Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Is it just me, or does Mercury in retrograde seem to have a dark sense of humor this week? Because right when the stars tell us to slow down and rethink our moves, courtrooms are buzzing with revelations that make you wanna clutch your crystal and scream—what the actual heck? Today, we see Cassie, the R&B singer and Diddy’s former flame, breaking down in tears as she’s grilled about the disturbing alleged “freak offs” that supposedly unfolded behind closed doors at Sean Combs’ plush digs. The trial spirals deeper into accusations that read like a nightmare of racketeering, coercion, and sex trafficking — all while the scales of justice try to weigh decades of power, intimidation, and heartbreak. I can’t help but wonder if the universe is forcefully reminding us — when charm and power mask darkness, how do we even begin to find light?
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Diddy’s ex-girlfriend and R&B star Cassie has broken down in tears as she was quizzed on alleged ‘freak offs’ that are believed to have taken place at the rapper’s residency.
As the trial into the multiple allegations Diddy, real name Sean Combs, has been accused of – which includes racketeering and sex trafficking by force, and fraud or coercion – continues, Casandra Ventura is giving evidence against the 55-year-old.
Speaking in court today, prosecutor Emily A. Johnson said per Inner City Press: “Would you give the $20 million back if you hadn’t have had to do freak offs?”
Referring to the abuse settlement the pair reached back in 2023, when Cassie alleged that had raped her. Just a day after she accused him of both rape and sex trafficking, the pair reached a settlement.
A 37-year-old Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Cassie, pictured back in 2007 at the singer’s 21st birthday party (Denise Truscello/WireImage for Jet Nightclub)
Diddy’s defense lawyer Anna Estevao replied: “Objection!”
To which the judge overruled.
Cassie replied: “I would give it back to get my agency back.”
Before Johnson asked: “Did he beat you during freak offs?”
Cassie responds: “Yes [starts crying].”
The 38-year-old and Combs were on-and-off dating for more than a decade, having officially entered into a relationship in 2007 – after two years of working together.
Cassie was 19 years old when she was signed by a then 37-year-old Combs, who owns the label Bad Boy Records.
Prosecutor Johnson went on: “Were you open to freak offs at the beginning?”
Cassie replied: “At the beginning.”
Johnson then asked: “Did you tell him when you no longer wanted to do them?”
“Yes. More than once,” Cassie explained.
Continuing, Johnson said: “What concerns did you have about saying no to freak offs?”
To which Cassie responded: “Safety, career, love”
The defense went on to claim Cassie knew what she was getting involved in, adding that the freak offs were ‘Mr. Combs’ sexual preference’.
Estevao told the court: “It was part of being his [Diddy’s] girlfriend.”
Cassie has been giving evidence against her former boyfriend Diddy at his trial, which began earlier this week (Emma McIntyre/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
Combs has been charged with racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, charges he’s continued to deny.
The indictment accuses Combs and others in his enterprise of ‘wield[ing] the power and prestige of Combs’ role at the Combs Business to intimidate, threaten and lure female victims into Combs’ orbit, often under the pretence of a romantic relationship’.
With the ‘assistance of members and associates’, the document claims Combs ‘transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally’ and ‘then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, ‘freak offs”.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org