The rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted in a video apology that he punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend in 2016 in the hallway of a hotel after CNN released footage of the attack, saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said in the video statement, posted on Sunday on Instagram and Facebook.
On Friday CNN showed footage of Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking Cassie, an R&B singer who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie, and throwing a vase in her direction.
Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, sued Combs in November over what she said was years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day, with no admission of liability, but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more civil lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’s mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
He denied the allegations in the lawsuits and was not detained in the raid or named as the target of the investigation, adding at the time that he cooperated with authorities and that there was no finding of criminal or civil liability, calling the investigation a “witch-hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits”. But neither he nor his representatives had responded to the newly emerged video until Sunday.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy says on the video. He adds: “I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
An attorney for Ventura, Meredith Firetog, on Sunday said “no one will be swayed by [Combs’] disingenuous words”.
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt,” said a statement from Firetog, which was posted on X. “When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation.”
Combs is looking somber and wearing a T-shirt in the selfie-style apology video, and appears to be on a patio.
The security camera video, dated 5 March 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in Ventura’s lawsuit.
The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video immediately after the incident. Neither he or his representatives have addressed that specific allegation. CNN did not say how it obtained the footage.
On Friday, Douglas Wigdor, lawyer for Cassie, condemned the video, saying: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Meanwhile, Cassie’s husband Alex Fine released a statement on Instagram titled Letter to women and children, in which he said: “Men who hit women aren’t men.
“Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men. As men, violence against women shouldn’t be inevitable, check your brothers, your friends and your family … To all the survivors, find the men and women who help and love. To all the survivors, your stories are real, and people believe you,” Fine continued.
Following the release of the video, the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office claimed it was unable to charge Diddy due to the amount of time that had elapsed since the incident.
“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” it said.
“As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or a witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services,” it added.
As of Sunday, the website of Diddy’s fashion line Sean John appeared to go off grid, with the website sean.john.com saying that it was “under construction”. It also featured several links to pages that appear to be unaffiliated with Diddy’s fashion line.
Internet archives reviewed by the Daily Beast showed that the website’s removal occurred between 3 May and 18 May The company also appears to be inactive elsewhere online. Its Instagram page features zero posts and instead just includes a link to its website.
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
