The lawyer who rescued Johnny Depp’s reputation from domestic abuse allegations has warned that Sean Diddy Combs will regret apologizing for assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The rap billionaire said he was “disgusted” by his own behavior after surveillance footage emerged of the 2016 attack in a Los Angeles hotel hallway.
In a video message released Sunday, Combs said he took “full responsibility” for the attack, despite having spent years denying it and describing reports of the incident as “outrageous lies.”
The assault occurred too long ago to be prosecuted, but celebrity lawyer Ben Chu warned that Diddy’s sudden change of heart could wreak havoc on his defense against five other abuse allegations he faces.
“It’s a scene of real brutality,” he told Law&Crime Network. ‘It’s one thing to read it on the printed page, which is bad enough, but to see it happen is horrifying.
Celebrity lawyer Ben Chew, right, helped win a $10 million defamation award for his client Johnny Depp in 2022 over allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Chew warned that Combs could live to regret his apology video after footage emerged of his 2016 assault on his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The billionaire rapper was photographed taking a walk with friends outside his Miami home on Sunday, hours after posting his apology video.
“You’ve simply thrown any possible objections to the authenticity of the video out the window. Also, I don’t think what you said was helpful at all.
“It absolutely reeks of insincerity and, in light of the statute of limitations expiring for Ms. Ventura, the implications will be for the other accusers who have come forward because it certainly gives more credibility to their accusations.”
The music icon was photographed taking a walk with friends on Sunday after posting the video to her Instagram page.
But a torrent of condemnation broke through his head for his lies about the prolonged attack at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City in which he grabbed her by the head, threw her to the ground, kicked her repeatedly and tried to drag her back to his home. . room.
The rapper settled a rape and assault lawsuit filed by the R&B singer in November, one day after it was filed.
She claimed in her lawsuit that Combs had paid $50,000 to purchase the footage of the hotel assault.
But his attorney Ben Brafman said at the time that Combs continued to “vehemently deny these offensive and outrageous allegations,” despite the immediate settlement.
“For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand for $30 million, under threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” he said. Brafman in a statement.
In surveillance footage from 2016, Combs was photographed grabbing Ventura by the head, slamming her to the floor, kicking her repeatedly and attempting to drag her back to her room.
Ventura had visible bruises on her legs when the couple appeared together days later.
“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aimed at tarnishing Mr. Combs’ reputation and seeking a payday.”
On Monday, Ventura’s attorney, Meredith Firetog, said: “The fact that he was only forced to ‘apologise’ once his repeated denials were proven false demonstrates his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his false words.”
Ana Navarro called him a “social leper” and a “criminal” as the panel discussed events on Monday’s edition of The View, and New York Mayor Eric Adams said he could recover the key to the city awarded to the Rapper. born in Harlem last year.
“I think we were all deeply disturbed when we saw that chilling video of the young woman being attacked by him,” the mayor explained.
“The committee and team have never rescinded a key before, but now we are sitting down to see what the next steps will be.”
But the audience most interested in the apology video may be lawyers representing at least four clients who have come forward with sexual abuse allegations.
In November, Liza Gardner was accused of raping her and a friend in the early 1990s, when she was just 16, at a party after an MCA Records event in New York.
Ventura’s lawsuit claims she was ordered to have sex with several men, sometimes wearing masks and costumes, while Combs watched, masturbated and filmed.
She called the ordeals “horrible encounters” and said she had to take drugs to dissociate during the arrangements that Diddy allegedly called “freak-offs.”
Another woman, Joie Dickerson-Neal, filed a lawsuit that month alleging that he drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was a college student in 1991.
Record producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones claimed in February that he was ordered to recruit prostitutes and have sex with them for the star’s pleasure, and has hundreds of hours of video documenting his “serious illegal activity.”
And in April, former sailor Grace O’Marcaigh claimed the rapper allowed her son Christian ‘King’ Combs to sexually assault her on a private yacht during a 2022 Christmas holiday cruise in the Caribbean.
The rapper responded with fury as accusations against him mounted in December, issuing a statement in which he vowed to “fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
“Individuals looking for a quick payday have made disgusting accusations against me,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the horrible things that are alleged.”
Chew told Law&Crime Network that he found it difficult to believe that Combs’ lawyers had any involvement in the deposition: “If he was truly disgusted by his actions in 2016, why did he wait until 2024 to confess?”
Chew said a key difference between Combs’ situation and Depp’s was that “there were no other ‘me toos’ after Amber Heard came forward with her abuse allegations.”
In his statement Sunday, Combs did not name Cassie or address any of the other allegations directly.
“It’s very difficult to reflect on the darkest moments of your life, but sometimes you have to do it,” he explained.
‘I was angry. I mean I hit rock bottom, but I don’t make excuses, my behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video, I am disgusted.
“I was disgusted then when I did it, and now I’m disgusted. I went and looked for professional help, I got into going to therapy, going to rehab.
‘I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. Very sorry. But I am committed to being a better man every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness, I’m very sorry.’
Chew, who helped win a $10 million settlement for Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard, said he found it hard to believe Combs’ lawyers had any involvement in the deposition.
‘I would not have asked my client to give a statement after the publication of that video.
“And I certainly wouldn’t have let him be released. that statement, because I believe it will serve as material for future examinations and testimony, none of which will be good for Mr. Combs.
Combs and Ventura, photographed at the 2018 Met Gala, date back 11 years to 2007.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, pictured behind Combs, threatened to take away the key to the city he gave the rapper in September last year.
“Being intoxicated is only a defense against certain crimes with specific intent, such as first-degree murder, so saying you were intoxicated doesn’t help you legally.
“It undermines the sincerity, or apparent sincerity, of any apology, but what really struck me as disingenuous was that he said he was upset at the time in 2016.
‘Well, if he was truly disgusted by his actions in 2016, why did he wait until 2024 to confess?’ “Not only did he deny them, but he essentially called her a money grabber, that this was all a desire for a payday.”
“That doesn’t look like someone who’s upset with himself.”
