Cassie Ventura has broken her silence days after footage emerged of her ex-boyfriend Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating her in a hotel in 2016.
The Me & U singer filed a lawsuit against the rapper in November in which she accused him of abusing her during their relationship between 2007 and 2018. He denied the allegations at the time and they settled the legal action days later.
The story took a turn last week when CNN published footage showing Combs throwing Ventura to the ground and kicking her in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel, an incident she had cited in her lawsuit.
The 37-year-old broke her silence on the shocking footage by posting a lengthy statement on Instagram on Thursday.
"Thank you for all of the love and support from my family, friends, strangers and those I have yet to meet," she began. "The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning. Domestic Violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past."
Ventura continued, "Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to take this matter seriously. My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in."
The singer, who is now married to personal trainer Alex Fine, then addressed those living in an abusive situation and urged them to "reach out to your people".
She concluded her post, "This healing journey is never ending but this support means everything to me. Thank you."
The I'll Be Missing You rapper apologised for his "inexcusable" behaviour shortly after the footage emerged.
"I was disgusted then when I did it and I'm disgusted now," he said in an Instagram video. "I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to being a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
