that are only a year younger than [Cassie] was when he started dating her, 19. I believe the girls are around 18. I would not ever want my child to hear anything like that. It’s telling to me. It means that [Diddy’s] being selfish and he needs — in my opinion — it feels like, ‘Daddy needs you in court because daddy needs all the optics to look in his favor,’ and I don’t really care what you have to sit through. And that, to me, is just showing that same narcissism and ego and dare I say coercion that we’re discussing about this man. You know, his needs come first. What he wants comes first.’ In a 2022 interview on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, O’Day said she was let go of job because she wasn’t willing to do what was expected of her – not talent-wise, but in other areas…

And speaking of other areas, Cassie was put on the role of Diddy’s girlfriend at the young age of 19. Their relationship was anything but glamorous. Cassie first came into the music scene in 2006, with the hit singles like ‘Me & U’ and Long Way 2 Go’, released via Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. She initially signed a 10 album contract with him. At the time, it was considered to be significant. Now, let it sink in, because Beyoncé has been in the music industry for 20+ years, and only released 8 albums in her career. At the trial, Cassie revealed that while she did released 2006’s Cassie, she recorded many more songs that were never released. During her time with Bad Boy, she also testified in Combs’ criminal trial that her career was stifled and she was involved in activities that became her ‘job’. What is meant by this is that she was involved in Diddy’s sex parties, which are known as ‘freak offs’. Cassie described participating in ‘freak offs’, which were drug-fueled, sexual performances with escorts designed to satisfy her then-boyfriend. There are so, so many other aspects of her relationship with Diddy that she revealed, and this is where the content warning is applicable, so please beware:

• Cassie testified that she finally broke things off with Diddy in 2015. She was in South Africa at the time, filming ‘Honey 3’.
  She said she sent a video of him with another woman at an event to a group chat with Diddy and some of his staff members. She said she felt betrayed that his staff didn’t tell her of his perceived betrayal ahead of time. She also said she blocked his number while she continued filming.
• At the time of the breakup, Cassie started dating Micheal B. Jordan.
• After the very frightening, very disturbing hotel attack on her in 2016 that was caught on surveillance camera footage and was played at its fullest in court, Cassie confirmed that she sent the following message to Diddy, ‘
  When you get f**ked up the wrong way you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around. I’m not a rag doll, I’m someone’s child.’ He then replied with a message saying that he was ‘so horny’.
• Cassie revealed under oath that the ordeal
  left with fat lip and a black eye after being beaten, kicked and dragged by Diddy in the 6th floor hallway of the Intercontinental. But the details get even worse. She stated that in the aftermath of w he at had happened, she had to attend the movie premiere for The Perfect Match just two days later, forcing her to cover bruises with makeup. She said some of them were still visible on camera and in various Getty images shown to the jury.
• A man mentioned to Cassie that he had a sexual video of her. Diddy told her to not let the man out of her sight until she got to the bottom of it. Diddy’s attorney played a recording of Cassie threatening the man not to release the video to the public. She could be heard saying, ‘
  It’s my f—-ing life, and I will kill you. I will kill you. I will cut you up, and I will hide you. I have never killed anyone in my life, but I will kill you. … And it’s not going to be my hands. There’s not going to be blood on my hands. It’s going to be someone else.’
• Cassie previously revealed that Diddy ordered her to use escort services to hire sex workers for their freak-offs. One of those services, Cowboys 4 Angels, was actually featured on Showtime’s TV show “Gigolos.” Ventura testified that she was indeed frightened that the escorts might reveal the details of their relations with the celebrity couple. Though, she said she never watched the show to confirm the same escorts were featured on television.
• In 2023, Cassie underwent a 45-day in-patient treatment to release her of the trauma she’d endured at the hands of Diddy. The program, EDMR, focuses on healing from intimacy and relationship issues, love and sex addiction, emotional trauma, and dual diagnosis. She said, ‘They hook your brain up to a machine and you watch something and it just kind of regulates your brain waves.’ This program also helps control psychogenic seizures.
• Cassie revealed she had suicidal thoughts from her past relationship with Diddy.
  She said once she had flash backs during a music video shoot with another musician, and didn’t want to be alive anymore. Through tears, she said in court, ‘I couldn’t take the pain that I was in anymore, and so I just tried to walk out the front door into traffic and my husband would not let me
• In November 2023, Cassie filed a lawsuit against Diddy. At the time, he denied any wrongdoing, but settled it out of court the day after for $20 million.
• Cassie revealed in court that Diddy hit her best friend of 17 years with a wooden hanger after they did drugs together. The friendship never recovered thereafter.
• Following a 2015 beating, Cassie suffered
  black eyes and golf-ball sized knots on her forehead. Eventually, one of Diddy’s employees came in to break up the fight. Cassie said one of the rapper’s security guards cried after seeing her injuries.
• Cassie testified that once she
  began dating rapper Kid Cudi, Diddy threatened to have his car blown up in his driveway. The car did, in fact, explode at some point. When the three met up in New York following the event to address Cassie’s relationship with Cudi, the rapper asked Combs about his vehicle. Diddy said, as per Cassie’s testimony, ‘What vehicle?’
• Cassie agreed to meet Diddy for a ‘closure conversation’ in 2018. She was already dating her now-husband, Alex Fine. However, after he drove her home, he raped her in her living room. She said it happened so fast, she was unsure if he even noticed her crying.
• Cassie revealed that both Diddy and escorts would urinate on her during the freak-offs because it was a turn-on for him. A sex worker testified confirming this was true.
• Prosecutors displayed text messages between Cassie and Diddy where the rapper suggested having a “proper” freak-off – one without the drug ketamine. One text message read, ‘A successful freak-off is when we remember and we don’t be fiending to do it the right way.’ Cassie that she preferred to take ketamine to dissociate from the events.
• Cassie stated she’d frequently get urinary tract infections but was still expected to perform through them despite the “horrible” pain. Your average prescribed antibiotics stopped working for the infection after a while, she said. She also stated she would suffer gastrointestinal issues from the drugs she took for the freak-offs as well as mouth sores from oral sex.
• Cassie was consistently threatened with blackmail after Diddy showed her footage of the freak-offs she thought were deleted. She recalled him giving her an ‘evil glare’, and claimed he was angry with her because he thought she stole drugs from him. As per her testimony, Diddy then threatened to embarrass her and release the freak-off tape.
• Prosecutors showed text messages from Cassie to Diddy in which she compared him to Ike Turner, who’d abused his wife, Tina Turner. She wrote, ‘You treat me like you Ike Turner.’ She revealed in court that Diddy would consistently physically abuse her, and that, in her words, he built up and put down.
• Cassie revealed that she’d spent extensive amounts of time grooming herself to Diddy’s liking specifically for the freak-offs. Diddy demanded her nails be painted in french tips, forced her to keep a certain shape, suggested she get breast implants and even told her once that her hair looked ‘too Mexican’. On the other hand, Diddy and his employees would confiscate her belongings if he ever got angry with her. She said, ‘I would get my car taken away. I got kicked out of the house, my apartment. I had jewelry taken away. It was very random depending how he felt. It depended on how long I was being punished for.’
• Cassie revealed that Toni Fletcher, a former Bad Boy executive, would frequently book rooms for her and Diddy for the freak-offs, and the two used code-names for the events. She also mentioned Kristina Khorram, who knew her schedule, as well as D-Roc, a security guard, who’d go looking for her when Diddy didn’t know where she was.
• Cassie revealed Diddy had a disliking for rap mogul Sage Knight. Onee freak-off incident when a freak-off hosted in Los Angeles was quickly wrapped up after someone mentioned Knight being close by. The singer said she saw Combs grab guns from a safe and file into an SUV with his guards. She also revealed that Diddy had a safe in every one of his homes where she saw cash, jewelry, tapes, SD cards and guns inside. She noted guns were in the safes in his homes in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Alpine, NJ.
• Cassie revealed that she was expected to perform freak-offs even when she was on her period. When asked why she never refused them, she said she thought it was obvious she didn’t want them.
• Cassie testified that rooms would be stocked with condoms, baby oil and Astroglide lubricant. At each freak-off event, 10 large baby oil bottles would be used. And it didn’t stop there. There was once a blow-up pool filled with baby oil inside a hotel room which Combs expected her to get inside of.
• Cassie testified that she saw a completely different person in Diddy when he was angry and violent with her than the one she initially fell in love with. She said, ‘His eyes go black… the version of him I was in love with was no longer there.’ She said the freak-offs would make her feel worthless and as though it was all she had to offer.
• Cassie revealed that when she told him that her nickname for her grandfather was ‘Pop Pop’, he told her to call him that, and had even that as his contact name, as revealed in an old email.
• But the worst of them all was that there were people who knew the abuse was happening and did nothing to stop it. Instead, they helped Diddy. Cassie named Diddy’s driver and guards and her music manager. She said every time, she’d try to escape a vicious attack she’d endure at the hands of Diddy, they’d bring her back to him.

I think we’ve covered enough on the grossly graphic details of what Diddy had put Cassie through. And we’ve already put so much emphasis that Cassie was just 19 years old when she started dating Diddy; and only 18 when she signed her contract with him. But did we even mention the fact that, at the time, he was already a 35 year old grown a** man? Nope. Looking at the matter now, as in my own experience, I’d never look at a 19 year old and even remotely think to engage in a conversation with them. When my husband was in college in his 20’s, he befriended a 19 year old; and even that in itself was weird. I was weirded out by their friendship. He was obviously just a kid, and an inexperienced and immature one at that. Nothing good came out of it. It was my husband’s goodness of the heart and empathy personality that almost landed him in jail because his 19 year old friend was so young and unwise. His 19 year old friend took advantage of the fact that my husband was older than him and called the cops on him when he didn’t see the friendship fit.

A person’s brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. More specifically, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-level cognitive functions like reasoning, decision-making, and impulse control. However, this is not a definitive endpoint for brain development, as some research suggests the brain continues to change and adapt throughout life. By 25, the prefrontal cortex reaching maturity, brain development and plasticity continue throughout life. This means that even after 25, the brain can still change and adapt, particularly with focused effort and learning. To be more precise on the matter:

• Prefrontal Cortex Maturation: The prefrontal cortex, the last part of the brain to fully develop, typically reaches maturity around age 25, according to various sources. This area is crucial for higher-level cognitive functions, such as problem-solving, emotional regulation, and decision-making. 
• Increased Capacity for Reasoning and Control: As the prefrontal cortex matures, there’s an increased capacity for reasoning, decision-making, impulse control, and judgment. 
• Not a Definitive End: While the prefrontal cortex is generally considered fully developed by 25, brain development and plasticity continue throughout life. Even after 25, the brain can still change and adapt, particularly with focused effort and learning. 

Key Concepts 

• Prefrontal Cortex: The front part of the brain responsible for higher-level cognitive functions. 
• Neuroplasticity: The brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life. 
• Cognitive Control: The ability to suppress impulses and make reasoned decisions. 

That being said, it’s so weird for any 25+ year old to have ANYTHING to do with anyone whose age ends with the word ‘teen’. My husband learned it the hard way. Diddy wasn’t even 25 when he initiated his relationship with Cassie. He was 30-freaking-5. To say that he courted her because he genuinely loved her and saw the beauty in her would be absolutely laughable. He even told his assistant that he had Cassie right where he wanted because she was young, as per the assistant’s, David James, own testimony. And yet, we, as a society normalized this; and not only that, but we normalized his freak-offs and saw them as these fun, I’d say even fundamental Hollywood parties. They were constantly mentioned in songs and movies in the 2000’s and 2010’s and as such, most notably in Miley Cyrus’ ‘Party In The USA’ and Kesha’s ‘Tik Tok’. Both artists have changed the lyrics relating to Diddy. In hindsight, I’d say we not only normalized Diddy, his parties, and his behaviour, but we even romanticized it. We wanted to be a part a part of his ‘crew’ and be invited to at least one of these parties. How f*cked up is that?!

I’d say it’s extremely f* cked up. But it wasn’t just Cassie that Diddy took advantage of. His relationship with his ex, the late Kim Porter, also came to light in the legal battle. An insider who closely worked with both Diddy and Porter recently gave an insight into their relationship during an interview with HOT 97. Particularly while recalling a specific incident before the 2003 MTV Awards. The insider said, ‘I remember how controlling he was over her. He refused to leave for the show until Kim’s hair looked exactly how he wanted it. He was fixated on one curl, saying, ‘We’re not leaving until this curl is right.’ It was a small detail, but his control over her was clear. They got into a fight, and he started hitting her with a bottle. She threw one back at him. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, she’s standing up for herself.’ But Diddy turned to me and said, ‘We’re just two people who love each other.’ It was alarming.’ Donald Trump Jr. also voiced that his ex-wife, Vanessa, who was friends with Porter, revealed to him that her friend expressed her anguish towards Diddy and told her that she was afraid of him. Diddy himself denied all that to be true, but of course he would. Sadly, Porter isn’t here to speak for herself as she passed away in her sleep in 2018. Nevertheless, they seemed to co-parent their children well following the split. Diddy even adopted Quincy, Porter’s from her previous marriage to Al B. Sure! They were last publicly seen together while posing for pictures as a family while supporting Quincy at his movie premiere. Al B. Sure! will be testifying in the trial.

This torturous story doesn’t even comprehend itself in romantic partners. Let’s not forget Justin Bieber and Machine Gun Kelly. Bieber recently denied being a Diddy victim. But… the disgraced rapper and business mogul befriended the Canadian superstar when he was still a teenager and the duo made a string of public appearances together throughout the years before they eventually drifted apart. Bieber wasn’t ever signed to Diddy’s record deal. And yet, their ‘friendship’ was something so uneasy. In 2009, when Bieber was just 14 years old, he posted a video on YouTube titled ‘titled “JUSTIN BIEBER’s 48 HRS with DIDDY!!’ This matters because in her testimony, Cassie revealed that each freak-off would last anywhere between 36 to 48 hours, with the longest being 4 whole days.

In 2015, Machine Gun Kelly was the first-ever guest on Sean Evan’s now-popular YouTube show, Hot Ones, where celebrity guests come on the show to be interviewed while eating spicy chicken wings. He told Evans the story of how his bond with Diddy came about. The story goes as a typical Diddy story goes: MGK was just 19 when he met Diddy and signed with Bad Boy Record. He invited him to a club, to which MGK reminded him he was only 19 years old. He told MGK he’d take of the matter and they partied together to no end. It’s important to note that MGK never had a stable parental figure in his life, so he saw Diddy as a father figure. Diddy, of course, knew all that and took advantage of that fact. MGK, too, claimed that he once partied with Diddy for two days straight in Las Vegas, Nevada. MGK admitted that, at the time, he was apt to come along since his only other option then was staying in his manager’s mom’s basement. He said, ‘You get there and he has the biggest suite in the Palms, there’s waterfalls in his room, there’s a f*cking river in his room, he said ‘we’re gonna go out. It’s New Year’s Eve, this motherf*cker takes me to nine f*cking clubs in one night. Nine clubs. Thirty bottles a spot, that’s 270 bottles, easy. We didn’t sleep for two days.’ The younger rapper left Diddy’s record label in 2024. Some say that MGK is a Diddy victim and that he’d hit rock bottom in the past because of him. He’s since gotten sober, and has credited his 15 year old daughter for his sobriety journey.

It’s absolutely crazy. And what’s even more crazy is the fact that so many people feel that Cassie is all to blame. She was nutritiously blamed and shamed for it. It’s so despicable. It’s misogyny. We’re placed in a society where men are consistently rewarded, and women are tarnished and told they get abused because they choose toxic men. Women are called weak and emotional. Men are strong and powerful. ‘This happened years ago and she’s just talking about it now? Sounds like someone needs attention.’ ‘If it was so bad, why didn’t she leave? I would walk out the door the second a man hit me.’ ‘She didn’t even report it to the police. She’s probably just making this up.’ ‘She only wants money.’ These are just some examples of the things people say to shame abuse survivors – me included. There were two particular times I vividly remember me being shamed for my own experiences of abuse. Both were by people that would claim to be my ‘best friends’ – whatever the f*ck that even means. One laughed at my rape story and asked how it was even possible for a woman to be raped in the first place. The other laughed at my story of surviving an abusive relationship. When I showed my frustration, he said he laughed because it was all in the past.

But it doesn’t matter. None of it matters. It’s the social stigma such as this that makes us, the victims, be silenced. It most certainly silenced me. But Cassie…she changed the entire narrative. Unlike Diddy’s (many, many) other victims, Cassie isn’t anonymous. She’s eight months pregnant and confronting her long-time abuser. She’s facing defense attorneys – and speaking out for survivors. She did so in front of the entire world. She didn’t care about being shamed or laughed at. She didn’t care about being labeled. She wanted to do the right thing, without carrying shame or guilt. In my books, she’s a f*cking hero. She already got a $20 million settlement, but she wanted to do more. She wanted to address the abuse and its larger implications head on. It was mesmerizing. It was excruciating. It was liberating.

It was a winning moment for all us survivors out there in the world. It showed us all how to take our power back from those who tried to take it away. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. There’s no timeline. There’s only YOUR way and YOUR timeline. It took me so many years to not just say to myself that I’m okay, but actually be okay. Let me be clear: no amount of money in the world can give Cassie back the decade she spent in an abusive relationship bounded on fear, control and manipulation. $20 million is nothing; hush money, I’d even say, especially by Diddy standard. My own story of abuse can’t even compare to what she’d endured. But it’s a story nonetheless, and I’m not going to allow anyone to tell me that it’s worthless; that it’s laughable; that it’s just an emotional illusion. And it’s Cassie that reminded me of my own strength and resilience in a world that is joyous to bring women like me down.