Footage shows Sean 'Diddy' Combs assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie

The rapper is the target of several lawsuits claiming he is a sexual predator

NEW YORK:

Disturbing surveillance video published on Friday shows Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in a now-settled lawsuit late last year.

Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterise him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.

The 2016 footage, which was obtained and published by CNN, shows the rap mogul hitting, dragging and kicking the singer known as Cassie, who in her recent lawsuit said Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, plus a 2018 rape.

In the video, Ventura leaves a hotel room after which Combs, appearing to wear only a towel, chases her before throwing her to the ground and assaulting her. "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour of Mr Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light," read a statement from her lawyer Douglas Wigdor.

Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall, a bombshell suit that was settled out of court but succeeded by a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims against the hip-hop star. Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.

Combs has vehemently denied all accusations against him. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP. In March armed agents entered Combs' sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, a heavily publicised bicoastal operation that suggested an investigation into the rapper is underway.

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