Cassie Ventura and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.
John Shearer | Getty Images | The Hollywood Reporter | Getty Images
The R&B singer Cassie and hip hop mogul Sean Combs on Friday agreed to settle claims in a bombshell case she filed a lawsuit just a day ago accusing him of rape, sex trafficking and brutally beating her during their personal relationship, her lawyer said.
Terms of the settlement between Combs and his former romantic partner Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, were not disclosed.
But on Thursday afternoon, Cassie’s attorney said Combs offered her “eight figures” — or between $10 million and $99.9 million — to stop her from filing her lawsuit.
Combs’ attorney Ben Brafman, who vehemently denied what he called “baseless and outrageous lies” later said Cassie had demanded $30 million while threatening to write a book about their relationship.
Cassie’s legal team said in a statement Friday, “This evening, Ms. Ventura and Mr. Combs settled the claims she filed against him yesterday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in their enjoyment of each other.”
“The parties have no further statement beyond what was provided in this email,” the statement said.
Cassie, in a prepared statement included in the email, said, “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on the terms that I have some degree of control.”
“I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support,” added the 37-year-old singer.
In his own statement in the same email, Combs said, “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably.”
“I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love,” said Combs, 54, who over the years has been known as “Diddy,” “Puff Daddy,” and “P. Diddy,” and “Love.”
CNBC has reached out for comment from Combs’ legal team.
Combs’ net worth last year was estimated by Forbes at $1 billion.
Cassie’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said, “I am proud of Ms. Ventura for having the strength to go public with her lawsuit. She deserves to be commended for doing so.”
The settlement is a swift and stunning end to a shocking civil lawsuit Cassie filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court against Combs, her Bad Boy Records music label, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records and Combs Enterprises.
The suit alleges that years after 19-year-old Cassie was signed to a contract with Bad Boy Records in 2005, Combs lured her into a sexual relationship that spanned nearly a decade.
The suit alleges Combs introduced Cassie “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to obtain illicit prescriptions to satisfy her own addictions.”
The complaint describes in great detail the “savage” beatings that Combs allegedly inflicted on the singer over the years, and that he blew up another man’s car after learning that the other man was interested in her.
And Cassie said in her suit that Combs forced her to have sex with “male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters.”
“As a result of the severe trauma that Ms. Ventura endured for over a decade with Mr. Combs, she suffered and continues to suffer from severe emotional distress,” the suit says.
