Diddy assault video cements fall of hip-hop icon

CCTV video footage confirmed what many individuals within the music trade knew was brewing: a second of reckoning for some of the influential hip-hop artists in historical past.

The clips of Sean “Diddy” Combs kicking his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura – as she lay immobile on the ground – cemented his downfall, regardless of his apology after the leak.

“I do not see a path for him to come back again from this,” mentioned Amy DuBois Barnett, the previous editor-in-chief of Ebony journal, who has written about hip-hop tradition.

Combs’ popularity within the trade had been “chequered for a while,” added Barnett. “Many individuals had been conscious of his fairly unbridled mood.”

Combs – previously generally known as P Diddy, Puff Daddy or Puffy – is without doubt one of the best-selling and most acclaimed artists of all time, with three Grammy Awards and tens of millions of document gross sales to his title.

For years, nothing actually affected his rise to icon standing as an artist, producer and businessman. There have been unfavorable tales within the trade, mentioned Barnett, however a lot of it stayed out of the general public eye.

Final November, Ms Ventura settled a lawsuit towards Combs – by which she accused him of rape and sexual trafficking – for an undisclosed sum. However Combs’ lawyer mentioned the settlement was “under no circumstances an admission of wrongdoing”.

Celebrities continued to voice assist for him, however that ended with the CCTV video obtained by CNN and printed final week.

The assault proven within the footage is brutal. After kicking Ms Ventura like a soccer, Combs, carrying only a towel, is seen dragging her throughout the ground.

The video seems to be a compilation of surveillance footage angles dated 5 March 2016, which CNN mentioned was filmed on the InterContinental Resort in Century Metropolis, Los Angeles. In her lawsuit, Ms Ventura had described a March 2016 incident at that resort, by which Combs allegedly attacked her.

A string of different lawsuits have since been introduced towards Combs for abuse, sexual misconduct and rape. The newest was filed on Tuesday by Crystal McKinney, a former mannequin and winner of MTV’s 1998 Mannequin Mission competitors.

She claimed she was “drugged and sexually assaulted” in 2003 by Combs following a vogue occasion in New York. BBC Information has contacted Diddy’s representatives for touch upon the claims.

When the primary lawsuits had been filed, the rapper known as the accusations “sickening” and mentioned the alleged victims had been searching for “a fast pay day”.

However the video of the assault on Ms Ventura undermined these denials.

Combs was silent for 2 days after its launch, earlier than posting an apology to Instagram, admitting it was him within the tape and calling his actions “inexcusable”.

“I used to be disgusted then once I did it,” he mentioned, “and I am disgusted now.”

“I went and I sought out skilled assist,” he continued. “I obtained into going to remedy, going to rehab. I needed to ask God for his mercy and style. I am so sorry.”