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On May 28, 2025, Cassie Ventura's ex-stylist, Deonte Nash, took the witness stand in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial. According to CNN's live coverage, while recalling the abuse, Deonte claimed that he does not hold any grudges against Diddy and that he occasionally talks to the rapper via phone calls and texts.
He also said that he acted "loving" towards the rapper despite everything he witnessed. Deonte said:
"I don’t hate him. It’s just not in me."
The stylist also spoke about still being in touch with Cassie Ventura, Diddy's ex-girlfriend and the government's key witness in the trial. She had filed a lawsuit against Diddy in November 2023 for rape and enduring years of abuse. A BBC report states that it was settled the next day for a $20 million pay-out.
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For the unversed, the rap mogul has been held at a prison in Brooklyn, New York, after being charged with two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, one count of racketeering, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper was arrested on September 16, 2024, after a grand jury indictment. However, the rapper's legal team denied all the allegations against him.
More about Deonte Nash's testimony
USA Today reported that during his testimony on Wednesday, Deonte Nash, who worked as a stylist for Combs and Ventura between 2009 and 2018, alleged that the rapper threatened Cassie to release her sex tape to her family and acquaintances. He further stated that Diddy repeatedly physically abused her.
Deonte Nash recalled an incident when Sean Combs barged into Cassie's hotel room, "in a rage," and grabbed her by her hair as he started to hit her "really hard." Nash claimed that it was so severe that he and a female staffer (who has been identified in the trial as "Mia") had to jump on his back to make him stop.
However, the rapper was so angry that he threw them both off. According to Nash, the incident occurred when Cassie accidentally missed the rapper's phone call ahead of the OVO music festival in Toronto.
The stylist alleged that at one point, the rapper banged Ventura's head on the bed frame, adding, "When he noticed the blood, he just panicked," and then Combs looked at them and said, "Look at what y'all made me do." Nash further claimed to have called 911 after the incident, adding that the next day, Cassie had "stitches on her forehead, a gash on her forehead."
Subsequently, he recalled another incident from 2013 or 2014, when Diddy appeared at Cassie's apartment and asked her to have a private conversation. Nash alleged that, after a few minutes, Combs came out of her bedroom, dragging Cassie by her hair, and ordered Nash to leave the apartment.
Deonte Nash further claimed that Cassie eventually got in his car and they left, but Diddy asked them to pull over, and threatened Cassie to release her sex tape, adding that he was "the only one that protected her."
