'Diddy' Paid Ex-Girlfriend Cassie Ventura $20 Million To Settle Abuse Lawsuit

Singer Cassie Ventura received $20 million in settlement from Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2023 following her explosive lawsuit accusing the rapper of rape, abuse, and coercion. This was revealed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, as Ventura continued her testimony in Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.

"Who paid you $20 million?" the prosecutor asked. "Sean and his companies," Ventura replied.

The answer brought clarity to months of speculation surrounding the case, which was settled less than 24 hours after Ventura filed it in November 2023. Until Wednesday's court session, the financial terms of settlement remained under wraps.

In her original lawsuit and courtroom testimony, Ventura detailed a disturbing relationship with Combs that began in 2005 when she was 19. Over the course of more than a decade, she alleged, Combs controlled nearly every aspect of her life while subjecting her to horrifying abuse.

Now 38, Ventura has become the star witness in the high-profile criminal case against Combs. Her civil suit, filed on November 16, 2023, led to a federal investigation against the 55-year-old hip-hop mogul before he was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and assault.

According to Ventura, Combs regularly fed her drugs and alcohol and forced her into drug-fueled sexual encounters with male prostitutes - events he filmed, directed, and masturbated to. These alleged acts, which he referred to as "freak-offs," would happen often.

Ventura also testified that Combs physically beat and raped her on multiple occasions and took control over her money, healthcare, and music career. 

When Ventura finally decided to leave him for good in 2018, she said Combs showed up at her apartment and raped her one last time.

On the first day of the trial, the jury watched a 2016 hotel video showing Combs violently attacking Ventura. In the footage from the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, Combs, wearing only a towel, was seen dragging Ventura out of an elevator, throwing her to the floor, kicking her, and pulling her down the hallway.

A hotel security guard, now a police officer, told the court that Ventura had a bruised face and a "purple eye" after the attack. She kept saying, "I just want to leave."

Daniel Phillip, a male escort, also took the stand, saying Diddy paid him to have sex with his girlfriend. He testified that Combs would sit in the corner masturbating while directing him and Ventura during lengthy sex sessions, some lasting up to 10 hours.

"Y'all need to rub more baby oil on each other. You don't have enough on," Combs allegedly told them during one session.

Phillip said Combs once threw a bottle at Ventura and dragged her by her hair during a violent outburst. "She was yelling, she was screaming... and I could hear what sounded like him slapping her," he said.

When Phillip urged Ventura to leave Combs, she responded, "It's OK, I'm OK."

Cassie Ventura is expected to return to the stand for cross-examination. The trial continues.