• Rap mogul Sean Combs has been accused of rape and severe
  physical abuse by ex-girlfriend Cassie.
• In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, by Cassie, Combs is characterised as
  a “a vicious, cruel, and controlling man”.
• Combs’ lawyer Ben Brafman has vehemently” denied the
  allegations, calling them “offensive and outrageous.”
• Ventura brought her case under the Adult Survivors Act, a
  New York law allowing alleged victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits past
  the statute of limitations.

Superstar rapper and music industry mogul Sean Combs was
sued Thursday by the singer Cassie, who accused him of rape and physical abuse.

The hip-hop artist – also known as both Puff Daddy or Diddy
– subjected the R&B singer, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, to more
than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape,
she said in her suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan.

The suit says that Ventura met Combs in 2005, when she was
19, and he was 37.

He signed her to his label, Bad Boy Records, after which she
began a romantic relationship with him.

Court documents characterised it as “an ostentatious,
fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” and called Combs “a vicious,
cruel, and controlling man” who wielded power over Ventura, both as her
boss and as one of hip-hop’s leading figures.

In a statement to AFP, Combs’s lawyer Ben Brafman
“vehemently” denied the allegations, calling them “offensive and
outrageous.”

Combs accused Ventura of blackmail, saying her aim was to
“tarnish” his reputation and gain a payout.

Adult Survivors Act

Combs, now 54, founded Bad Boy in 1993 and was a major
figure in hip-hop’s commercialisation over the course of the decades that
followed. His proteges included the late Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige.

He is among hip-hop’s billionaires, not least due to his
ventures in the liquor industry.

The suit describes him as a violent man, recounting
disturbing scenes of his violent outbursts, including forcing Ventura to engage
in sex acts with male sex workers, which she alleges Combs filmed.

Other allegations include that Combs forced Ventura to carry
a firearm in her purse as a means of intimidating her and making her
uncomfortable.

It also indicates that Combs blew up the car of another
person interested in Ventura.

Court documents also detail that in 2018 Combs and Ventura
had dinner, after which the magnate forced himself into her apartment and raped
her.

The complaint says her association with Bad Boy ended in
2019.

Ventura is seeking damages, including for “mental pain
and anguish and severe emotional distress” as well as lost wages.

Ventura brought her case under the Adult Survivors Act, a
New York law allowing alleged victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits past
the statute of limitations.

Her legal team cites the law in her filing.

“Although Ms. Ventura was unable to speak up against
the years of abuse she endured at the hands of Mr. Combs, she has since been
able to rebuild her life and confront her trauma,” court documents say.