Who Is Cassie Ventura? What to Know About the Woman Testifying Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Who is Cassie, the mononymous singer at the center of the Diddy trial?

Nearly two years after filing her own lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, Cassie Ventura took the stand at the rapper’s highly publicized sex trafficking trial. On May 13, a pregnant Ventura testified against her ex-boyfriend, describing alleged abuse at the hands of the rapper throughout their 11-year relationship, which spanned from 2007 to 2018.

“Sean controlled a lot of my life, whether it was career, the way I dressed, everything, everything,” Ventura told jurors, per the Associated Press, further claiming Combs would threaten to release images and video from his infamous “freak-offs” if she ever defied him. She also took the stand on May 14 and 15, when she was cross-examined by the defense.

But how did Cassie and Diddy meet, and what’s going on with her career? Here’s what we know.

Cassie Ventura is a singer who goes by “Cassie”

Cassandra Ventura, who grew up in Connecticut, began modeling at age 14, booking commercial jobs for brands like Delia’s and local department stores. She met producer Ryan Leslie in 2004 after moving to New York City to continue modeling. The pair also began a relationship.

According to her testimony, Cassie, now 38, was a 19-year-old aspiring R&B singer when she met Diddy through Leslie. She ultimately signed a 10-album deal with Combs’s Bad Boy Records label. Her 2006 debut album, Cassie, is the only album she’s ever released.

“I wanted to be around Sean for the same reasons as everyone else at the time,” Ventura told the court during her testimony, per The Times. “Just this exciting, entertaining, fun guy that also happened to have my career in his hands.”