Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images
Topics: Diddy, Cassie Ventura, Crime, Celebrity
Anish Vij
Topics: Diddy, Cassie Ventura, Crime, Celebrity
Warning: This article contains allegations of sexual harassment and domestic violence which some readers may find distressing
Cassie's mum told the court she felt 'physically sick' when Diddy allegedly threatened her with a blackmail demand, as she was called to the stand this week in the high-profile trial.
The R&B singer, known legally as Casandra Ventura, is the prosecution's key witness, having taken the stand for four out of the seven days, so far.
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Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, dated Ventura on and off from 2007 to 2018, according to her testimony.
On day seven of Diddy's racketeering and sex-trafficking trial, Cassie's mum Regina Ventura was called to stand.
She testified on Tuesday (20 May) that when Cassie was dating rapper Kid Cudi, legally named Scott Mescudi, she received a threatening email from Diddy.
The jury was shown an email exchange said to be from Cassie to Regina on 23 December 2011. In the email, Cassie claimed Combs threatened to 'release two explicit sex tapes' if she carried on dating Mescudi, adding that he would have someone hurt the pair.
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Regina said she was told by her daughter that the music producer wanted $20,000 in return for not sharing the videos.
“I was physically sick,” Regina told Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson.
“I did not understand it. The sex tape threw me. He was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The mother told the court that she took out a home equity loan with her husband and wired the money to the Bad Boy account.
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She claims that after four or five days, the money came back.
“I was scared for my daughter’s safety,” she told Johnson.
Regina also claimed she once called the police on Combs after Cassie told her that he had taken her phone, and alleges she had a 'bitter argument' outside Cassie's apartment as she tried to get the phone back from Diddy.
“I was trying to hit him but I wasn’t successful,” Regina testified, telling the court that Diddy eventually handed the phone back but took Cassie’s car when he left.
The defence declined to cross-examine her when she testified in court.
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It comes after Cassie alleged that Diddy threatened to blow up Kid Cudi's car if she carried on dating him.
A car owned by the rapper did later explode, and Combs denied any involvement.
Kid Cudi is set to testify in the Diddy trial at some point.
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and faces five serious charges - one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247, available 24/7, or via live chat, available 10am-10pm, Monday to Friday.
Alternatively, if you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.