On the final day of direct examination by prosecutors, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura delivered harrowing testimony in the ongoing trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
She revealed for the first time that she attempted suicide in 2023 due to the trauma she endured during their relationship.
“I didn’t want to be alive,” Ventura testified, according to CBS, describing a moment in February 2023 after filming a music video that triggered painful flashbacks.
Through tears, she recounted returning home to her family and telling her husband: “You can do this without me,” before attempting to walk into traffic.
She was stopped, she said, and soon after entered rehab.
It was in treatment that she began documenting the abuse she says she experienced, eventually writing a book as a way of processing her trauma—and, she hoped, to confront Combs with the truth.
“I wanted him to understand what he put me through,” she said. “I was 22. I would have done anything for him. I did. But it wasn’t enough.”
In a bombshell revelation, Ventura told the court that she initially asked Combs for $30 million in exchange for the rights to her book—not as a calculated demand, she clarified, but “just a number I picked” to get his attention.
Ultimately, in November 2023, she filed a civil lawsuit, which was quickly settled. For the first time, she confirmed in court that the settlement amount was $20 million.
When asked by prosecutors why she chose to testify despite the settlement, Ventura’s voice wavered as she delivered a simple but powerful response:
“I cannot carry this anymore. The shame, the guilt. What’s right is right. What’s wrong is wrong.”
Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, has long remained silent publicly. But her testimony marks a pivotal moment in the federal trial, which includes serious allegations of human trafficking, sexual assault, and witness intimidation against the embattled Bad Boy Records founder.
The defense’s cross-examination begins Thursday, May 15, 2025, and Combs’ legal team is expected to challenge Ventura’s credibility and motivations.
