The news of Cassie’s disturbing and shocking lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs dropped Thursday and detailed years of allege abuse and sexual assault. The suit was so graphic that it came with a trigger warning, in which Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) accuses Combs of rape, physical abuse and sex trafficking.
The suit also reveals how Combs allegedly blew up Kid Cudi’s car once he discovered that Cudi briefly dated Cassie in 2012. Cudi confirmed this was true through a spokeswoman.
One of the most disheartening pieces of information in the document is that when Combs allegedly beat Cassie on multiple occasions, his violent behavior was “witnessed by [his] staff and employees of Bad Boy Entertainment and Mr. Combs’s related businesses, but no one dared to speak up against their frightening and ferocious boss.” The pair were together for over a decade.
As folks do their best to try and comprehend how yet another high profile Black woman suffered in silence as she was being physically, sexually and emotionally violated for years, one thing remains abundantly clear: Black women need to be protected instead of shamed for their abuse.
The explosive lawsuit against Diddy comes on the heels of Keke Palmer being granted a temporary restraining order against her allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson. Earlier this month, Drew Dixon—who has accused Russell Simmons of rape in the past—filed a lawsuit against L.A. Reid for sexual assault and harassment.
Dixon said Reid assaulted her twice in the lawsuit and detailed a graphic encounter where he “kiss[ed] her and digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent.”
These women deserve to have their accounts and stories believed. The internet worked overtime when Tory Lanez was accused of shooting Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020 in attempts to prove his innocence despite overwhelming evidence.
Lanez was ultimately convicted for the heinous crime, with many makeshift online detectives apologizing to Meg for their shoddy work as well as their obvious disdain for Black women.
Cassie, Keke, Drew, Meg and countless other Black women deserve to be supported instead of blamed when it comes to their alleged unjustifiable violent experiences with men. It takes an ample amount of courage as a woman—especially as a Black woman—to speak out against abuse. Victim blaming is an easy route and requires zero levels of critical thinking.