Cassie Drops $10M Settlement Bombshell Amid Emotional Sean “Diddy” Combs Trial

In a dramatic turn during the federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, Cassie Ventura revealed that she reached a $10 million settlement with the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was seen abusing her on surveillance footage. This revelation came in the final hour of Ventura’s emotionally charged testimony on May 16, 2025.

Cassie Ventura’s testimony has shed a harrowing light on the 2016 incident captured by the hotel’s security cameras, which CNN publicly released last year. Speaking in Manhattan federal court, Ventura described the abuse in vivid detail, recounting how Sean Diddy Combs followed her into a hotel hallway, shoved her to the ground, kicked her, dragged her back to a room, and took her belongings.

“I felt worthless, like dirt,” Cassie Ventura said tearfully. Her emotional testimony gave the courtroom a raw glimpse into the trauma she endured during her 11-year relationship with Sean Diddy Combs, which ended in 2018. The settlement with the InterContinental Hotel was reached just last month, highlighting the lasting impact of the incident.

Cassie Ventura’s testimony forms part of a larger case in which Sean Diddy Combs faces federal charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors allege that Combs organised drug-fueled parties called “freak-offs,” where women were coerced into sexual acts. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing.

According to Cassie Ventura, she repeatedly tried to resist participating in the so-called freak-offs but feared for her safety and career. “I worried for my safety. I worried for my career,” she told the court. She described these parties as opening “a world of just chaos,” adding, “I wanted to have sex just with him.”

The trial also revealed the complex nature of their relationship. Ventura acknowledged that she and Combs influenced each other’s lives profoundly. When asked if they had shaped each other, Sean Diddy Combs nodded in agreement. Despite the abuse, Cassie Ventura said, “I don’t hate him. I have love for the past.”

The legal battle has brought to light the darker side of Sean Diddy Combs’s personal life. Defence attorney Teny Geragos framed the case as “about love, jealousy, infidelity and money,” while Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson emphasised the abuse of power, saying Sean Diddy Combs “used lies, drugs, threats and violence to force and coerce” Ventura and other women.

Sean Diddy Combs was in court during much of Cassie Ventura’s testimony, often adjusting his glasses and watching evidence on court monitors. His three sons attended the proceedings, though his daughters were absent.

The trial is expected to last between eight and ten weeks, with more witnesses scheduled to testify as prosecutors build their case. Ventura’s courageous testimony and the newly disclosed settlement mark a significant moment in the proceedings.

As the case unfolds, the world watches closely as this high-profile trial continues to expose allegations of abuse, exploitation, and legal battles between two high-profile figures. Cassie Ventura’s revelation about the InterContinental hotel settlement adds a new layer of complexity to the story, emphasising the ongoing fallout from years of alleged mistreatment.