Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is now sorry he kicked and hit then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura after a 2016 video of the incident has been leaked.
The video shows Combs knocking Ventura to the floor and kicking her on multiple occasions.
The video matched allegations of abuse that were contained in Ventura’s 2023 lawsuit against Combs, which was settled the day after it was filed.
At the time, Combs’ attorney said Ventura’s claim was “riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation and seeking a payday,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
But a somber, slow-speaking Combs took a different tone in the video released Sunday.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said in an Instagram video that was captioned “I’m truly sorry.”
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
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“I was f***ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom,” Combs said. “But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. 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,” he said.
The performance drew less than rave reviews from an attorney representing women who claim they were abused by Combs.
The video was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.,” attorney Meredith Firetog, who represents Ventura and other women suing Combs, according to the Associated Press.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday,” she said in a statement. “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
The video is also likely to back Combs into a corner in existing civil suits he faces, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“This video paints him in an awful light. If the people were giving him the benefit of doubt, that is over,” Los Angeles defense attorney Lou Shapiro said.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said that the attack video “ doesn’t lie.”
“There is no legal or moral justification for what Diddy did. He violently attacked a defenseless woman,” Rahmani said.
The initial video, which is disturbing, is a compilation of security cameras from March 5, 2016, at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, according to CNN.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic footage that some viewers will find disturbing.
A 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs violently grab, shove, drag and kick his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura during an altercation in a hotel in California. https://t.co/JrnJhWOaQt pic.twitter.com/xeRBtoGBDV
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
Ventura’s since-settled lawsuit alleged that at around the time of the video, Combs became “extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”
Ventura sought to leave the hotel where they were staying, she alleged, but Combs “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her.”
“He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape,” the complaint said
“Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser,” the complaint said. “When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a cab and go to her apartment, suggesting that they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”
