Cassie Started Dating Kid Cudi — and What Diddy Did Next Changed Everything, She Testified

Casandra “Cassie” Ventura says she briefly dated rapper Kid Cudi — but had to break it off out of fear of her on-again, off-again boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ reaction. 

The “Me & U” singer and Combs began their volatile relationship in 2007 and were together till 2018 — a decade she alleges was marked with sexual abuse and violent outbursts from Combs. 

In 2011, she met rapper Scott Mescudi, whose stage name is Kid Cudi. At the time, she was “not in the greatest place” with Combs, and began dating Mescudi, she told a Manhattan jury on Wednesday as the third day of Combs’ sex crimes trial wrapped up.

Combs learned about Ventura and Mescudi’s romantic involvement during one of his notorious “Freak Offs” — where Ventura alleges Combs would make her engage in sexual activities with other men. 

Combs came across an email between Ventura and Mescudi’s staff about a toiletry bag. 

“I just remember him putting a wine opener between his fingers and lunging at me,” she recalled of Combs’ alleged reaction. 

She ran off to the hotel and called Mescudi using a burner phone, which she had because she did not want Combs to find out that she was dating the “Pursuit of Happiness” rapper. 

After briefly being at Mescudi’s house, she decided to resolve the situation when Combs wanted to talk about it. 

When she arrived at his residence, an “irate” Combs allegedly beat her and threatened to release “Freak Off” videos and hurt both her and Mescudi, Ventura told the jury. 

“Sean kicked me in the back, I fell on the floor and then left. I had a large bruise on my back and bruises on other places — he literally kicked me with the bottom of his foot,” she said. 

When she returned to her hotel room, she realized it had been “torn up” — urine on the floor, clothes strewn around and feces in the toilet. 

Ventura alleged Combs was “irate” upon finding out and told her “he was going to hurt Scott and I,” and claimed he made other, veiled threats about harming the rapper.

“He mentioned when we were out of the country that Scott’s car would be blown up and he wanted his friends to see it,” Ventura told the jury.

Mescudi’s car eventually did blow up in his driveway, he told the New York Times in 2023; his reps did not immediately return a request for comment from PEOPLE.

Eventually, Ventura decided to stop dating Mescudi out of fear for both of their safety.

Ventura’s hours-long testimony marked the third day of Combs’ trial, where a jury has so far seen videos of “Freak Offs,” a video of Combs’ vicious beating of Ventura in a hotel lobby and text and email exchanges between the two, including an exchange where Ventura is seen calling him “Pop Pop” — the same name she would call her grandfather — per Combs’ orders.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution and denies all wrongdoing.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.