NEW YORK (AP)
A lawsuit by singer Cassie containing allegations of beatings and abuse by music producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been settled, the artistes announced Friday, one day after the lawsuit was filed.
Douglas Wigdor, who represents Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura, made the announcement via email.
The statement said they had reached a deal “to their mutual satisfaction” Friday evening, but no terms of the agreement were disclosed and no further statements would be issued beyond those made by Ventura, Combs and Wigdor in the email distributed by the lawyer.
“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support,” Ventura’s statement said.
Combs said,”We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
Ben Brafman, an attorney for Combs, said in a statement last Thursday that Combs “vehemently denies” the allegations.
The lawsuit alleged Combs brought the singer into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” soon after she met him and signed to his label in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37.
Ventura, now 37, said Combs, now 54, began a pattern of abuse as soon as their on-and-off relationship began in 2007.
The lawsuit alleged that, “prone to uncontrollable rage”, Combs subjected Ventura to “savage” beatings in which he punched, kicked and stomped her. It alleges he plied her with drugs and forced her to have sex with other men and filmed them.
The lawsuit said that as Ventura was trying to end the relationship in 2018, Combs forced her into her home and raped her.
Combs, a three-time Grammy winner and founder of Bad Boy Records, is among the most influential hip-hop executives. This year, he released the album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, which earned two Grammy nominations.
Ventura gained fame with the hit single Me & U, which rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart in 2006. As an actor, she was in several projects including Fox’s Empire, Step Up 2:The Streets and Spenser Confidential.
Brafman’s statement on Thursday said Ventura had for the past six months persistently demanded $30 million while threatening to write a damaging book about her relationship with Combs.
Ventura withdrew the initial threat before filing a lawsuit.
Wigdor responded Thursday in a statement saying Combs had offered her “eight figures to silence her” and prevent the lawsuit from being filed.
He praised his client in a statement included in his email announcing the settlement on Friday.