Sex Worker Says Cassie Was 'Shaking Uncontrollably' After Diddy Allegedly Hit Her. Then the Worker Kissed Her

A male sex worker testifying at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial recounts having sex with Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, having been paid by the singer.

Daniel Phillip, an escort, first took the stand on Monday, May 12 and resumed his testimony Tuesday. He described being hired to have sex with Ventura at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan while Combs was in the room.

At one point, Phillip said he overheard Combs apparently hit Ventura and testified about the aftermath.

“She was shaking uncontrollably, obviously afraid, and we started talking for a while before we ended up kissing each other,” Phillip testified Tuesday.

During cross-examination, Combs’ attorney Xavier Donaldson tried to paint the encounter between Phillip and Ventura as consensual.

The indictment alleges that Combs forced or coerced women into having sex with male sex workers, which the defense has attempted to push back on.

“Was Ventura the one who paid you?” Donaldson asked.

“Yes,” Phillip replied.

“She wasn’t drunk or high?,” Donaldson asked, to which Phillip responded by agreeing she wasn’t.

“Is it fair to say she was in complete control of everything she did?,” Donaldson asked.

“I cannot say that,” Phillip answered.

Combs was arrested in September 2024 after an indictment was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He is facing charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all charges and pleaded not guilty.

The hip-hop mogul was thrust into the limelight after the indictment accused him of using his music empire to manipulate and lure women with promises of romance — and then force them, using threats and coercion, to participate in highly orchestrated sex-acts at so-called “Freak Off” parties, which sometimes lasted several days.

During the “Freak Off” parties, the indictment alleges that Combs used a variety of controlled substances to keep his victims obedient and compliant, sometimes unknown to the victims. The indictment named Combs the ringleader of the alleged violent enterprise, which is tied to several accusations of suspected kidnapping, arson, drug crimes and widespread sexual abuse. 

The criminal trial also follows a collection of civil lawsuits, including by the Ventura, an ex-girlfriend of Combs who accused the rapper of sexual assault, rape and physical violence in a lawsuit in November 2023.

Prosecutors referenced surveillance video from a Los Angeles hotel that allegedly showed Combs assaulting Ventura, in 2016 in the indictment. Ventura began testifying in the trial on Tuesday.

Ventura’s 2023 lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed. Her suit against the hip-hop mogul set off dozens of lawsuits by other plaintiffs accusing Combs of abuse. 

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Combs, who previously operated a massive global music empire, now sits in custody at the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center with greying hair. Combs could face up to life in prison if convicted. 

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.