A disturbing 2016 video that shows Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting singer Cassie, his former girlfriend, has emerged as a key battleground in his sex abuse case.
Last week, attorneys for the mogul suggested they could seek to have the tape excluded from his upcoming trial. Legal experts have described the video — taken in the hallway of an L.A. hotel in 2016 — as key evidence.
Combs faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation for prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and denies the charges.
So why is the tape such crucial evidence? Here is what we know.
What does the video show?
The video shows Combs chasing, kicking, dragging and hurling a glass vase at Cassie, a singer whose real name is Casandra Ventura. It corroborates parts of a civil lawsuit Ventura filed against Combs last year, which was settled a day after it was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The recording, dated March 5, 2016, shows Ventura in a hoodie and carrying a duffel bag, walking in a hotel hallway toward an elevator. Combs can be seen running down the same hallway, shirtless and holding a towel around his waist.