Cassie and Diddy Settled: Everything You Need to Know

Trigger warning: The following content may be disturbing to some readers.

We have whiplash, people.

On Thursday, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura brought a lawsuit against her former boyfriend, Hip-Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging physical violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking and emotional abuse. Just a day later, the two reached an out-of-court settlement, according to The New York Times.

During the dizzying 24 hours between allegations and resolution, we’ve seen all manner of conjecture and supposition, including a conspiracy theory about Kid Cudi’s car and visions that Diddy’s late former girlfriend Kim Porter supposedly channeled through psychic Sloan Bella, which Bella shared on YouTube five months ago.

There was also an odd report of an NYPD spokesperson sharing information about a separate investigation into Diddy. TMZ reported that the NYPD released a statement saying this information was incorrect.

As expected, social media has been all a-twitter (Sorry. We couldn’t help it.), with comments across all platforms:

TikTok user Kei drank the psychic Kool-Aid, posting, “I follow Sloan Bella on YT and saw that video about Kim Porter when it first dropped and WOW! fast forward…. here is November 😲”

Alana Gardner commented on Facebook: “This just scratched the surface. Jaguar Wright has been trashed for speaking on him for years. They will definitely pass her the mic now.”

On Threads, actress Holly Robinson Peete posted a simple 🤨 emoji to news of the settlement.

Though terms of the settlement are undisclosed, here are the three things to know about the lawsuit and settlement:

1. Court documents obtained by the New York Times detail years of abuse dating back to 2005, when Cassie, then 19, first signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. The most salacious part of Cassie’s account alleges she was plied with drugs and forced to have sex with male prostitutes in lingerie and masquerade masks while Diddy masturbated and filmed them. The lawsuit also alleges Combs subjected Cassie to “savage” beatings in which he punched, kicked and stomped her, and that he raped her in her Los Angeles home in 2018 when she tried to end the relationship.

2. Ventura brought the lawsuit under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that allows people who say they were victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits after the statute of limitations has expired. According to NPR, Cassie’s one-year window to file her case under this law would end next week; she cites this in her complaint: “With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”

3.  Cassie’s lawyers claim they met with Diddy’s legal team before she filed the suit, and Cassie was offered “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit,” an offer they declined. According to the Associated Press, Friday night’s settlement, announced in a release sent by Cassie’s attorney Douglas Wigdor, is a deal that brings both parties “mutual satisfaction.” Cassie and Combs both issued statements: “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” Cassie said. Combs, who hours earlier vehemently denied Cassie’s claims, also said the resolution was amicable and that he wished “Cassie and her family all the best.”

There’s no word of an NDA — only AP’s reporting that there will be no further comments from either camp — but we’re left to wonder what other bombshells might’ve been dropped had this resolution not been reached.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org.