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Topics: Diddy, US News, Celebrity News, Crime
Warning: This article discusses sexual assault and domestic abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Prosecutors in the case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs have claimed the rapper attempted to bribe a hotel security guard to hand over a tape showing him assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
Following his arrest over allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution last September, Combs has been held in a New York detention centre. He has 'emphatically and categorically' denied all charges made against him.
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Today (12 May) saw the prosecution and defence teams deliver their opening statements to the court, with US Attorney Emily Johnson claiming to the court that Combs had previously offered a 'brown paper bag' full of money in exchange for footage of him assaulting Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel back in 2016.
The footage, which had originally published by CNN last year, showed the rapper appearing to assault Ventura as she attempted to leave.
Combs himself had previously addressed the video in a statement, where he said he 'makes no excuses' for his behaviour in the clip, adding that he took 'full responsibility for my actions in that video'.
Referencing the video in her statement (via Sky News), Johnson told the court that Combs and had allegedly tried to 'get what they thought was the only copy' of the surveillance footage by offering 'a brown paper bag full of $100,000 in cash' to the guard on duty.
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Johnson's reference to the 2016 video follows a request by Combs' defence team to have the footage excluded from court proceedings on the grounds that it occurred during one of the former musician's alleged 'freak offs'.
The request was ultimately rejected by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.
During her statement to the court, Johnson also made reference to further allegations of abuse against Ventura, claiming that 'if Cassie didn’t do what he wanted, the consequences were severe'.
Ms Johnson also made reference to Combs' numerous so-called 'freak offs', telling the court: "Some of the details of what happened to them will be hard to hear."
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Meanwhile, Combs' defence team referred to the rapper as a 'complicated man' in their statement, before arguing that his actions were not that of a 'federal crime'.
Defense Attorney Teny Geragos also referenced the 2016 footage involving Combs and Ventura, saying his behaviour in the footage was 'indefensible' but not evidence of sex trafficking.
"What Combs did to Cassie on this video tape is indefensible. It’s horrible. It’s dehumanising. It’s violent. It’s virtually every bad word you can think of," Geragos said. "It is not evidence of sex trafficking... It is evidence of domestic violence."
She continued: "I’m not justifying the assault — not by a long shot — but I’m putting it in the proper context."
As well as the 2016 video being shown in court, Combs' legal team said videos of the alleged 'freak-offs' will also been shown as evidence, which they claim were all consensual, the BBC reports.
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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.