Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura testifies on day two of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ federal trial
Unedited hotel surveillance footage showing Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was shown in court this week.
The brutal incident, already seen in a viral 2024 broadcast by CNN, was presented in its original form on day two on Diddy’s federal sex trafficking trial (May 13), when Cassie took the stand.
The silent footage, released early Wednesday, shows him dragging his then-girlfriend Cassie by the head, slamming her to the ground, and kicking her repeatedly before pulling her limp body back to their hotel room.
The Daily Mail reported that Diddy slowly shook his head as the courtroom watched in silence.
Diddy’s lawyers have long argued that the footage released by CNN in 2024 was doctored.
In a March 2025 court filing obtained by TMZ, Diddy’s lawyers claimed CNN altered the footage using free editing software — covering time stamps, rearranging clips, and speeding up sequences to exaggerate the violence.
The network strongly denied the claims, stating, “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source.”
Cassie’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, dismissed Diddy’s claims as a stalling tactic, telling the Daily Mail, “It’s not surprising Diddy would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury.”
Now, the unaltered version is front and centre in Diddy’s trial, where he faces charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The case largely revolves around his alleged abuse of women, including Cassie, during their on-off relationship between 2007 and 2018.
Cassie gave emotional testimony on Tuesday, describing a toxic relationship marked by control and violence. “I began to just experience a different side of him,” she told the court, via BBC, alleging Diddy “would bash on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me… too frequently.”
Security guard Israel Florez also testified that Diddy tried to bribe him after the attack, saying, “I don’t want to lose anything and I can lose it all,” according to The Telegraph.
