A resurfaced TV interview is circulating online, which features Sean 'Diddy Combs talking about his then-girlfriend, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, mere months after he was captured on a hotel's CCTV camera physically assaulting her.
In surveillance footage obtained by CNN from March 2016, the music mogul can be seen assaulting his girlfriend Cassie, throwing her to the ground, kicking and dragging her from multiple angles in a harrowing scene that has horrified every corner of the interweb.
The footage was first flagged in a lawsuit Cassie filed against Diddy last year which alleged she was physically and sexually abused by Combs for years. The couple dated on and off from 2007 to 2018.
Back in November, the lawsuit was settled one day after it was filed but Diddy has continuously denied Cassie's claims. "Let me be clear, I did not do any of the awful things being alleged," he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
"I will fight for my name, my family and my truth."
The lawsuit stated the rapper paid the hotel over $US70,000 ($104,000) for them to hand over the security footage.
Over a year after the hotel incident and before their split in 2018, Diddy appeared on The Wendy Williams Show in 2017 to present a happy facade to the TV host about the couple. The clip has since gone viral on X.
"I'm shocked you and Cassie have gone this far, you've gone the distance. What is it about her?" the host innocently asks in the interview.
To this, Diddy says, "When a record comes on, it's the way she moves. When I look at her, the way she smiles," he replies, as Williams melts.
"When I see the way she looks at me when I wake up and she's already awake," he adds. Sounds fake but okay.
Wendy then goes on to further celebrate this man, showing him an image from that year's Met Gala where he was seemingly gazing at Cassie while sitting on the steps of the Met. But then the rapper clarified that he was merely sitting to "stunt on" the organisers because they "didn't have my tickets right the year before."
The clip has been flooded with comments from people questioning Diddy's intentions.
"Narcissists know how to put a show to create an illusion," wrote one popular reply. Another added, "Predators are skilled, intelligent manipulators. This demonstrates that to a tee."
A third comment said, "They are all ACTORS. These type of men drive from ego. Attention is very important and without it, they feel worthless."
After they split in 2018, Wendy Williams noted on her talk show that she sensed an unhealthy dynamic between Diddy and Cassie. "I believe he probably treated her, at some point, like a possession," she said.
Since the hotel footage circulated online, Combs has issued a public apology to say there was "no excuse" for his behaviour but then simultaneously cited the excuse that he had "hit rock bottom" at the time.
"It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times of your life, but sometimes you gotta do that," he said on Instagram. "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video… I was disgusted when I did it, I'm disgusted now. I'm so sorry, but I'm committed to be a better man each and every day, I'm not asking for forgiveness, I'm truly sorry."
In response, Cassie's lawyer Meredith Firetog said that the rapper's apology was more "about himself than the many people he has hurt," she told the ABC.
"He was only compelled to 'apologise' once his repeated denials were proven false... no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words."
Feature image: Fox.
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