Sean "Diddy" Combs' former assistant has said that "there was not one cell in my body that was surprised" when she saw the disturbing surveillance footage that showed the music mogul assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a hotel in 2016, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Suzi Siegel, who worked for Diddy between 2008 and 2009, when he was dating Cassie, told CNN that she "felt sick and I felt violently angry and I felt like I'm sure a lot of men and women feel looking at that video, that it's so disturbing. The video doesn't lie."
Siegel said that she "rode in the limos with them, I went to parties with them" but "observed nothing that would lead me to believe" that Diddy was violent and "never saw him speak harshly to her or be abusive toward her or anything like that."
But, she added, "even though I never saw anything that could corroborate what's in that lawsuit and what we just saw, there was not one cell in my body that was surprised," citing her "woman's intuition."
"I would say that I was around him a lot and I got a feeling for who he was," Siegel explained. "I didn't see anything that could get him in trouble. But I think that the power dynamic in a situation like that — especially her, at the beginning of her career, so young and beautiful and talented, and she became involved with somebody who had so much power."
"I felt that working for him. I'm sure the whole team felt that. He's a mogul. Of course he's the big boss," she continued. "But I think that you could imagine, certainly in my interactions with him, how that would dissipate and seep into every aspect of his life, and especially his relationships."
"Nobody was mistreated that I saw. I didn't feel mistreated. But it was very clearly to me — again, this is intuition, this is what we pick up as women and humans who are smart and have been around — he just didn't see your humanity when he looked at you. It felt very obvious to me that everyone was just sort of there to be used."
"I didn't see that proof," she admitted. "Obviously, I saw it with the rest of America today. But when I saw it I knew that that was something that he could be capable of."
Disturbing video footage from the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in 2016 that was released on Friday showed Diddy shoving, kicking, dragging, and throwing objects at Cassie.
Cassie had described the altercation in the $30 million lawsuit she filed accusing Diddy of physical and sexual abuse in November 2023. The suit was settled shortly after her filing.
Although the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office cannot prosecute Diddy over the video due to the statute of limitations, the rapper still faces multiple other lawsuits and a federal sex trafficking investigation.
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Diddy posted an apology video to Instagram on Sunday. "It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you gotta do that," he said.
"I was f----- up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I'm disgusted now."
"I went and I sought out professional help," he continued. "Going to therapy, going to rehab. Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
