<p id=”par-1_60″>For <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sean-diddy-combs/”>Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs</a>, the writing was on the wall the moment Cassie <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/who-filed-the-first-civil-lawsuit-against-sean-diddy-combs.html/”>filed her first lawsuit against him</a>. Her testimony kicked off a chain of events that landed Diddy behind bars, where he’s currently awaiting trial. One filmmaker advised the music mogul he would’ve made things easier for himself by owning up to his mistakes months before his arrest.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-sean-diddy-combs-apology-was-not-enough-for-this-filmmaker”>Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ apology was not enough for this filmmaker</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Filmmaker-Sean-DiddY-Combs.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=’Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena while wearing a white suit and dark sunglasses.’ class=”wp-image-3764387″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Sean Diddy Combs | Mindy Small/FilmMagic</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_46″>Diddy had little choice but to confess and apologize for his assault on his ex-girlfriend Cassie. Initially, he denied he was abusive towards his ex. Through his legal team, Diddy defended himself from Cassie’s accusations not too long after the “Me and U” singer’s historic lawsuit.</p>
<p id=”par-3_74″>“For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” Combs’ team told <a href=”https://www.eonline.com/news/1390027/sean-diddy-combs-denies-cassies-allegations-of-rape-and-abuse”>E! News</a> in a statement. “Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_113″>But Combs would agree to a settlement with Cassie, anyway, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/cassies-settlement-sean-diddy-combs-will-massively-affect-net-worth.html/”>which increased her net worth substantially</a>. That didn’t spare the Bad Boys CEO’s reputation for long, however. Surveillance footage was released of Diddy physically abusing Cassie in a hotel lobby in May, 2024. Shortly afterwards, Diddy released a video through social media in an attempt to make amends for his actions. But the video wasn’t nearly enough to redeem Diddy for many, including filmmaker dream hampton. The veteran filmmaker already had experience documenting the similar downfall of a celebrity, executive producing <em>Surviving R. Kelly</em>. With Diddy, she tried to offer him some words of wisdom to help him avoid <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/r-kelly-warned-people-making-fun-sean-diddy-combs-allegations.html/”>ending up like Kelly</a>.</p>
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<iframe title=”dream hampton (‘Surviving R. Kelly’) on similarities between R. Kelly, Brett Kavanaugh | GOLD DERBY” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/xyNo-BPtbPo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-5_45″>“I reached out to him because I know that I’m someone that he’ll listen to. And I said, ‘Puff, I’m not trying to Olivia Pope you at all, [but] I think that you’re done and that it’s time to tap out,’” she told <a href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/surviving-r-kelly-dream-hampton-diddy-confess-cassie-assaults-1235035756/”>Rolling Stone</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-6_17″>Hampton reached out to Diddy a second time with clearer instructions for what he needed to do.</p>
<p id=”par-7_65″>“I was like, this is a Sisyphean struggle that women are involved in. The so-called Me Too movement, the rock is coming down. And this whole Johnny Depp, Russell Simmons, deny, deny, deny? That’s not even an option for you, Puff. Nobody is going to believe you. You’re loathed already. So you actually have an opportunity here to enter into a different paradigm,” she said.</p>
<p id=”par-8_51″>Diddy might’ve at least partially taken Hampton’s advice. According to <a href=”https://apnews.com/article/diddy-arreest-abuse-allegations-timeline-94547a7a2d9301310bdb18c383fa934d”>AP,</a> Diddy was already in New York at the time of his arrest, making it easy for law enforcement to secure him. But the Harlem native still maintains his innocence against some of the more nefarious crimes he’s being accused of.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-sean-diddy-combs-claims-freak-off-videos-prove-his-innocence”>Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims ‘freak-off’ videos prove his innocence</h2>
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<iframe title=”‘Freak-offs’ and sex trafficking: The shocking allegations against Diddy | 60 Minutes Australia” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/q6FtTEPRHFo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/diddy-tried-therapy-break-jennifer-lopez-kim-porter.html/”>
Sean Diddy Combs Tried Therapy After Break Ups With Jennifer Lopez and Kim Porter </a>
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<p id=”par-9_81″>Diddy’s seemingly excessive parties have been looked at a bit more closely during his trial. Cassie and several other accusers have claimed they were unwilling participants in these “freak-offs,” where they engaged in sexual acts without their consent. What makes the freak-offs look worse are the claims that Diddy intentionally recorded some of these encounters to blackmail unknowing party guests. Recently, his lawyers asserted that these video recordings don’t prove Diddy’s guilt at all. Instead, they’re <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/sean-diddy-combs-claims-freak-off-tapes-show-fully-consenting-adults.html/”>clear indicators of his innocence</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-10_55″>“Far from the government’s lurid descriptions, the videos show adults having consensual sex, plain and simple,” Diddy said through his defense team according to <a href=”https://deadline.com/2025/01/sean-combs-freak-off-videos-cassie-ventura-1236256522/”>Deadline</a>. “At bottom, this case is about whether Victim-I was or was not a willing participant in her private sex life with Mr. Combs. The videos confirm that she plainly was.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_43″>“There is no evidence of any violence, coercion, threats, or manipulation whatsoever,” the defense team further argued. “There is no evidence that anyone is incapacitated or under the influence of drugs or excessive alcohol consumption. There is certainly no evidence of sex trafficking.”</p>
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<p id=”par-13_32″><em>How to get help:In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.</em></p>