Why It Took 8 Years For The Video of Diddy Assaulting Cassie To Be Leaked

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If you were around in the late 1990s and early 2000s, you'd remember reading about all the celeb-packed parties Diddy gave in the Hamptons and Miami. A beloved Hip-hop circus master, Diddy's sparkling life and famous friends kept people reading lifestyle sections of newspapers, magazines and the tabloids.

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His reign continued on through the years, portrayed perfectly in a 2016 photograph where Diddy is surrounded by the likes of Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz, Kanye, Kim Kardashian and girlfriend Cassie Ventura at the MTV Video Awards After party.

Only now do we realize the photo was taken only five months after Diddy was recorded by CCTV assaulting Ventura in an LA hotel that year. But all we see in the photograph is a star-studded crew, with Diddy as the life of the party.

However, aside from the highlife we associate the rapper with, we've all heard of the dark rumors surrounding the mogul.

The disturbing footage recently released by CNN of Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura brought those rumors to life: The eerie feeling of seeing what we heard or read about is described deftly by Gabrielle A. Perry in a tweet: "Seeing Diddy run down that hallway half naked while Cassie is right at the elevator trying to get her shoes on, SO close to freedom, knowing she can hear him coming, is something out of a goddamn horror movie. My heart started beating so fast."

Folks on social media have started wondering who released the video? Some say Diddy himself could have leaked it, others suggest it was Ventura's lawyer and still others claim it had to be the government who might have found the video when they raided Diddy's homes in March.

TikToker artymusa wondered "Why release the tape now? What is the motivation?" He further says CNN never mentioned who gave them the tape and then he suggests the tape was likely released by someone who had clients with lawsuits filed against Diddy.

The video would ruin Diddy's reputation prior to trial, artsymusa theorizes, which would make whipping Diddy in court a mere "walk in the park." He also suggests it is unlikely Ventura or her lawyers leaked the video because there surely had to be a written agreement stipulating she could not do that, and by doing so, Ventura would be sued by Diddy.

Regardless of the tiktokers intentions, commenters came for him. "Wrong Question,'' said one person. "Maybe it's time for us to cancel you,'' said another.

Truth be told, nobody should give a rip about who leaked the video. The question really should not be why now, but why did it take so damn long?

Before all the lawsuits, individuals who were once in Diddy's orbit, both men and women, have hinted about the violence and sexual misdeeds surrounding Diddy. But only now are we reading about these alleged misdeeds in legal documents.

When Ventura's lawsuit dropped, no one was really shocked, though there were still Diddy apologists, who questioned where was the evidence? Sadly, someone had the horrific video all the time. So why did it take so long to release it?

Maybe Ventura has already answered that questions for us. The 2016 incident was described in Ventura's 2023 lawsuit: Combs, the lawsuit claimed, became "extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye." According to the suit, after Combs fell asleep, Cassie attempted to leave the hotel room, but he woke up and followed her into the hallway screaming. "He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape."

Ventura eventually escaped to the hotel lobby, flagged a cab and traveled to her apartment. After she got home, she began to worry Diddy was going to be angry that she left. She returned to the hotel to apologize to him but the hotel staff, she has said, told her they saw the video and that she should leave for her own safety. Here's the kicker: Ventura has since claimed Diddy paid the hotel $50,000 for the tape.

Theorists believe he kept it in his house, but it was eventually taken by homeland security when they raided his home.

In a recent instagram post, 50 Cent said 'This is why they put that tape out, they know they can't charge him with what we saw, but they know we can't un see what we saw."

That is a good theory, but Diddy had already been sued by Ventura and knew the video was important part of the of Ventura's claims. Why would he keep it in one of his homes? Arrogance? With allegations of Sex Trafficking, did he really not suspect Homeland Security would come slamming through his door?

The bigger question is: why would the federal government leak a video like this? According to the theories out there, the government would leak the video as warning to Diddy that there's more on him and he should cooperate and give up big names involved in other criminal activities.

We won't know the truth anytime soon. What we do know, however is eight years passed without the public ever seeing the video and without the authorities doing anything. And now we find out the District Attorney's office will not be able to charge Diddy because of statute of limitations.  In other words, too much time has passed. 

A former CIA agent told People magazine that the speed with which Combs settled the lawsuit leveled against him by Ventura in November of 2023 as proof that the mogul knew more evidence was to come.

But the former agent also claimed "Diddy never expected the video to get out. It's very upsetting that this has exceeded its statute of limitations. It does depend on what the charge could be, but it can range from one to three years. Felony assaults in California have a statute of limitations of three years," said Tracy Walder, the former CIA and FBI special agent who spoke to People. "Since this stemmed from a 2016 incident, she wouldn't be able to file assault or battery charges in Los Angeles. ''

On May 17, the footage of a March 2016 surveillance video from the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, was released by CNN . In the video, Combs is dressed in only a towel and is seen kicking and punching Ventura, as well as dragging her down a hallway.

Per CNN, who published the video exclusively, Ventura's attorney—Douglas H. Wigdor, said: "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."

How will hip-hop fans reconcile the fact that one of the genres most beloved icons is quite likely an abuser? The questions will swirl around this situation for a while.