May 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Prosecution star witness Cassie Ventura wrapped her gripping testimony. Then she and her husband released separate, but powerful statements. Amy and T. J go through the emotional week and what’s next in the trial.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, the folks, welcome to this episode of Amy and
TJ covering the Diddy trial roads. We have been talking
about this for the past week. We got the first
full week of testimony. No doubts at all, Cassie Venturists
testimony is gonna be talked about for quite some time.
We wrote it talking about it bombshell after bombshell after
(00:23):
bombshell for days on the stand.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
That's right. And she, of course is the prosecution's star witness,
and she is the one who brought the lawsuit to
begin with, that created the criminal investigation that ensued and
is the reason why Sean Ditty Combs is on trial
now facing five federal charges.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, she finished on Friday. We should let folks know.
She wrapped up and they made sure they had her
done by noon, by lunchtime on Friday because frankly, she's
eight and a half months pregnant and they were concerned
she might have the baby this weekend. That did nice.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
She did not know, but you know, three days of
testimony for anyone testifying about anything would be overwhelming and difficult.
But she was reliving the most atrocious, grotesque, unimaginable events
that I don't think anyone could have an easy time retelling,
and yet she's doing it while she's eight and a
half months pregnant, and she's talking about suicidal thoughts. She's
(01:15):
talking about parties, sex parties that lasted for four days,
physical injuries, traumatic mental injuries. I mean this and all
with her husband in the courtroom watching her detail heinous,
heinous crimes that she says happened to her.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And so that's where we finished up on Friday with
her testimony. But then they called someone else down, Richard,
who is a member of Danity Kane, the group that
was on making the band that did he put together.
She testified, and we'll get into some of her testimony
in just a moment, but as far as we understood,
she was being cross examined today the day the recording
this here on Monday, so we'll have some more details
(01:52):
of her testimony when the day concludes. But rome's one
major I guess, I guess a major development on Friday
when Cassie finished with all of her testimony that was
again bombshell after bombshell, graphic and gripping. We then heard
from her personally. She didn't come out and to an
interview but her attorney came out and released a statement
(02:15):
and a pretty powerful statement that gave us a little
bit of an insight into just what the experience had
been for her in testifying for the past several days.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yes, so she and this is a very smart thing
to do. I think the last thing she would want
to do is stand in front of reporters or do
an interview after everything she went through. So she released
a statement that everyone could read, and she got to
say what she wanted to. She said, this week has
been extremely challenging, and that would be an understatement completely
at this point for her. She said, this week has
been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering. She said that
(02:48):
she hoped that her story my testimony has given strength
and a voice to other survivors and can help others
who have suffered to speak up and also heal from
abuse and fear. That's remarkable. And she also went on
to say for me, the more I heal, the more
I can remember, and the more I can remember, the
(03:11):
more I will never forget. I want to thank my
family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and I'm
grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received,
that is, you know, you felt for her when she
was on the stand, but I thought her her statement
was very empowering to so many other people who were
(03:32):
listening to her. A lot of people we heard who
had nothing to do with Shaun Didecombs but have experienced
their own traumas actually felt triggered by hearing her actually
get on the stand and talk about what she went
through as an abuse victim.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And we've had a conversation here here lately, plenty of
conversations about where do people draw the line between someone
being an accomplice and someone being a willing participant and
someone actually being a vict them And it's probably not
as simple as this or that one way or another.
And we've talked to other people who look at Cassie
(04:08):
and other who who were around did he who I
think a lot of people would classify as victims. Well,
we have other people saying these people were complicit as well.
These folks went along with it and in some way
were accomplices. It's a very complicated conversation to have, but
it shouldn't just be black or white. You're either you're
on this person's side or not on that person's side.
It's just this case is proving to be a little
(04:29):
more complicated, a lot more excuse me, complicated than that.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Right, there is a there is a line, or maybe
even a blurred line at this point as you point
out between being a victim and being an accomplice at
one point or just being complicit. You know, there's just
there is a lot of gray area, and I think
a lot of people who have been groomed and who
were young at the time can absolutely understand that blurry line.
By the way, Ventur did finish her statement, and this
(04:54):
was this was important too, because she's asking, she's asking
for privacy. She said, I'm glad to put this ch
after of my life to rest as I turned to
focus on the conclusion of my pregnancy. I asked for
privacy for me and for my growing family. She already
has children, now she has another baby on the way.
And the hope is that by her actually coming forward,
(05:15):
putting a face to it, saying what happened to her
in unbelievable detail, that she can finally put this to
bed and get justice.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
This is what they are trying to establish this week,
and we've had a lot of conversations with folks ropes
who are questioning, like, wait a minute, this is I
see him as an abuser on the video, but this
is not what this case is about. So why is
she up there speaking and testifying so much to abuse
when he's not charged for domestic violence. But they are
(05:45):
establishing their case a racketeering case, They're establishing a prostitution case,
a sex trafficking case by showing that this guy was
in command and control. She has more insights into these
free colls than maybe anybody, and so they're trying to
establish a case by showing, hey, yes, she went through this,
she experienced this. That sets whatever up for the jury
(06:06):
who was going to have an emotional reaction to her.
But folks, they are building a case, their case that racketeering,
that sex trafficking. She is very much in the middle
of that. Even she wasn't a victim of it, she
can establish I guess the whole the coersion, the racketeering,
the rico case that they are trying to put together.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, she absolutely admitted to seeking out some of these
male escorts and bringing them in and then doing what
she was told. She says. By Sean Diddy, Coombs herself.
And you know, we've talked about this a lot because
her husband, Alex Fine, was asked to be removed from
the courtroom while she actually detailed what the most heinous
(06:46):
thing that was done to her, perhaps you could say,
at least from a legal standpoint, And again Diddy is
not charged with this specific crime, but she said that
she was raped by him. And that was the one
moment that her husband walked out of the courtroom, and
not because he wanted to, but because the defense and
the prosecution came to an agreement that he would do
so because Combe's lawyers did not want him in the
(07:06):
courtorate because they say they might actually call him back
to the stand when they get their turn at defending
Shan Didnycomb. So we will see what happens with that.
But in the meantime, her husband did also release a statement.
They didn't release a joint statement. They put out statements
separate from one another. But I actually really loved to
hear what Alex had to say, so we're gonna read
them for you. Here. He said, over the past five days,
(07:29):
the world has gotten to witness the strength and bravery
of my wife freely being herself and freeing herself of
her past. There have been speculation online surrounding how it
must feel for me to sit there and to listen
to my wife's testimony. I have felt so many things
sitting there. I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love
(07:51):
for Cassie. I have felt profound anger that she has
been subjected to sitting in front of a person who
tried to break her him and all of those who
helped him along the way. Please know this, you did not.
You did not break her spirit nor her smile that
lights up every room. You did not break the soul
of a mother who gives the best hugs and plays
(08:14):
the silliest games with our little girls. You did not
break the woman who has made me a better man.
He said, That's some powerful stuff. I think that's something
that I think every wife would want to hear from
the man who is standing by her and with her
detailing the most horrific time of her life.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I have to remember you all, this is the gentleman.
This is her husband, yes, but this is the guy
who did He paid for as her personal trainer initially.
This is how he became came into her life and
became a friend. This is also the guy. According to Cassie,
they were dating when the alleged rape took place. She
was already dating her now husband when she went and
(08:56):
had a goodbye dinner with Ditty one night, she took
her back to her home, and that's what she said
the alleged rape took place. So her husband has been around.
I'm sure she told him about this, but as part
of the reason that they didn't want him in that courtroom,
he has some knowledge of what was going on in
her life around that time because they were dating.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
That's correct, and to that point they had been dating.
I don't know how serious they were dating at that point,
because then she did admit on the stand that after
the alleged rape that she did have consensual sex again
with Diddy after that. But ultimately, obviously they stopped dating
and she did continue on with Alex and they got
married and now they have children. She has another one
(09:37):
on the way. Obviously. Alex's statement goes on from there.
He went on to write, I did not save Cassie,
as some have said. To say that is an insult
to the years of painful work my wife has done
to save herself Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free
from abuse, coercion, violence, and threats. She did the work
(09:59):
of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could
have done to her. All I have done is love
her as she has loved me. Her life is now
surrounded by love, laughter, and our family. This horrific chapter
is forever put behind us, and we will not be
making additional statements. We appreciate all the love and support
(10:20):
we have received, and we ask that you respect our
privacy as we welcome our son into a world that
is now safer because of his mom. That's powerful.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
This I don't know what to because this might not
be over necessarily. There are a lot of tentacles to
this story, and there are a lot of people who
are still in the midst of legal wranglings of some
kind having to do with day civil lawsuits.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
How many civil lawsuits are there.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
We couldn't keep up. It was dozens because they were happening,
so that I don't know the official count. There are
so many, but Cassie's name is going to come up
plenty in those lawsuits and in stories in the future.
And there are plenty of people who do believe that
Cassie was complicit. I don't think anybody's arguing that she
was a victim at all. But after hearing her testimony,
(11:21):
you can't help but get emotional and your heart go out.
And look, if you see the video she's refered of
this man. But to think, you know, as it's over,
she can turn the page. She can like you can
close this chapter of what you're doing with Diddy and
you're going to have a baby soon, and it seems
like everything's going to be washed away, but it's you
would hope that for her and her family. I hope
(11:41):
they find some peace in this very important time for them.
But there is so much of this story, and we're
learning so much more as we're covering it day in
and day out, that this is going to be with
a lot of people for a long time, the rest
of their lives. But the legal part might be with
them for a long time.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
You do make a good point because to have that
many lawsuits and have to have her be an integral
part of them, because she was, by all accounts, with
Diddy by his side throughout all of these so called
freak offs and participated in them. And most people would
say willingly, But the question is is it something that
(12:19):
you're doing willingly if you're under the influence, if you're
under the threat of your own life, under the threat
of harm by him, physical harm, which again is undeniable.
That certainly happened to her without question. But where does
the responsibility lie. Where does the legal responsibility lie with
someone when they're being coerced, when they're being traumatized, when
they're being abused, to then be able to make sure
(12:42):
it doesn't happen to someone else, or you don't participate
in an event or in a freak off where someone
else is harmed for someone else is abused. It's very tricky,
it's very complicated, and it certainly is not a black
or white issue.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
And we would really encourage people. I know there are
salacious headlines. They've been out there. As soon as he
was arrested, all you saw was baby oil, baby oil,
baby oil. Look, this goes way beyond some damn baby oil.
And it's so important to have a conversation that goes
much more in depth than just the headline. So we
do we encourage everybody. Please, folks, don't just stop at
a salacious headline and listen to some of these stories,
(13:16):
listen to some of these people, listen to go read
a lot of this testimony if you get a chance to.
It's just this is so complex. Fame and power and
coersion and money and sex and kinks and drugs and consent.
All these things are playing and it's just not I'm
on this side or that side. It's just not that someone.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
The more Tju and I learned about this, the more
people we talk to, the more interviews we have, the
more testimony we read, the more my heart just hurts.
And I think about all of the folks who were victims,
truly victims. They were young, they were hungry, they were inexperience,
they wanted to be famous, they wanted to do their art,
(14:00):
they wanted to get into this industry, and Sean Diddy
Combs was their way in. And so you do what
you're told. You follow along because you think that's what
you're supposed to do. And sometimes you know, when you're young,
you don't follow your gut. You do what someone tells
you to do. And that is so much of what
we have been hearing, and that's what just breaks your heart.
(14:21):
Anyone who's a parent out there anyone who's ever tried
to make it in the entertainment industry or who has
a child who wants to This is some scary stuff
because it is far reaching. It went on for decades
and no one spoke up enough where they were actually
heard and believed, where any sort of policing authority even
(14:45):
got involved. I mean, that's what's so mind blowing to me.
The more people we talk to TJ, the more people
who knew about it. There were videos, there wasn't this
wasn't just rumors or gossip, there was actual evidence.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well that was fear. We talked to say, fear you're
fearful of your career not taking off, or fearful of
losing a career, but you have we I think every
person we talked to has a physical fear. They had
a real fear of being physically harmed in some way
by Diddy or his circle of folks. It was just
that much power in what he was doing at the time.
(15:18):
So again, these we just encourage you while to please
listen to the stories, listen to people, and and don't
be so inclined to say I'm on this side or
that side, team this person or team that person. That
always sucks when those come out. We do want to
let you know though, that Dawn Richard that we mentioned,
she did get on the stand a prosecution witness. She
was a member of Dannity Kane. But she has been
(15:40):
testifying Robes that she witnessed a particular incident in which
did he threw a skillet that were making eggs, actually
threw a skillet at her and she curled up on
the ground in a fetal position trying to protect herself
from him. She went on to testify that he actually
dragged her by the hair upstairs after that. At that
(16:02):
point she heard things breaking and fighting and yelling and screaming.
But that's been a lot of what she was testifying
to And again Monday, as we were recording this, she
was back on the stand this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, she was being cross examined, and we heard from
the defense team questioning her because look, we've seen this
a lot, and this is nothing new when it comes
to people who have claimed to be abused. Memories just
go away just in order to survive, in order to
deal with you compartmentalize, and then you forget. So his
(16:34):
defense team was pointing out she wasn't as open about
the drug use and the narcotics and the ketamine and
the cocaine and just all of the things we're hearing
about until recently, and she went out and said that
the more and this is actually kind of what Alex
was saying about his own wife's testimony, the further she
gets away from it, the more she starts to remember.
(16:54):
But initially she just pushed everything down and away and
genuinely forgot it because she wanted to. And so now
the memories are coming back. Now she's remembering more abuses,
more violations, more drug use, and so they're questioning that.
They're questioning her credibility because she has changed her story.
She has added more detail and given more scenarios of
(17:16):
what happened that she hadn't initially.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's their job as a defensive team. You can it
always happens, right. You hear one side and you're like,
oh my goodness, yes he's a monster, and you hear
the other side and they put a little doubt in there.
So that's what's happening. We will continue to keep an
eye on what's happening with this trial. It is what
everybody ropes. Even you don't have to turn on a TV.
If you have any friend, you only have to look
(17:39):
at your phone. Anybody in your world, everybody's talking about
this trial.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, and because you know, so many people claim to
have been hurt, not just hurt, but devastated lives, ruined careers,
ruined mental health, like just blown to shreds. This has
been life altering for a lot of folks. And some
of the folks whose names you might not ever hear,
who don't want to insert their names and don't want
(18:04):
to raise their hand and don't want to be a
part of the testimony or the lawsuits, they're out there too.
And you know, it's remarkable when you start to really
really investigate what may have happened for decades. It's the
best way I can describe it as I just it's sickening,
but it's eye opening, and I think it's important to
(18:26):
remember and to recognize that this happens, and we all
have to be a part of making sure it doesn't.
We have to give people a voice, we have to
believe people at times, and we have to make sure
that the right people are investigated, not just because you're powerful,
they're rich, that you somehow get to evade justice or
you get to be above the law, and we're seeing
(18:47):
that all play out in court, all.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Right, so folks, please stick with us. We will continue
to keep you updated about the ditty trial. But now
I'm TJ. Holmes, and I.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Mean the robot. Thanks for listening, Have a good day.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Ikeation pushed the GAT
Hey, the folks, welcome to this episode of Amy and
TJ covering the Diddy trial roads. We have been talking
about this for the past week. We got the first
full week of testimony. No doubts at all, Cassie Venturists
testimony is gonna be talked about for quite some time.
We wrote it talking about it bombshell after bombshell after
(00:23):
bombshell for days on the stand.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
That's right. And she, of course is the prosecution's star witness,
and she is the one who brought the lawsuit to
begin with, that created the criminal investigation that ensued and
is the reason why Sean Ditty Combs is on trial
now facing five federal charges.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, she finished on Friday. We should let folks know.
She wrapped up and they made sure they had her
done by noon, by lunchtime on Friday because frankly, she's
eight and a half months pregnant and they were concerned
she might have the baby this weekend. That did nice.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
She did not know, but you know, three days of
testimony for anyone testifying about anything would be overwhelming and difficult.
But she was reliving the most atrocious, grotesque, unimaginable events
that I don't think anyone could have an easy time retelling,
and yet she's doing it while she's eight and a
half months pregnant, and she's talking about suicidal thoughts. She's
(01:15):
talking about parties, sex parties that lasted for four days,
physical injuries, traumatic mental injuries. I mean this and all
with her husband in the courtroom watching her detail heinous,
heinous crimes that she says happened to her.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And so that's where we finished up on Friday with
her testimony. But then they called someone else down, Richard,
who is a member of Danity Kane, the group that
was on making the band that did he put together.
She testified, and we'll get into some of her testimony
in just a moment, but as far as we understood,
she was being cross examined today the day the recording
this here on Monday, so we'll have some more details
(01:52):
of her testimony when the day concludes. But rome's one
major I guess, I guess a major development on Friday
when Cassie finished with all of her testimony that was
again bombshell after bombshell, graphic and gripping. We then heard
from her personally. She didn't come out and to an
interview but her attorney came out and released a statement
(02:15):
and a pretty powerful statement that gave us a little
bit of an insight into just what the experience had
been for her in testifying for the past several days.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yes, so she and this is a very smart thing
to do. I think the last thing she would want
to do is stand in front of reporters or do
an interview after everything she went through. So she released
a statement that everyone could read, and she got to
say what she wanted to. She said, this week has
been extremely challenging, and that would be an understatement completely
at this point for her. She said, this week has
been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering. She said that
(02:48):
she hoped that her story my testimony has given strength
and a voice to other survivors and can help others
who have suffered to speak up and also heal from
abuse and fear. That's remarkable. And she also went on
to say for me, the more I heal, the more
I can remember, and the more I can remember, the
(03:11):
more I will never forget. I want to thank my
family and my advocates for their unwavering support, and I'm
grateful for all the kindness and encouragement that I have received,
that is, you know, you felt for her when she
was on the stand, but I thought her her statement
was very empowering to so many other people who were
(03:32):
listening to her. A lot of people we heard who
had nothing to do with Shaun Didecombs but have experienced
their own traumas actually felt triggered by hearing her actually
get on the stand and talk about what she went
through as an abuse victim.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And we've had a conversation here here lately, plenty of
conversations about where do people draw the line between someone
being an accomplice and someone being a willing participant and
someone actually being a vict them And it's probably not
as simple as this or that one way or another.
And we've talked to other people who look at Cassie
(04:08):
and other who who were around did he who I
think a lot of people would classify as victims. Well,
we have other people saying these people were complicit as well.
These folks went along with it and in some way
were accomplices. It's a very complicated conversation to have, but
it shouldn't just be black or white. You're either you're
on this person's side or not on that person's side.
It's just this case is proving to be a little
(04:29):
more complicated, a lot more excuse me, complicated than that.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Right, there is a there is a line, or maybe
even a blurred line at this point as you point
out between being a victim and being an accomplice at
one point or just being complicit. You know, there's just
there is a lot of gray area, and I think
a lot of people who have been groomed and who
were young at the time can absolutely understand that blurry line.
By the way, Ventur did finish her statement, and this
(04:54):
was this was important too, because she's asking, she's asking
for privacy. She said, I'm glad to put this ch
after of my life to rest as I turned to
focus on the conclusion of my pregnancy. I asked for
privacy for me and for my growing family. She already
has children, now she has another baby on the way.
And the hope is that by her actually coming forward,
(05:15):
putting a face to it, saying what happened to her
in unbelievable detail, that she can finally put this to
bed and get justice.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
This is what they are trying to establish this week,
and we've had a lot of conversations with folks ropes
who are questioning, like, wait a minute, this is I
see him as an abuser on the video, but this
is not what this case is about. So why is
she up there speaking and testifying so much to abuse
when he's not charged for domestic violence. But they are
(05:45):
establishing their case a racketeering case, They're establishing a prostitution case,
a sex trafficking case by showing that this guy was
in command and control. She has more insights into these
free colls than maybe anybody, and so they're trying to
establish a case by showing, hey, yes, she went through this,
she experienced this. That sets whatever up for the jury
(06:06):
who was going to have an emotional reaction to her.
But folks, they are building a case, their case that racketeering,
that sex trafficking. She is very much in the middle
of that. Even she wasn't a victim of it, she
can establish I guess the whole the coersion, the racketeering,
the rico case that they are trying to put together.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, she absolutely admitted to seeking out some of these
male escorts and bringing them in and then doing what
she was told. She says. By Sean Diddy, Coombs herself.
And you know, we've talked about this a lot because
her husband, Alex Fine, was asked to be removed from
the courtroom while she actually detailed what the most heinous
(06:46):
thing that was done to her, perhaps you could say,
at least from a legal standpoint, And again Diddy is
not charged with this specific crime, but she said that
she was raped by him. And that was the one
moment that her husband walked out of the courtroom, and
not because he wanted to, but because the defense and
the prosecution came to an agreement that he would do
so because Combe's lawyers did not want him in the
(07:06):
courtorate because they say they might actually call him back
to the stand when they get their turn at defending
Shan Didnycomb. So we will see what happens with that.
But in the meantime, her husband did also release a statement.
They didn't release a joint statement. They put out statements
separate from one another. But I actually really loved to
hear what Alex had to say, so we're gonna read
them for you. Here. He said, over the past five days,
(07:29):
the world has gotten to witness the strength and bravery
of my wife freely being herself and freeing herself of
her past. There have been speculation online surrounding how it
must feel for me to sit there and to listen
to my wife's testimony. I have felt so many things
sitting there. I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love
(07:51):
for Cassie. I have felt profound anger that she has
been subjected to sitting in front of a person who
tried to break her him and all of those who
helped him along the way. Please know this, you did not.
You did not break her spirit nor her smile that
lights up every room. You did not break the soul
of a mother who gives the best hugs and plays
(08:14):
the silliest games with our little girls. You did not
break the woman who has made me a better man.
He said, That's some powerful stuff. I think that's something
that I think every wife would want to hear from
the man who is standing by her and with her
detailing the most horrific time of her life.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I have to remember you all, this is the gentleman.
This is her husband, yes, but this is the guy
who did He paid for as her personal trainer initially.
This is how he became came into her life and
became a friend. This is also the guy. According to Cassie,
they were dating when the alleged rape took place. She
was already dating her now husband when she went and
(08:56):
had a goodbye dinner with Ditty one night, she took
her back to her home, and that's what she said
the alleged rape took place. So her husband has been around.
I'm sure she told him about this, but as part
of the reason that they didn't want him in that courtroom,
he has some knowledge of what was going on in
her life around that time because they were dating.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
That's correct, and to that point they had been dating.
I don't know how serious they were dating at that point,
because then she did admit on the stand that after
the alleged rape that she did have consensual sex again
with Diddy after that. But ultimately, obviously they stopped dating
and she did continue on with Alex and they got
married and now they have children. She has another one
(09:37):
on the way. Obviously. Alex's statement goes on from there.
He went on to write, I did not save Cassie,
as some have said. To say that is an insult
to the years of painful work my wife has done
to save herself Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free
from abuse, coercion, violence, and threats. She did the work
(09:59):
of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could
have done to her. All I have done is love
her as she has loved me. Her life is now
surrounded by love, laughter, and our family. This horrific chapter
is forever put behind us, and we will not be
making additional statements. We appreciate all the love and support
(10:20):
we have received, and we ask that you respect our
privacy as we welcome our son into a world that
is now safer because of his mom. That's powerful.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
This I don't know what to because this might not
be over necessarily. There are a lot of tentacles to
this story, and there are a lot of people who
are still in the midst of legal wranglings of some
kind having to do with day civil lawsuits.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
How many civil lawsuits are there.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
We couldn't keep up. It was dozens because they were happening,
so that I don't know the official count. There are
so many, but Cassie's name is going to come up
plenty in those lawsuits and in stories in the future.
And there are plenty of people who do believe that
Cassie was complicit. I don't think anybody's arguing that she
was a victim at all. But after hearing her testimony,
(11:21):
you can't help but get emotional and your heart go out.
And look, if you see the video she's refered of
this man. But to think, you know, as it's over,
she can turn the page. She can like you can
close this chapter of what you're doing with Diddy and
you're going to have a baby soon, and it seems
like everything's going to be washed away, but it's you
would hope that for her and her family. I hope
(11:41):
they find some peace in this very important time for them.
But there is so much of this story, and we're
learning so much more as we're covering it day in
and day out, that this is going to be with
a lot of people for a long time, the rest
of their lives. But the legal part might be with
them for a long time.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
You do make a good point because to have that
many lawsuits and have to have her be an integral
part of them, because she was, by all accounts, with
Diddy by his side throughout all of these so called
freak offs and participated in them. And most people would
say willingly, But the question is is it something that
(12:19):
you're doing willingly if you're under the influence, if you're
under the threat of your own life, under the threat
of harm by him, physical harm, which again is undeniable.
That certainly happened to her without question. But where does
the responsibility lie. Where does the legal responsibility lie with
someone when they're being coerced, when they're being traumatized, when
they're being abused, to then be able to make sure
(12:42):
it doesn't happen to someone else, or you don't participate
in an event or in a freak off where someone
else is harmed for someone else is abused. It's very tricky,
it's very complicated, and it certainly is not a black
or white issue.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
And we would really encourage people. I know there are
salacious headlines. They've been out there. As soon as he
was arrested, all you saw was baby oil, baby oil,
baby oil. Look, this goes way beyond some damn baby oil.
And it's so important to have a conversation that goes
much more in depth than just the headline. So we
do we encourage everybody. Please, folks, don't just stop at
a salacious headline and listen to some of these stories,
(13:16):
listen to some of these people, listen to go read
a lot of this testimony if you get a chance to.
It's just this is so complex. Fame and power and
coersion and money and sex and kinks and drugs and consent.
All these things are playing and it's just not I'm
on this side or that side. It's just not that someone.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
The more Tju and I learned about this, the more
people we talk to, the more interviews we have, the
more testimony we read, the more my heart just hurts.
And I think about all of the folks who were victims,
truly victims. They were young, they were hungry, they were inexperience,
they wanted to be famous, they wanted to do their art,
(14:00):
they wanted to get into this industry, and Sean Diddy
Combs was their way in. And so you do what
you're told. You follow along because you think that's what
you're supposed to do. And sometimes you know, when you're young,
you don't follow your gut. You do what someone tells
you to do. And that is so much of what
we have been hearing, and that's what just breaks your heart.
(14:21):
Anyone who's a parent out there anyone who's ever tried
to make it in the entertainment industry or who has
a child who wants to This is some scary stuff
because it is far reaching. It went on for decades
and no one spoke up enough where they were actually
heard and believed, where any sort of policing authority even
(14:45):
got involved. I mean, that's what's so mind blowing to me.
The more people we talk to TJ, the more people
who knew about it. There were videos, there wasn't this
wasn't just rumors or gossip, there was actual evidence.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well that was fear. We talked to say, fear you're
fearful of your career not taking off, or fearful of
losing a career, but you have we I think every
person we talked to has a physical fear. They had
a real fear of being physically harmed in some way
by Diddy or his circle of folks. It was just
that much power in what he was doing at the time.
(15:18):
So again, these we just encourage you while to please
listen to the stories, listen to people, and and don't
be so inclined to say I'm on this side or
that side, team this person or team that person. That
always sucks when those come out. We do want to
let you know though, that Dawn Richard that we mentioned,
she did get on the stand a prosecution witness. She
was a member of Dannity Kane. But she has been
(15:40):
testifying Robes that she witnessed a particular incident in which
did he threw a skillet that were making eggs, actually
threw a skillet at her and she curled up on
the ground in a fetal position trying to protect herself
from him. She went on to testify that he actually
dragged her by the hair upstairs after that. At that
(16:02):
point she heard things breaking and fighting and yelling and screaming.
But that's been a lot of what she was testifying
to And again Monday, as we were recording this, she
was back on the stand this morning.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, she was being cross examined, and we heard from
the defense team questioning her because look, we've seen this
a lot, and this is nothing new when it comes
to people who have claimed to be abused. Memories just
go away just in order to survive, in order to
deal with you compartmentalize, and then you forget. So his
(16:34):
defense team was pointing out she wasn't as open about
the drug use and the narcotics and the ketamine and
the cocaine and just all of the things we're hearing
about until recently, and she went out and said that
the more and this is actually kind of what Alex
was saying about his own wife's testimony, the further she
gets away from it, the more she starts to remember.
(16:54):
But initially she just pushed everything down and away and
genuinely forgot it because she wanted to. And so now
the memories are coming back. Now she's remembering more abuses,
more violations, more drug use, and so they're questioning that.
They're questioning her credibility because she has changed her story.
She has added more detail and given more scenarios of
(17:16):
what happened that she hadn't initially.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's their job as a defensive team. You can it
always happens, right. You hear one side and you're like,
oh my goodness, yes he's a monster, and you hear
the other side and they put a little doubt in there.
So that's what's happening. We will continue to keep an
eye on what's happening with this trial. It is what
everybody ropes. Even you don't have to turn on a TV.
If you have any friend, you only have to look
(17:39):
at your phone. Anybody in your world, everybody's talking about
this trial.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, and because you know, so many people claim to
have been hurt, not just hurt, but devastated lives, ruined careers,
ruined mental health, like just blown to shreds. This has
been life altering for a lot of folks. And some
of the folks whose names you might not ever hear,
who don't want to insert their names and don't want
(18:04):
to raise their hand and don't want to be a
part of the testimony or the lawsuits, they're out there too.
And you know, it's remarkable when you start to really
really investigate what may have happened for decades. It's the
best way I can describe it as I just it's sickening,
but it's eye opening, and I think it's important to
(18:26):
remember and to recognize that this happens, and we all
have to be a part of making sure it doesn't.
We have to give people a voice, we have to
believe people at times, and we have to make sure
that the right people are investigated, not just because you're powerful,
they're rich, that you somehow get to evade justice or
you get to be above the law, and we're seeing
(18:47):
that all play out in court, all.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Right, so folks, please stick with us. We will continue
to keep you updated about the ditty trial. But now
I'm TJ. Holmes, and I.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Mean the robot. Thanks for listening, Have a good day.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Ikeation pushed the GAT
Hosts And Creators
Amy Robach
T.J. Holmes
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