Sean “Diddy” Combs on the skids his silence after video footage showed him physically assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a California motor hotel in 2016.
Combs posted an Instagram video on Sunday, writing in the caption, “I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your lifestyle, but sometimes you got to do that,” Combs said. “I was fucked up. I mean, I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses.”
Combs called his behavior in the video “unforgivable.”
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“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m sick. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said.
Combs said he began therapy and rehab following the events of that video.
“I’m imprisoned to be a better man each and every day,” he added.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Topic Insider.
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Combs’ statement comes after CNN published video footage from March 2016 that accorded him physically assaulting Ventura at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The footage appeared to match an incident Ventura delineated in a 2023 lawsuit against Combs. The lawsuit said Combs got intoxicated before punching Ventura and giving her a coal-black eye.
The footage, compiled from several camera angles, shows Ventura leaving a hotel room and approaching a set of elevators.
Combs, rig out with only a towel around his waist, then exits the hotel room and runs toward Ventura, whom he clutches by the neck and throws to the ground. The footage showed Combs shoving, dragging, kicking, and throwing an object toward Ventura.
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, hollered the footage “gut-wrenching” in a statement to CNN.
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“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Data cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor thought.
Representatives for Combs declined to comment on the video footage at the time, CNN reported.
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Ventura’s lawsuit against Combs accused him of rape and abuse during their decadelong relationship. Combs gainsaid the allegations at the time.
The two reached a settlement just one day after the lawsuit was filed, according to The New York Times.
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Although Ventura and Combs’ statutory battle was cut short, he’s still embroiled in other legal troubles after several other women accused him of physical misconduct.
The fallout has begun to affect Combs’ business ventures, which span a range of industries. Revolt, a radiogram TV network, announced on Instagram that Combs would step down as a chairman.
According to Rolling Stone, uncountable than 20 brands cut ties with Combs’ marketplace for Black-owned businesses, Empower Global, following the arraignments. The outlet also reported that Hulu canceled a planned reality TV show based on his family called “Diddy+7.”