In a video posted to social media on Sunday morning, Sean “Diddy” Combs claimed to “take full responsibility” for his actions in the disturbing video that showed him beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a violent fit of rage in 2016.
“I was fucked up,” Diddy said in the video posted to his Instagram account, before adding, “I’m sorry.”
“I mean, I hit rock bottom. I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
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The music mogul claimed the incident led him to seek out professional help, including therapy and rehab, and that he was “committed to be a better man each and every day.”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” he said. “I’m truly sorry.”
Diddy’s Instagram post came two days after CNN published a harrowing video that showed the star repeatedly stomping Ventura after she tried to escape their Los Angeles hotel room in 2016. The video, captured by CCTV, showed Diddy dragging her motionless body back into their room by her leg.
The footage prompted widespread condemnation, including by Ventura’s husband and Diddy enemy 50 Cent, and may have pushed Diddy to close his fashion line’s website. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office also said it found the video “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but added it could not charge him as the statutes of limitations on aggravated assault had passed.
Meredith Firetog, a partner at Wigdor LLP and a lawyer for Ventura, chastised Diddy’s apology as “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.”
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday,” Firetog wrote. “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
