In a gripping legal twist, Diddy's legal team contends that CNN manipulated and destroyed the sole copy of a video showing the mogul assaulting Cassie Ventura, rendering it inadmissible in his upcoming trial.
- Mar 14, 2025
AceShowbiz - Attorneys for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs are fighting to keep damning videos off his trial. They argued a critical piece of footage showing him physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, was significantly altered.
Combs' attorneys argue that the video is highly prejudicial and has been manipulated to favor the prosecution. The allegations mention considerable edits, such as obscuring the time stamp, rearranging the sequence of events, and speeding up the footage to exaggerate the incidents' pacing.
Hence, the defense will motion for this footage to be excluded from evidence in the trial slated for May 5, 2025.
According to the letter, "CNN purchased the only known copy of the Hotel's surveillance footage, uploaded that footage into a free editing software, altered the video, and then destroyed the original footage."
This creates a substantial challenge for prosecutors who aim to use the footage to demonstrate Combs' history of violence.
The contentious video, shot on March 5, 2016, was made public in May 2024. It depicts a distressing scene, where Combs chases Ventura down a hotel hallway, grabs her by the neck, throws her to the floor, kicks her, and hurls a glass vase at her.
Though no criminal action was initially taken due to the statute of limitations, the video was a turning point leading to Combs' legal troubles and his subsequent arrest in September 2024 on multiple serious charges.
The star himself later issued a statement acknowledging his actions were "inexcusable." He added, "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry."
Cassie Ventura's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, blasts the arguments made by Diddy's legal team, "It is not surprising that Combs would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial."
"I am confident that the video fairly and accurately represents what happened, will be admitted into evidence, and that Combs will be held accountable for his depravity."
The judge's decision on this issue could significantly impact the outcome of Combs' trial, in which he faces serious federal charges.
