On May 13, 2025, opening statements for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking trial began. Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend whom he’s been on-and-off with for over a decade, as well as “the government’s most important witness,” testified. Meanwhile, some questions why Ventura didn’t just leave this abusive relationship remain.
After Combs’s initial arrest in September, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to NPR. Though hundreds of victims continuously raised accusations against him, Combs claimed that the accusations are a “false and a desperate attempt for financial gain.” Despite his claims of innocence, the judge in the case denied all three of his bail attempts, and he eventually had to drop bail appeal, according to the BBC.
Combs and Ventura met when she was 19, and he he was 17 years older, according to USA Today. In 2023, Ventura initially filed a case against Combs, claiming he “used his position of power to ‘set the groundwork’ for a ‘manipulative and coercive romantic and sexual relationship,’” accusing him of sexual assault and physical abuse. Later, it was settled, with Combs paying Ventura $20 million.
In the newest testimony, Ventura testified that she was “humiliated by marathon sex sessions that were fueled by drugs and orchestrated by Mr. Combs,” according to The New York Times. She described his parties as “freak offs” where, she said, drugs and days-long sexual performances with prostitutes were involved. Ventura also testified that she considered killing herself after what Combs put her through.
After breaking up their patchy relationship that lasted from 2007 to 2018, Ventura testified that she was raped. Yet, later, she claimed that she has had “a few check-ins with him since 2018,” according to CBS News.
Some question why Ventura stayed in this imbalanced relationship after all the abuses and assaults. Why is it difficult to leave an abusive relationship? Most victims raise the fears of “retaliation,” but also offer explanations such as financial dependence, psychological manipulation, and concern for the safety and well-being of themselves or loved ones,” according to USA Today. Not to mention, Combs was the hottest hip-hop artist in the world when Doggystyle, an album by Snoop Dogg, a Grammy-winning artist and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star-earning artist, came out, exemplifying how big he was. Furthermore, Combs had signed Ventura to a 10-album deal. According to Wikipedia, Combs signed her to a “joint venture with his label to commercially release her 2006 debut single, ‘Me & U,’ and not surprisingly, “the song marked the first of her two entries on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three.”
The trial is on-going.
