Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
(NewsNation) — Casandra “Cassie” Ventura faces cross-examination by defense attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs on Thursday after the singer gave disturbing details of abuse in her two-day testimony to prosecutors.
Combs’ ex-partner is the star witness in the federal criminal case against Combs, and his defense team is expected to go in hard on Ventura.
During the court’s lunch break, Arick Fudali, an attorney who represents two Diddy accusers in civil cases and a government witness who has not been identified, spoke to NewsNation about the defense’s cross-examination.
Fudali, who was present in court, said “In listening to Ms. Ventura’s answers, as someone who represents victims of alleged sex trafficking, it is important to understand there is a difference between compliance and consent, and that is why coercion is part of the charges the government has brought against Mr. Combs.”
The attorney noted the courtroom felt “tense.”
Texts messages between Cassie and Diddy about ‘Freak Offs’ read in court
Ventura returned to the stand for cross-examination. Anna Estevao, a defense attorney, began questioning with presenting various affectionate texts sent from Ventura to Combs throughout the early stages of their relationship.
The defense requested Ventura read some of the loving texts out loud.
Ventura said on the stand that, “I had fallen in love with him and cared about him very much.”
The defense presented Ventura with a 2010 message she sent to Combs that showed a sign of fracture in their dynamic.
Ventura read the email in court, “That’s not being in a relationship with someone that you love and are in love with … I am really hurt by the way you deal with me, I don’t need your money, I need some attention.”
The defense read Combs’ messages to Ventura about participating in “Freak Offs.”
In August 2009, Combs asked his then-girlfriend, “When do you want to freak off? Lol.”
Ventura responded, “I’m always ready to freak off.”
After she returned to the stand, the defense questioned Ventura about her tattoos and complimented her by her calling her “very beautiful and charming.”
The defense asked Ventura to read sexually explicit texts sent to Combs out loud in court. In December 2009, Ventura responded to a sexually graphic email from Combs.
She wrote, “I like that. I want it and I want to give you the same. I just think that I have to trust you beyond it just being sexual. Do you know what I mean?”
“In order for me to be more open with the things we do in bed, I need to feel safe, like home, like this is my husband, and this is THE ONLY man that will ever have this aggressive/sexual side of me.”
Defense asks Cassie if it’s ‘fair to say’ she ruined Diddy’s career
The defense asked Ventura if it is ‘fair to say’ she ruined the disgraced music mogul’s career after she sued him in November 2023 and made sexual encounters like “Freak Offs” public.
Ventura responded, “I could understand that.”
Cassie testifies she watched Diddy have sex with other women
Ventura said she watched Combs have sex with other women, perhaps four times throughout their decade-long relationship, and said Combs told her it was a part of the rapper’s “swingers’ lifestyle.”
The defense asked Ventura if “Freak Offs” were part of the swinger lifestyle to which she replied, “In a sexual way. They’re very different.”
Cassie: Diddy was addicted to opioids
Ventura was asked if Combs was addicted to anything. She responded, “success.” The soon-to-be mother of three said Combs had confided to her that he was addicted to opioids “at a point.”
Diddy’s defense brings up Cassie’s drug use
Ventura told the jury that Combs once instructed drug dealers in Los Angeles to stop delivering drugs to her.
“At some point it happened,” she said.
She said Combs had recommended she get help for her drug use, but later stated Combs only wanted Ventura to use drugs with him, not with friends.
Cassie may take stand next week even though 9 months pregnant
The defense told the judge that their questioning of Ventura may not end until the end of day on Friday. Prosecutors would need Monday to ask her follow-up questions.
The judge said that both sides agreed Ventura, who is close to delivery her third child, would be done by end of week. However, the defense argued that the prosecution interviewed two witnesses ahead of Ventura causing a delay for her to take the stand.
Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, said to the judge, “That is why there is a sword that I must fall on,” and that it seemed “strategic” that the prosecution called two witnesses prior to Ventura’s testimony.
After a back and forth between the defense and prosecution, Judge Subramanian told Combs’ team to finish up their questioning of Ventura Friday morning in order leave time for the prosecution to ask their questions.
The judge did not rule out that Ventura may need to come back to court next week.
Cassie’s testimony detailed abuse, fear while dating Combs
On Wednesday, Ventura told the jury during her testimony that Combs threw a vase of flowers at her in March 2016 during a violent assault captured on video in a Los Angeles hotel.
After Combs assaulted her at the hotel, Ventura said she took an Uber home. During the car ride, she took photos of her injuries, she said.
The jury viewed several photos of Ventura’s injuries as well as stills from choreographed, dayslong orgies allegedly orchestrated by Combs.
Victims of abuse on the witness stand
Dr. Chloe Carmichael, a New York-based clinical psychologist, told NewsNation on Thursday morning prior to Ventura’s cross-examination that “when a victim experiences sexual abuse, there can be a sense of brokenness or separation with the social compact of an expectation of decency by others, especially if the abuser was someone they knew and trusted and/or who is very powerful.”
…”It takes a lot of courage for the victim to move forward and seek justice, but if victims register the possibility that they might be re-victimized even further in the court system, then the sense of dismay or disillusionment with the social compact can diminish even further. The prospect of appearing in court to testify only to be denied justice can evoke further fears of extreme invalidation or humiliation; coupled with sadness, shock and fear.”
Ventura said that she became reliant on opioids as a way to numb herself from enduring the sex parties, dubbed “Freak Offs.”
“Opioids make me feel numb, which is why I relied on them so heavily,” she said.
In addition to an opioid addiction, Ventura said she would have frequent urinary tract infections due to the sexual encounters.
She said that when the “Freak Offs” were over, she would feel “just really empty and I felt gross,” adding that she “felt like I did my job.”
Ventura said Combs threatened to release footage of her participating in the “Freak Offs.” She was concerned it would “make me look like a slut,” she said. She feared the release of the sexually explicit material would be career-ending.
Prosecutors asked Ventura if she attempted to fight back against Combs.
Ventura said she initially tried to combat Combs but said fighting back could escalate the attacks further.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
