American music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, formerly known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, has admitted that he beat his former girlfriend, Cassie, in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released video footage of the attack.
In a video statement posted to Instagram and Facebook, the Grammy Award-winning star said he was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said.
The security video, which aired Friday, sees Combs – clad solely in a white towel – chasing and assaulting his then longtime girlfriend Cassie. The footage shows Combs throwing to the ground and kicking Cassie, who is an R&B star, as well as dragging her down the corridor and throwing what appears to be a vase.
Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, sued Combs last November over what she called years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day, but prompted intense scrutiny of Combs’s conduct. A number of lawsuits filed in the following months, including accusations of sexual assault by a music producer, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
In December, after Ventura and at least three other women had filed lawsuits against him, Combs posted a statement on Instagram denying the allegations against him.
“Let me be absolutely clear. I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” that post said.
Neither he nor his representatives had responded to the incriminating newly released video until Sunday.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said in Sunday’s video statement, a sombre expression on his face.
“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab,” he added. “I 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.”
Not everyone was so convinced by Combs’s apparent remorse, however.
Meredith Firetog, who represents Ventura and other women who have sued Combs, claimed the apology was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.”
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday,” the lawyer said in a statement. “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
In spite of his recent admission of guilt, Combs is not in danger of criminal prosecution for the assault on his ex-girlfriend. The statutes of limitations for the assault and battery charges he would be likely to face expired years ago.
The same is true of many of the allegations in the lawsuits, but federal investigators following Combs are likely looking for potential crimes they can bring under the law.
