Singer Cassie, aka Casandra Ventura, said Thursday — in her first comments since the video emerged of her being beaten by rap mogul and former partner Sean “Diddy” Combs — that domestic violence “broke” her.
In an Instagram post, Ventura did not mention Combs but her comments came a week after CNN broadcast hotel security footage from 2016 in which the hip-hop star apparently hits, drags and kicks her.
“Domestic violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become,” she wrote, thanking supporters for their reaction.
“The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning.”
Ventura, who also goes by her mononymous nickname Cassie, accused Combs of repeated abuse in a federal court suit last November that was settled for an undisclosed sum. Combs did not admit wrongdoing.
Two days after the video appeared on CNN, Combs issued an apology calling his behavior “inexcusable.”
Other civil lawsuits have been lodged against the hip-hop star, including one this week by former model Crystal McKinney, who accuses Combs of pressuring her to become intoxicated and then perform a sex act.
“My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in,” Ventura wrote on Instagram.
“This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me.”
Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his recording label, and they began a romantic relationship.