Cassie Ventura gave harrowing testimony in a Manhattan federal courtroom this week, describing in painful detail the alleged abuse and manipulation she suffered during her relationship with music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Now 38, Cassie took the stand and opened up about what she says were years of trauma, painting a disturbing picture of life behind the scenes of their high-profile romance. What she described wasn’t just emotional control — it was deeply personal, graphic, and at times horrifying, reported the New York Post.
She told jurors that Combs demanded to be called “Pop Pop,” a nickname she’d originally used for her grandfather. But it wasn’t a casual pet name — she explained it was during what he called “Freak-Offs,” which she described as highly orchestrated sexual encounters involving escorts, where she was expected to perform under his direction. “I thought it was weird at the time. But now I think it’s just disrespectful,” she said quietly.
Cassie didn’t hold back when she described the physical abuse either. She recalled how Combs would violently lash out over things as simple as her facial expressions. “He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down,” she said. It wasn’t always triggered by big arguments — sometimes, she said, it was just the wrong look on her face. “The next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face.”
She became emotional as she tried to describe how his mood could shift in an instant. “His look would just change over, he would just become a different person,” she said. “The best way to describe it is his eyes just go black.”
She shared that she was only 22 when she was first introduced to the so-called “Freak-Offs.” In her words, “I was in love and I just wanted to make him happy.” She explained that these experiences could last days and would leave her physically drained, with drug use and dehydration taking a toll that often required her to rest afterwards.
Beyond the events themselves, she said Combs was controlling in nearly every part of her life — from pushing her to get implants to telling her how to wear her hair. The power dynamic, she made clear, left her feeling trapped and voiceless.
Now pregnant with her third child, Cassie is referred to by prosecutors as “Victim 1” in what’s shaping up to be a high-profile and emotionally charged case.