Cassie Ventura is breaking her silence. The singer, who goes by her first name professionally, is sharing a new message with her fans, thanking them for their support. Last week, video footage of Cassie being brutally attacked by her ex-boyfriend, rapper and mogul Diddy, was released. The footage, which shows Diddy physically attacking Cassie, including kicking her and throwing an object at her in a Los Angeles hotel, is incredibly hard to watch. But now that it’s been released, people are more willing to believe the allegations Cassie made when she filed a lawsuit last year against her ex. In the lawsuit, which was quickly settled, she alleged physical abuse and, among other accusations, rape.
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Cassie thanked her followers for their support.
“Thank you for all the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet,” Cassie began the note she posted on Instagram this week. “The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning. Domestic violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become.”
She is asking that more people believe victims when they tell their stories.
“With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past,” she continued in her post.
“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to take this matter seriously. My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.”
She had a kind message for her fellow survivors.
In the end, she had a powerful message for those who have survived domestic violence.
“I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone. This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me.”
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Diddy apologized after the video footage was released, but he may not have gotten the response he hoped to receive.
After the footage was released, the backlash against Diddy was quick. Over the weekend, the disgraced mogul took to social media to share an apology video. “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted,” he said in the selfie-style video.
Prior to the release of the footage, Diddy had denied Cassie’s allegations.
“Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations," read a statement that Diddy's lawyer Ben Brafman shared in 2023, via NBC News. "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."
Cassie's husband shared a message of his own.
Cassie’s husband, Alex Fine, posted on Instagram shortly after the attack video surfaced, sharing an open letter that he had previously written. “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men,” he began the letter.
He went on to share that “violence against women shouldn’t be inevitable,” imploring others to check on the men in their lives. He also reminded survivors that their “stories are real" and that people exist out there who believe them.
Alex ended his letter with a strongly worded message to abusers. “You’re done, you’re not safe anymore, you’re not protected anymore. The men by your side are just as weak, you’re so miserable with yourself that [death] would be considered a kindness," he wrote.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women's shelter (domesticshelters.org).
