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"I'm truly sorry," Combs said in a video post on his Instagram
page. "My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full
responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I
was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now."
Addressing the camera directly, Combs said he had sought therapy
and gone into rehab.
In the surveillance video from 2016, which was released by CNN
on Friday, the rapper appears to grab R&B vocalist Casandra
Ventura as she waits by an elevator in a California hotel. Clad
only in a towel, he throws her to the floor, kicking her
repeatedly before dragging her toward a hallway, the video
shows.
A representative for Combs could not be immediately reached for
further comment.
Ventura, who performs under the stage name Cassie, sued Combs in
2023, accusing him of serial physical abuse, sexual slavery and
rape during a 10-year professional and romantic relationship in
which he controlled her through intimidation, drugs and alcohol.
The parties settled the matter the following day for undisclosed
terms. Representatives for Combs said at the time the settlement
was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing."
Ventura's lawsuit was one of at least four civil complaints that
recently leveled sexual assault allegations against Combs.
Attorney Meredith Firetog, who represented Ventura, said Combs'
apology on Sunday does not vindicate him.
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the
many people he has hurt. When Cassie and multiple other women
came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his
victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to
‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows
his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his
disingenuous words,” Firetog said in a statement.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in March it had
opened an investigation into the hip-hop star and searched his
homes in the Miami area and in Los Angeles; it provided no
details of the nature of the investigation.
Local television images of the search showed an armored vehicle
and officers carrying rifles outside Combs' Los Angeles home.
Authorities detained some people at the property with their
hands bound by zip ties.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Additional reporting by Nate
Raymond; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler and David
Gregorio)
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