Her testimony against Sean “Diddy” Combs echoes far beyond the courtroom—offering truth, strength and solidarity to survivors everywhere.
Dear Cassie Ventura,
Thank you for your extraordinary bravery in speaking the truth publicly about all you endured over 12 years as the partner and employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Your testimony earlier this month about your alleged rape, beatings, his private and videotaped assaults of you, plus forced, drugged sexual practices with strangers in “Freak-Offs” was traumatic to witness in your retelling. For you—a 38-year-old mother, eight months pregnant with your third child—the experience must have been excruciatingly painful … emotionally, physically and mentally.
To then watch superstar cultural icon Combs be acquitted of sex trafficking by the jury was stunning.
To see Combs’ three teenage daughters at his trial—about the same age you were when you met the then-37-year-old Combs—too was striking. You were only 11 years older than them when their father dragged you by the hair through the hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City as you tried to escape through the elevator. (Combs tried to bury that security videotape for $100,000, according to a hotel security guard.)
This was not the first time you stood up and spoke out about Combs’ abuse and sexual assaults. Your lawsuit in November 2023 (later settled) against Combs—your boss and later romantic partner from 2006 to 2018—states, “Ms. Ventura has now fully escaped Mr. Combs, but the harm that the assaults and sexual abuse he caused her to experience for nearly a decade will forever haunt her. She has required intensive medical and psychological care to recover from the trauma she lived through.”
Even though Combs admitted to committing “domestic violence” acts with you, his attorney Teny Geragos said shortly after the verdict, “Sean Combs has not sexually assaulted anybody.”
But we hear you. We see you. We are grateful and honored to stand with you. The harm is real.
- The post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by women who are victims of rape and sexual abuse is nearly universal, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, with 94 percent of them reporting PTSD during the two weeks following the rape.
- Around 70 percent of rape or sexual assault survivors “experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime,” RAINN reports.
- A third, or 33 percent, of women who are raped contemplate suicide.
But for now, Combs—found guilty of two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, denied bail and awaiting sentencing in October—can continue his claims of innocence and attempt to erase your truth.
The enabling complicity of Combs’ security staff, allies, friends and business alliances, worked to mute your truth—but only for a time. You stayed strong, and even as staff reportedly referred to you and Combs jokingly as “Ike and Tina,” and “Bobby and Whitney,” survivors know this is no joke.
The perpetual behavior of powerful men sexually harassing, assaulting and abusing women who are beholden to them professionally, financially or personally is woven into historical and contemporary practices so often, it is normalized.
Anita Hill’s 1991 testimony against Supreme Court hustice of the United States then-nominee Clarence Thomas did not change his appointment.
Christine Blasey Ford testifying about a college sexual assault in the 2018 SCOTUS nomination hearings for Brett Kavanaugh did not deter the outcome.
Maria Farmer and her sister, Annie Farmer, testified in 2021 in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, saying they were coerced into sexual acts with Jeffrey Epstein when they were teenagers. Maria Farmer recently claimed that President Donald Trump was involved in a 1995 exchange with Epstein, who she said warned Trump she “was not for you.” There has been no official rebuke against the president.
According to your November 2023 lawsuit, “Although Ms. Ventura was unable to speak up against the years of abuse she endured at the hands of Mr. Combs, she has since been able to rebuild her life and confront her trauma.”
Congratulations.
Millions who do not have the celebrity, resources or platform to speak out are exceptionally grateful for your voice, Cassie, and the voice of all the courageous women who literally take the stand.
Nearly 33.5 million women in the United States—one in four—have been assaulted or raped in their lifetimes, according to the National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men “reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault in their lifetime.” That number includes the “one in three female victims of completed or attempted rape [who] experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17.”
Bringing this grotesque behavior to the attention of a large audience watching the Combs trial on social media, digital and mainstream legacy broadcast platforms is admirable. The millions of women who have experienced rape and sexual assault are grateful at a time when resources for them are in danger of elimination.
Earlier this month, the country’s first rape crisis center, BRAVE Bay Area, based in Oakland, announced it will close in September due to funding cuts.
Young women, girls and all survivors applaud you for all you do to bring truth to light. We can now look back at your 2006 song, “Call U Out,” and know exactly what you meant.
P.S. Another thank you goes to Dawn Richard, who sued Combs for sexual assault in September 2024, and whose lawsuit is currently pending. Richard accused Combs of physical and sexual abuse, inhumane working conditions, and other forms of misconduct that allegedly took place during their professional relationship spanning over a decade.
Great Job Michele Weldon & the Team @ Ms. Magazine Source link for sharing this story.
