For two days, the jury heard Ventura�s account of her 11-year relationship with Combs, where she alleged she felt �trapped� in a life of physical and sexual abuse because he had �blackmail material.�
Cassie Ventura testified that in 2023, she went to rehab and trauma therapy because of what she described as losing her will to live, and her contemplation of suicide.
�I was spinning out and I didn�t want to be alive anymore at that point,� Ventura testified, breaking down as she recounted how �I couldn�t take the pain I was in anymore.�
Holding a tissue to her eyes, Ventura testified that she �tried to walk out the front door into traffic� but that �my husband would not let me.�
Ventura told the jury that she wrote about her experiences in the chapters of a book, �putting everything on paper for the first time so I could really understand what I had been through over many years.�
Ventura testified that she wanted Combs to read what she'd written because she �wanted him to recognize the pain he put me through.�
Combs listened to Ventura with his chin resting on his hand, elbow on the table.
�He brought the concept to me when I was 22,� Ventura testified, speaking of the "freak offs." �And it never stopped.�
Ventura testified that she participated in �hundreds� of alleged "freak offs" during her relationship with Combs, and none since.
Through tears, Ventura told the court, �I was always so numb because that�s what I chose to get through it.�
Ventura claimed in her testimony that she offered Combs the rights to her book for $30 million, a figure she said she picked at random and �that would alert him.� She received no money, she told the court.
Ventura testified that she filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 that he settled the next day for $20 million. Ventura's testimony was the first time that the monetary amount of the settlement detail has been publicly revealed.
Asked why she agreed to testify against Combs in this trial, Ventura replied, �I can�t carry this anymore. I can�t carry the same, the guilt, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable."
"What�s right is right, what�s wrong is wrong," Ventura told the court. "I�m here to do the right thing.�
LIVE UPDATES FROM GMA & ABC NEWS:
https://tinyurl.com/4wkat5rf
SUBSCRIBE to GMA on YouTube:
https://bit.ly/2Zq0dU5
SIGN UP to get the daily GMA Wake-Up Newsletter:
https://tinyurl.com/yc34mz6t
VISIT GMA:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com
FOLLOW:
TikTok:
https://tiktok.com/@gma
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/GoodMorningAmerica
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/GoodMorningAmerica
Threads:
https://www.threads.net/@goodmorningamerica
X:
https://twitter.com/gma