By Our Reporter
The rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted in a video apology that he punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend in 2016 in the hallway of a hotel after CNN released footage of the attack, saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said in the video statement, posted Sunday on Instagram and Facebook.
On Friday CNN showed footage of Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking Cassie, an R&B singer who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie, and throwing a vase in her direction.
Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, sued Combs in November over what she said was years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day, but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami.
He denied the allegations in the lawsuits, but neither he nor his representatives had responded to the newly emerged video until Sunday.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy says on the video. He adds: “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. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
Combs is looking somber and wearing a T-shirt in the selfie-style apology video, and appears to be on a patio.
The security camera video, dated 5 March 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in Ventura’s lawsuit.
The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the security video immediately after the incident. Neither he or his representatives have addressed that specific allegation. CNN did not say how it obtained the footage.
On Friday, Douglas Wigdor, lawyer for Cassie, condemned the video, saying: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”