Usher Witnessed Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Punch Cassie in Stomach: Court
Share this @internewscast.com

Dawn Richard, a singer from “Danity Kane,” testified on Monday about witnessing Sean “Diddy” Combs abusing his then-girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, alongside other celebrities.

Richard recounted an incident in 2010 when Combs allegedly punched Ventura in the stomach at a restaurant. She claimed that celebrities like singers Usher and Ne-Yo, as well as Beats Electronics CEO James Iovine, also witnessed this assault, as reported by People.

In September, Richard filed a lawsuit against Combs, accusing him of inappropriately touching her near her breasts and buttocks in a dressing room between 2009 and 2011.

Richard met Combs in the early 2000s when he hosted the MTV singing competition and reality show “Making the Band.” Her lawsuit alleged that while on the show, Combs deprived her and her bandmates of food and sleep.

FILE – Dawn Richard arrives at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Last week, Richard testified that she witnessed Combs try to throw a skillet filled with eggs at Ventura in 2009. However, on Monday, she admitted that she continued business meetings with Combs despite allegedly witnessing these violent incidents, according to NBC.

Richard’s federal lawsuit is still in the courts, with Combs’ attorneys noting in court that there is a pending motion for its dismissal.

Ventura, whose testimony ended on Friday, testified that Combs raped her in August 2018, after ending their relationship. She referred to the alleged rape in her 2023 lawsuit against Combs, which Combs reportedly settled for $20 million. She also mentioned the incident to federal agents two weeks after filing the lawsuit.

Ventura and Combs dated from 2007 to 2018. Prosecutors plan to introduce two other key witnesses who claim they were abused by Combs. Unlike Ventura, the two other witnesses will use pseudonyms.

Ventura previously testified that Combs “stifled” her music career while forcing her to participate in “freak offs,” which often entailed her having sex with other men in Combs’ presence. Ventura said the drug-fueled ordeals left her sleep-deprived and dehydrated, as they would last for days on end.

Ventura said Combs “often” injured her during these rendezvous.

Ventura testified that she met Combs when she was 19, and their 10-year relationship was rife with physical abuse. She also described Combs’ controlling behavior — which entailed him controlling her physical appearance and having guards track her down when he could not find her.

Another witness, Daniel Phillip, said he was a male stripper when he was paid to have sex with Ventura at a New York hotel while Combs watched and masturbated. The alleged arrangement lasted about a year or two, and Phillip testified that Ventura appeared to “be on drugs” during at least one of the encounters.

Phillip stated that he watched Combs throw a liquor bottle at Ventura when she did not walk over to him fast enough. Phillip then dragged her to another room and possibly smacked her. He recounted another instance where he overheard Combs hitting Ventura as she said, “I’m sorry.” Phillip said Combs left the hotel, and Ventura ran to him and sat on his lap.

“I asked her, ‘Why is she doing this, why is she staying with this guy?’ ” Phillip testified, according to The New York Times. “I tried to explain to her that she was in real danger if she stayed with him.”

Upon being asked why he never called the cops, Phillips stated that he feared what would happen if he reported Combs — who he believed had “unlimited power.”

“And chances are even if I did go to the police, that I might still end up losing my life,” he also said.

Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail three times, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.

Combs’ legal team sought home detention with GPS monitoring. In exchange, they offered to post $50 million bail and to use Combs’ home as collateral.

“The government has proven the defendant is a danger. The bail package is insufficient even on risk of flight,” Carter said while denying Combs’ bail.

Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami in March 2024. Reports indicated that the raids were connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.

The reported raids also occurred four months after Ventura accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.

However, last May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Ventura at a California hotel in 2016. After the video was released, Combs put out a video expressing remorse for his behavior.

Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.

In that case, Gardner claimed Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall drugged and raped her and a friend following an Uptown Records event in 1990. Gardner said she was 16 at the time of the incident. She also accused Combs of choking her a day after the assault.

Days after footage of the Ventura assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four occasions between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.

Lampros claimed Combs promised to mentor her and connect her with executives in the fashion industry. Instead, Combs allegedly forced her to drink before raping her in a hotel room. Lampros recalled another instance in which Combs forced her to perform oral sex in a parking garage while a parking attendant watched.

Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. The accuser in that case had her lawsuit dismissed in February.

Combs turned down a plea deal days before jury selection began. His trial is expected to last two months.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Army Sergeant Sentenced to Life for Rape Dies in Prison Cell

An Army sergeant, who had been convicted of over two dozen serious…

Man Confesses in Interview to Killing Woman Over Unpaid Debt

Inset: Daniel Graham (KGET/YouTube). Background: The Superior Mobile Home Park where Graham…

Couple Accused of Severely Underfeeding 9-Year-Old, Resulting in Child Weighing Only 30 Pounds, Say Police

Inset, left to right: Angel Holland and Aaron Stalling (Hamilton County Jail).…

Florida Resident Admits to Threatening Trump in Exchange for ‘Benefits’

FILE – President Donald Trump addresses the press on Friday, June 27,…

Man Attempts to Hire Hitman to Murder Wife Amid Divorce and Custody Battle Over Six Children

Mohammad A. H. Mohammad (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office). An Alabama resident plotted…

Judge Rules Mike Lindell Defamed Smartmatic, Says MyPillow Founder

Mike Lindell gives a thumbs up as he passes by a rally…

Barry Morphew, Accused of Killing Wife Suzanne, Released

  Indicted for the first-degree murder of his wife, Suzanne, Barry Morphew…

Nursing Home Resident Allegedly Strangles Woman with Towel: Police Report

Share copy link Background: News footage of Heritage Village in Waterville, Ohio…

Texas Man Executed for Killing Girlfriend’s 13-Month-Old in Alleged ‘Exorcism’

A Texas man has been executed for killing his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter…

Landscaper Arrested for Allegedly Stabbing Girlfriend to Death

A New York state man wanted for the stabbing death of his…

Husband Stabs Expectant Wife 34 Times, Then Contacts Police: Authorities

Context: A neighborhood in St. Cloud, Minn. where Falus Ali was discovered…

BREAKING: Second Body Discovered in Bayou Close to Location of College Student’s Recent Death

A probe is currently in progress following the discovery of a body…