(NewsNation) — Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs missed a crucial opportunity to settle sexual abuse allegations with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura before her lawsuit, accelerating his professional collapse and legal troubles, according to an upcoming podcast.
The Law & Crime series “The Rise and Fall of Diddy” details how Ventura approached Combs with settlement talks before filing her explosive lawsuit in November 2023, The Guardian reported.
Attorney Donte Mills, featured in the podcast, said Ventura “gave him an opportunity to settle the case before she brought [a] lawsuit,” according to The Guardian.
When settlement negotiations failed, Ventura filed a lawsuit alleging rape, physical abuse and forced encounters with sex workers. The lawsuit came just before the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act.
Combs settled Ventura’s lawsuit within a day, paying an undisclosed sum. However, the settlement did not prevent subsequent legal challenges.
Federal authorities subsequently raided Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami properties in March. CNN then obtained hotel security video from 2016 contradicted Combs’ denials of abusive behavior.
In the video, Combs is seen running in a towel after Ventura, who is seen standing in front of an elevator bank. He aggressively grabs and drags her down and then kicks her before picking up her luggage. He is then seen dragging her on the floor back to a hotel room as she braces her head.
In September, Combs was arrested on sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors alleged he coerced victims into group sexual encounters, which court documents described as “freak offs” so physically intense that participants required intravenous fluids afterward.
“I truly believe the downfall of Sean Combs … began [with] the Cassie Ventura lawsuit,” Mills said in the podcast, The Guardian reported.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A federal judge has denied him bail three times, describing him as a “serious risk” for potential witness tampering.
Prosecutors claim Combs attempted to influence potential witnesses and public opinion while in custody awaiting trial.
The three-episode podcast series hosted by NewsNation’s Jesse Weber is set to debut Wednesday on the Wondery+ platform.