Photo Credit: Diddy’s Instagram
Since the video emerged that appeared to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016, the rapper and business mogul has released his own video apologizing for behavior that he previously denied. But even with a public admission of guilt, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office says the assault falls outside the statute of limitations, meaning Combs will not be charged for it.
In his video, which the 54-year-old posted to Instagram on Sunday, May 19, Diddy addresses the camera directly, saying he makes “no excuses” for his behavior caught on the surveillance video obtained by CNN and released on Friday.
“My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” says Combs. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it; I’m disgusted now,” he continues. “But I’m committed to being a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
The surveillance video is reportedly from March 5, 2016, and shows Diddy wrapped in a bath towel charging down the hall after Ventura, before throwing her to the ground, kicking her, grabbing her, and dragging her down the hallway. The video also shows him throwing an object that appears to be a vase.
According to CNN, the surveillance footage was confirmed to have been filmed at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, which is now closed. Notably, this is the same hotel in which Ventura claimed the event occurred in her lawsuit filed in November, in which she accuses Combs of physical and psychological abuse, rape, and sex trafficking.
The surveillance video appears to match Ventura’s account in the now-settled lawsuit; the two parties reached an undisclosed settlement just a day after it was filed. Ventura’s lawsuit stated that Combs had become “extremely intoxicated and punched” her in the face, “giving her a black eye.” The lawsuit says that when Ventura tried to leave while he was sleeping, but Combs awoke and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her,” then “grabbed at her,” and “took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her.”
Just after the surveillance video surfaced on Friday, but before Combs released his apology video on Sunday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement that Combs would not face charges in connection with the 2016 footage.
“We find the images extremely disturbed and difficult to watch,” said the DA’s office in a statement posted to social media. “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Since Ventura’s lawsuit, Diddy has faced numerous lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. He has systematically denied all the allegations. Still, he is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security in connection with sex trafficking allegations. The federal investigation has resulted in two of his homes being searched in March.
