In January 2012, Cudi was in Los Angeles when he received a call from his dog sitter, who was at his house around 6:30 a.m., he claims. The sitter allegedly told Cudi that his car, a Porsche convertible, was on fire, and he returned home to see the damage himself. Photos of Cudi’s car were then shown in court, with smoke damage to the car doors and a hole cut into the roof of his convertible clearly visible. A photograph of a Molotov cocktail found near the car was also shown.
Cassie alleged that Diddy learned of her seeing Cudi while he was looking through her phone at the site of a “freak-off”—the lengthy sex marathons with male prostitutes that are at the center of this case—and he lunged at her with a wine bottle opener. Later that day, Diddy threatened to release sexually explicit videos of Cassie in retaliation, she claims. “He was just so angry, and when I was in the room, he told me about videos that he had that he was going to release, and how he was going to hurt Scott and I,” Cassie testified. She went on to specify that Diddy threatened that Cudi’s car would be “blown up” in his driveway. Cassie claims she ended the relationship with Cudi because she was afraid of what Diddy might do next.
The three artists met at the Soho House in Los Angeles to discuss the relationship, during which they alluded to the damaged car, according to separate testimonies from both Cassie and Cudi. “[Diddy] was standing there like a Marvel super villain,” recounted Cudi. “[He] offered me water twice. It was weird, Sean Combs being so calm.” After Cudi asked about his car, he claims Diddy replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” During her time on the stand, Cassie described a similar exchange: “Scott said, ‘What about my vehicle?’ And Sean said, ‘What vehicle?’ And that was the end of the meeting.”
Cudi’s testimony followed four days of questioning of Cassie, and the ensuing testimony of his former collaborator Dawn Richard, both of whom claimed that Diddy verbally and physically abused them. Richard worked alongside Diddy on the Making the Band reality show for several years and in the groups Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money. In that time, she alleges that Diddy verbally and physically abused her—allegations outlined in a separate lawsuit filed last year.
During her four-day testimony in the opening week of trial, Cassie shared explicit details about the “freak-offs” at the center of the prosecution’s case. “It basically entails the hiring of an escort and setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean,” sometimes for as long as four days, she said, and explained how Diddy directed her to hire the escorts herself. “The freak-offs became a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again.”
Following the conclusion of her testimony, both Cassie and her husband, Alex Fine, released statements on the trial via her attorney Douglas H. Wigdor. “This week has been extremely challenging, but also remarkably empowering and healing for me. I hope that 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,” Cassie shared via Wigdor. On Fine’s behalf, he said “Cassie saved Cassie. She alone broke free from abuse, coercion, violence, and threats. She did the work of fighting the demons that only a demon himself could have done to her.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
https://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
If you or someone you know have been affected by domestic abuse, we encourage you to reach out:
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
https://thehotline.org
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
