The contents of text messages sent to Cassie from Sean “Diddy” Combs following his 2016 hotel assault of the singer were revealed during the music mogul’s most recent bail appeal hearing.
On Wednesday (Sept. 18), the messages were made public in a New York court, which contributed to his appeal being denied for the second time. During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson read the texts out loud, which followed unearthed footage of the brutal attack revealed earlier this year.
According to Johnson, Diddy texted Cassie at the time, “Call me, the cops are here. I got six kids. Yo, please call, I am surrounded. You gonna abandon me all alone.” In response, the R&B singer reportedly wrote, “When you get f**ked up, you knock me around. I’m not a rag doll. I’m someone’s child.”
“The defendant knew he had done something that could elicit police response,” Johnson stated.
A 2016 video shows Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in an altercation that matches some allegations in now-settled lawsuit https://t.co/fYUQ2z2MYN
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
The attack occurred on March 5, 2016 in the hallway of the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. In Diddy’s defense, attorney Marc Agnifilo argued that the father of seven — which includes four daughters — was antagonized by Cassie, who allegedly went through his phone and found him communicating with other women.
Agnifilo claimed that while Diddy was sleeping, Cassie threw the phone at his head, stole his clothes and stormed out of the hotel room. On the contrary, prosecutors argued that a male sex worker was present and Cassie was trying to flee the room to escape another “freak off” party.
After initially denying assaulting the “Me & U” singer, the Bad Boy CEO changed his stance following the hotel surveillance footage being brought to light. In a since-deleted Instagram video, he apologized for his “inexcusable” behavior.
“I was f**ked up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said at the time. “I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace.”
“I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day,” he pleaded. “I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
Diddy’s legal reps proposed a $50,000,000 bail package that would see the 54-year-old without a phone, internet, and female visitors. He also vowed to do drug testing. Despite his attempts to prove that he can await his trial in the comfort of his own home, the judge still denied all of his bail requests thus far, deeming him a “danger to society.”
He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will return to court on October 9.
