20 May 2024

Diddy apologises for 'inexcusable' behaviour

6:26 am on 20 May 2024
(FILES) Sean P. Diddy Combs with Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of 'The Perfect Match' at the Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles on March 7, 2016. Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs apologized on May 19, 2024 after surveillance video surfaced showing him physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in 2016. Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP)

Sean "Diddy" Combs with Cassie Ventura attend the premiere of 'The Perfect Match' at the Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles on 7 March 2016. Photo: AFP / CHRIS DELMAS

Sean "Diddy" Combs has apologised for his "inexcusable" behaviour after CCTV appeared to show him attacking singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura.

Speaking in a video posted to his Instagram page, the rap star said he took full responsibility for his actions in the clip.

The footage, aired by CNN earlier this week, appeared to show Combs kicking and pushing his ex-girlfriend in a hotel hallway.

"I was disgusted when I did it. I'm disgusted now," he said in his statement.

"I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry."

The BBC has not independently verified the video, which appears to be a compilation of surveillance footage angles dated 5 March 2016.

According to CNN, it was filmed at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said on Friday that the alleged assault captured in the video might be too old to prosecute.

Last November, Ventura settled a lawsuit against Combs - in which she accused him of rape and sexual trafficking over a decade - for an undisclosed sum.

Combs' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said at the time that the settlement was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing".

Since then, several other women have filed lawsuits accusing the rapper of sexual and physical abuse.

His homes in Los Angeles and Miami, Florida, were raided last month as part of a federal investigation into human trafficking.

- BBC

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