Is a doozy. We're starting out with Sean Combs, who's been accused of years of abuse by Cassie. This is his former girlfriend and also artist, according to Atlanta Black Star obtained the lawsuit filed Thursday, November 16th in New York, which states. [00:00:15] Combs lured Miss Ventura, this is Cassie, into an obstetricious, fast paced and drug fuel lifestyle and into a romantic relationship ship with them. The two met in 2005 when Cassie was 19 years old and Diddy was 37 years old and were in a relationship for close to 20 years. [00:00:34] According to the suit, Diddy asserted complete control over Cassie's personal and professional life during that time. That again is according to the New York I'm sorry, Atlanta Black Star. Accordingly, on one event which occurred at her birthday, 21st birthday party in which Diddy invited herself himself to it. [00:00:52] So he wasn't invited, he just invited himself. According to Cassie, Cassie said Diddy first forced himself onto her that evening. She had a boyfriend in and Diddy was dating the mother of three of his children, Kim Porter at the time. Cassie alleged that Diddy violated her on numerous occasions. [00:01:08] The most recent occurrence was in 2018 at her home after she attempted to break off their relationship. There's more, y'all. The singer also said that he often physically abused her. In the complaint, the lawyer state that she was punched, beat, kicked and stumped, [00:01:25] resulting in bruises, bust lips, black eyes and bleeding. Other abuse claims alleged that Diddy made the Me and U recording artist engage in sexual acts with male sex workers while pleasuring himself and filming the encounters. Again, this is according to Atlanta Black Star. [00:01:42] They said once after party with Jay Z, Mr Comb beats Miss Ventura repeatedly in an Escalade, including by kicking and hitting her, the complaint said. Adding, he forced her out of the vehicle on Fifth Avenue in New York City as a result of her time with the music producer. [00:01:57] Cassie says she was sucked into a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse, which required her to procure illistic prescription to satisfy his addictions. Let me just stop right here. [00:02:14] I'm not really familiar with Pop. I get lost when it comes to a lot of pop stars, but I remember this relationship vaguely between Cassie and Diddy. I don't know what in the hell to do with all this information. When I first heard of this, it blew my mind. [00:02:30] This is a horrible situation and the things that are being alleged here are some serious ish Rayyvana and I just want to say that we should not. And I tell people all the time domestic violence is a serious situation and [00:02:48] we should not put our respect for someone's music talent in this situation. These are two humans, and one of them is claiming she was and abused for nearly two decades by someone else. And I think we should stick to that point and not the personalities associated with it. [00:03:05] Rayyvana. >> Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think that's a really important point because so often when a celebrity is accused of sexual assault or domestic violence. Or what we just saw in the case of Meg The Stallion being shot by Tory Lanes. [00:03:21] There's already a built in fan base for that individual who's gonna defend them on the basis of they like them as an artist, as musician or an athlete, whatever they may be. But there's also people who are gonna come out of the woodwork and pretend they always loved and respected this person as an artist based on their own misogyny. [00:03:39] I'm sorry, there weren't that many Tory Lanez fans before he shot Meg Thee Stallion. That was a very real circumstance that we saw, and we're seeing it start to happen again here. And someone like Diddy, who has such a strong foundation, is so [00:03:55] influential and powerful within the industry, is going to have a lot more of that built in fan base, right? And it's disappointing to see people jump to his defense just as a knee jerk reaction. And it is based on sexism. [00:04:10] We know that, especially considering Diddy is someone who's been accused of all types of impropriety in the past. We're gonna get into that in a second but as a Kid Cudi fan, I'd heard the rumors. I had heard allegations about Diddy for a long time. [00:04:26] So to see that immediate, we have to support this person, we have to support this mogul, we have to support this artist. You can't divorce that from the sexism that is inherent in know. And it is a very brave thing to come forward with these allegations [00:04:41] knowing that you are going to be not just the victim of the abuse you were already forced to suffer at the hands of your abuser. But you're gonna be victimized by all of these unwashed men jumping to their defense because they hate women. So she's being very brave right now, and [00:05:00] what we can do to support her is listen and share her story and offer support to her and the other people who have started to come forward as victims as well. >> Speaker 1: Yeah, and I want to acknowledge that, like I said, [00:05:17] I know very little about the relationship. I do know that you hit it the nail on the head. This idea that we need to automatically defend someone as atrocious as Diddy's. And I'm not talking about, I don't have any perspective on this or any real knowledge about his abuse. [00:05:32] But I do know that people understand that Diddy, for a long time, had an extremely explodive personality. He exploited his artists. Many of them complained about how the record deals that they were in and also the way he managed their careers or ruined them for [00:05:50] speaking out against the way he managed their careers. So this idea that Diddy need to be defended, well, he has a billion plus dollars to defend him, and we'll see what that get him. I will say this, you said something about Kid Cudi because this is important. The lawsuit actually further contends that Diddy, after finding out that [00:06:07] a musician believed to be kid Cudi liked Cassidy, blew up his vehicle. This is what we're talking about. Literally blew up his vehicle. Cassie, who left Diddy label in 2019, said that she is just seeking justice and finally wants to be heard. After years in silence and darkness, [00:06:23] I am finally ready to tell my story and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who have faced violence and abuse in their relationships. She said this in a comment. With the expiration of New York's Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, [00:06:39] it became clear that. This was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I had experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life. Like I said, this is ridiculous. We should acknowledge that there's a response from Diddy's lawyer. [00:06:55] Mr Comb vehemently denies these offenses and outrageous allegations. Ben Brafman and this is Diddy's lawyer said in a statement to CNN. For the past six months, Mr Combs has been subjected to Mrs. Ventura persistence demand of $30 million [00:07:11] under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship. Which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. And this is, of course, according to Atlanta Black Star. Attempted payoff, Mr Combs offered Mr. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit. [00:07:28] This is according to Doug Wigdor told Deadline on Thursday after the singer and model filed a suit in federal court claiming Combs subjected her to abuse, violence and sex trafficking over the years. She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all women who suffer in silence. [00:07:44] Ms Ventura should be applauded for her bravery. Again, that is Dominique Patton at deadline. Others this is not it, though, Rayyvana, like you were saying, others in the music industry had previously made disturbing allegations against Combs prior to his arrest. [00:08:01] Keith D or Keffe D had accused Diddy of ordering him a hit on Tupac. We know this, this is the guy who's been arrested for actually killing Tupac. He said that he was told hired by Diddy to get it done. And then when his life stopped, cuz apparently he had a wonderful life as a drug dealer that Diddy [00:08:18] ruined because after he killed Tupac, he had to be on the run. He wanted his money from Diddy. Artists Jaguar Wright and Aubrey O'Day have previously made disturbing allegations against Combs as well. O'Day accusations said that Diddy formed Danity Kane [00:08:34] on MTV's Making the Band in 2005. O'Day was removed from the group in 2008, though she later returned in 2013. She previously alleged in a December 2020 episode of Call Her Daddy podcast. Excuse me. [00:08:50] That Diddy fired her because she wasn't willing to do what was expected of her. Not talent wise, but in other areas, she said, in seeming references to sexual favors. And this is according to Jennifer Zhan at Vulture. Listen, something just clicked to me when I [00:09:05] was actually going over that statement from O'Day, and now it all makes sense. Not that this is a revelation or something to prove these cases and nothing to make light of these cases. But I remember Dave Chappelle making a skit about Diddy and how demanding he was of people beyond, people that he was working with beyond the music. [00:09:25] And there was the skit Dave Chappelle talked about Diddy making people walk from Brooklyn all the way to Bronx or Manhattan to get him some Cambodian breast milk. And that skit just popped in my mind when O'Day said she was not willing to do what was expected of him. [00:09:41] Again, we know Dave Chappelle is a comedian, and there's not truth in all comedy, but I couldn't help but think about. Where are these demands that Diddy require of people, Rayyvana, to do things that are beyond the music, beyond their talent because he deserves to be, in his mind, treated like the God. [00:10:01] >> Speaker 3: Yeah, and he has a reputation of being a pretty ruthless business person. But also, when I say ruthless, I don't just mean in business acumen, but in his demands, in what he requests from individuals. And when it comes to women, particularly in this industry, [00:10:18] so often they are forced to contend with a man who controls the future of their career forcing them. And I think that's what was heavily implied in that statement, forcing them to engage in sexual acts, right? And some people might try to diminish that as a form of sexual abuse, but [00:10:36] it absolutely is. And we saw know in the cases with Harvey Weinstein, we could acknowledge it there. I think it's important to acknowledge that it happens not just in the film, in TV industries, but in the music industry as well. And just to point out the age differences, when this so called relationship started, [00:10:57] Cassie was 19 and Diddy was 37, I believe, or 38. It wasn't even just like a massive power differential within the industry, but she was just becoming an adult and he was a well established, almost in his 40s year old man. [00:11:19] And it's the same thing with the women in these other allegations as well. The age discrepancies are an important, play an important role because it shows what a predator he is. He is intentionally seeking out these young women, trying to create a career in the music industry, [00:11:36] in hip hop, and positions himself somewhat as a mentor to them. And then completely controls their careers in his hands and tries to or does successfully force them to engage in sexual acts with him or with other people as we read in Cassie's allegations against him. [00:11:55] >> We should also know if this is also true, there has to be a case that is not expired. And that case is that if it's true what the allegations said, that he also, this is a minor, she wasn't 21 when they met, and he was giving her drugs and alcohol, allegedly. [00:12:11] So that was something that needs to be dubbed into. There's more you all, yes, there's more. O'Day also claimed in an interview this year that Diddy had offered to return rights to Danity Kane's music if she signed a nondisclosure agreement agreeing to never publicly disparage the rapper or his Bad Boy label. [00:12:29] O'Day, who said she personally encouraged every member not to take the deal, reposted an Instagram Story today suggesting that the NDA were meant to keep Diddy artists quiet. And we see this, and this is another act from extremely powerful people, not just in the music industry, but all over, about how you keep nefarious behavior silent and [00:12:49] also how you silence victims as well. People misusing the NDA thing. I feel like NDAs should go away in this context simply because people are harboring or holding all this trauma associated with already something that is lopsided. [00:13:06] Talking about the power of someone as big as Diddy when he was 37. This is after, we have to admit, this is after he's already found Notorious B.I.G, he's already found Bad Boys, already an established label. So that exploitive attitude and possibility already exists even before [00:13:22] there's a relationship with this 19 year old child. And I know people push back on me calling a 19 year old child, but you can't buy alcohol at that age in some states, you can't buy cigarettes. And we all know that science tells us that the brain is still developing. [00:13:39] Again, I need to say this is alleged in the claim to offer drugs, alcohol to someone at the age and then have sex with them or force yourself in their lifestyle. Their 21st birthday, you pop up and the first time have sex with them is disgusting. [00:13:55] Again, we should say that Diddy's camp says none of this is true, but this is what this woman is telling the world happened to her. And again, I just say there's a pattern of abusive behavior that exists, we saw him beat his son's football coach because he didn't like the way his son [00:14:13] was being played in a football game. He beat this man in front of all those people. So we do know that happened. We also know that the punishment for that behavior was light or non-existent. And that goes back to what's possible when you have all the resources in the world. [00:14:29] Rayyvana? >> Speaker 3: Yeah, and so often these people are not held accountable for their actions, which is why it's so important and very brave of her to be filing this lawsuit. Like I mentioned earlier, she knows the negative attention it's gonna bring on her. [00:14:45] The hate from all the fanboys and the new fanboys who just hate women who are gonna be attacking her for it. I'm sorry, I'm looking at the chat for the show right now, and I saw someone say that women lie, so how should we believe her? And it's despicable, this is, even among a progressive audience, [00:15:04] someone is willing to say something as vile as that. It is really difficult for women to come forward, and I commend her bravery. And I commend the bravery of the other women who have discussed the way that they were mistreated by Diddy. [00:15:19] And I commend everyone who's not just women, but men as well, who are brave enough to come forward and name their abusers, particularly in court filings, because it's gonna be a very vulnerable process for her, right? [00:15:35] He is an extremely wealthy man who can hire the best attorneys in the country, who are going to try to tear her credibility to shreds. And she has stepped forward and said, I'm going to go through this so [00:15:50] that hopefully no other women have to suffer at the hands of this vile abuser. And she deserves all the praise that she can be given for her bravery. Yeah, indeed. And I think that, like you said, that comment is extremely vile. I just think we just got to be honest with what we know and [00:16:07] what we see out of people's behavior. When someone show you who they are, you should definitely pay attention. Jaguar Wright had this to say in an interview. Uptown record started with five people, Andre Harrell, Al B Sure, Heavy D and Puffy or Diddy, as we call him now and Kim Porter. [00:16:22] Of course, Porter or Diddy were the longest working employee, she was there from the very beginning, she was Andre's personal assistant. Kim is dead, Heavy D is dead, Andre Harrell is dead, the only two left are Diddy or Puffy and Al and Al is almost died. [00:16:38] Talking about, AI B Sure. And then he said, isn't that industry? This was in Street Star's interview. You want to know what they all had in common, though? The survivors and the late Uptown Records? They were all writing tell-all books, has Puffy ever been in a coma? [00:16:57] Has anything ever happened to him? He must be the luckiest mother effort, because it seems like everybody that worked at Uptown Records from the very beginning are gone. Just him. Jaguar Wright. Now, some people might say this is conspiracy theories. [00:17:12] This is all, linking together things that are not connected. I will say, though it is interesting that everybody was in the process of writing a tell all book about the beginning of Uptown Records and also that form or that era of hip hop, and they all are now gone. [00:17:27] This again, I'm not buying saying that this is connected at all or Diddy had anything to do with the death of them. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying it is a fact. All those things are facts. That these people were writing books when they all passed away. It is also a fact that Manny Mabel, who wrote the second book about Malcolm X, [00:17:45] died the day the book came out, too. So I'm not linking Malcolm X to the death of Manny Mabel, because Malcolm X had been dead for many of years. But back to the story at hand, and something that we shouldn't forget. Someone is alleging that she was and traumatized by this man for two decades. [00:18:02] This man is one of the richest men in the world. To believe that it's not possible or to automatically write her off is disgusting. When we see horrible behavior time and time again for this demographic, men with billions of dollars, behave ruthlessly over and over. [00:18:21] Diddy actually got in a fight with J Cole over J Cole, refusing to let him bully Kendrick Lamar over a lyric Kendrick Lamar put in a song. Literally Kendrick Lamar called himself the King of New York, Diddy took offense to that. And at a party was trying to fight Kendrick Lamar, and him and [00:18:38] J Cole ended up fighting. So this idea that he wouldn't go or be ruthless or behave in a ruthless manner is to be naive at best. And then on the other end of that is to be sexist, anti women, and in this case, just anti women. [00:18:56] And I think that is something that we need to acknowledge. Rayvon, I'll give you the last word on this before we go to the next story. >> Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll say to all of the men out there who say things, well, we just have to wait till they're found guilty or in this case, liable. They said that during Tory Lanez's trial, he was found guilty. [00:19:16] He's in jail now. And they still didn't change their tune. They're still calling Meg Thee stallion a liar. Despite that they said, we got to wait till we hear what the jury says. We got to wait till we hear what the jury says. The jury said he was guilty and now there was corruption in the trial. [00:19:33] There was corruption in the trial. So I don't trust for a second when I hear people use that type of phrasing around these issues. I think it's important to see what comes out in trial. I think that is, as someone who's gone to law school, something that we should value, but I think that so many people who weaponize that do so [00:19:53] just as a way of attacking the credibility of a woman. So we'll see again how this plays out, but all support to her during what is going to be a very vulnerable and difficult time. >> Speaker 1: Yeah, this is a wonderful point, and I thought I was done with [00:20:09] my thoughts on this, but what would be the case if white people told black, we see black people all the time talking, screaming about cops that are killing black people, if the response was and when the response is. Because often it is when the response is, well, [00:20:25] let's just see what happens when the case play out. If, were they criminals? Did they really attack the cop? So we see this behavior all the time, and our stance is completely different than when women come forward, right? It is never, well, that black person is lying about this cop. And when it is, we are very pissed about that. [00:20:43] So I just wanted to add that fact because it is a lot of sexism in that.