[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
There were many awful moments for Cassie in her week of testimony about the years of alleged abuse at the hands of ex Diddy. But maybe the worst was having to recount the story of being raped.
She testified that they had a nice dinner where they had a “closure conversation” as they were splitting up. But when he took her home, a flip switched in Diddy:
“I went inside, he came in and raped me on the living room floor. I remember crying and saying no. It was fast. His eyes were black. He wasn’t himself.”
This wasn’t the first time she’d made this allegation public. It was part of her bombshell 2023 lawsuit that kicked off the investigation into her ex. And it’s something Diddy’s legal team clearly knew they were going to have to deal with. So how did they handle it?
Once again, defense attorney Anna Estevao confronted the very pregnant Cassie with her own texts from the time. In one from that month, August 2018, she sounds very much like a doting girlfriend despite the breakup:
“Hit me when you can ‘heart emoji'”
But in a subsequent text, Diddy does seem to refer to a sexual encounter — possibly his view of the alleged sexual assault? He wrote to Cassie:
“I know I look bad to you. I could tell I didn’t turn you on yesterday. I fell off.”
Hmm. Does he mean he could tell he didn’t turn her on because she was trying “to push him away”?
In any case, Cassie never mentions an assault in their text conversations over the next month — something the defense tried to capitalize on. Estevao challenged the singer:
“You don’t say anything to the effect of the last time we saw each other you raped me?”
Cassie responds simply, “Right.” The lawyer adds:
“In fact you’re saying you want to keep the peace?”
Another “Right.” At least Estevao acknowledges Cassie’s consistent narrative — that she was afraid of this man and therefore not saying anything that might set him off!
But things took an unexpected turn here. Diddy’s counsel brought up a heretofore unmentioned mental health diagnosis! Cassie had testified Combs was acting “strangely” the whole night — and “wasn’t in his right mind.” Estevao asked Cassie if she’d told prosecutors “his behavior [that night] could be attributed to his bipolar disorder.” Cassie confirmed noncommittally:
“I guess so.”
Huh. That’s the first time the defense brought up bipolar disorder. They can’t be trying to use that as a defense, right? Maybe to get a little jury sympathy??
Diddy has mentioned bipolar disorder once publicly, but to deny he has it. Speaking about going to a therapist after the Jennifer Lopez breakup, he told Playboy:
“I’ve been called bipolar — I’m not; I just have very drastic mood swings.”
Mood swings like where your eyes go black, and you get horribly violent and ignore your partner’s pleas for you to stop? Just asking.
Cassie also testified during direct testimony that she and Diddy had consensual sex one more time after the alleged rape, just days later, in September. The defense brought up texts that very much feel like exes drawing boundaries, like when Cassie wrote:
“I do love you. I would just prefer not being one of your girlfriends anymore”
They end up making plans, and the next day they get together and have sex one last time.
At first we assumed the defense was bringing this up because it’s so often used as a defense for rape. Like it proves she actually wanted to have sex that time since she wanted to another time. That kind of thing. As if consent is a permanent contract over a woman’s body. Ugh. But there was actually more to this.
During that encounter, Cassie confirmed, her future husband Alex Fine — whom she’d already started dating — Facetimed her, but she didn’t pick up. Why is that detail important? Estevao suggested Cassie had told Alex THAT time was when Diddy had raped her. Seems like the defense was trying to hint that Cassie was getting her stories mixed up, implying she was making up the assault part. But Cassie denied this, clarifying to the court:
“That wasn’t the evening when I was raped.”
Hmm. It doesn’t feel to us like the defense got anywhere with this stuff. If they’re trying to make her seem confused, she doesn’t. If they’re trying to paint her as a scorned ex who made up the sexual assault… she doesn’t seem like that to us either. But we guess the jury’s readings are the ones that matter now…
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Lexi Jones/Ivan Nikolov/WENN.]
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