Cassie Ventura‘s songwriter pal Tiffany Red is opening up about the moment she realized something was “wrong” in the singer’s relationship with Diddy!
In Wednesday night’s special edition of 20/20, Secret Life of Diddy, on ABC, the songwriter recalled becoming friends and collaborators with the Me & U singer in 2015. She called Cassie “sweet,” “quiet,” and “a good person.” Aw! They worked on hits like Don’t Let Go, Joint (No Sleep), and Simple Things. But instantly, Tiffany got bad vibes from the Bad Boy Records founder, saying:
“My first like interaction with Puff, he walked up to me, and he was like, ’You’re the one writing all these songs about me?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he was like, ‘So she’s talking to you, huh?’ And then he just looked at me and then he walked away.”
He was already worried about her finding a confidant that early on in their relationship? Jeez.
Related: Bono REJECTS Kiss From Diddy In Resurfaced Video!
The songwriter, who also formerly worked with Zendaya, added:
“I felt intimidated. I definitely felt like, it was like he didn’t want her to be talking to me.”
But it was an evening in 2015 that really raised alarm bells. Tiffany recalled being with Cassie to go get food when she put her man on speakerphone. That allowed Tiffany to hear the rapper screaming at his girlfriend while demanding to know who was with her. The Grammy-winning producer shared:
“I remember her being like, ‘You wanna see something crazy?’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And she answered the phone. And as soon as he answered the phone, ‘Bitch! Where the f**k are you?’ Like, he was so upset that she was out. He was just like… I remember him screaming and saying, ‘Is someone in the car with you? I know someone is in the car with you.”
Reflecting on the tense convo, Tiffany recalled:
“That was my first time being, like, ‘Something is wrong.’”
Yikes.
Things escalated again in August 2015 when Cassie turned 29. The songwriter remembered witnessing the musician get cornered in a room with her beau and his security. The A-lister got “in her face and he’s cussing her out.” She added:
“He was really mad, he was really close to her face and she just had her head down.”
She later claimed the reason he was yelling at her is because he was taking her to an alleged “freak off” party, and that “she didn’t want to go” to. Tiffany claimed:
“He was saying, ‘Tell your girl she wants some birthday d**k.’ That was freak off.”
WTF.
So, why wasn’t anyone confronting Diddy about his behavior? From Tiffany’s POV, she felt like nobody had the balls to. She dished:
“My sense was that everybody around him was afraid of him. […] Because he’s explosive.”
Tiffany added that Cassie’s inner circle was scared to speak up for her because of how much power Diddy held, making them feel like they wouldn’t be believed. When asked to address the fact that Cassie never released an album despite being signed to Puff’s record label, Tiffany and others claimed it was all just a ruse to keep her under his spell. Tiffany claimed:
“At least from what it seems like, it was never gonna come out — it was never supposed to come out. [He would say] ‘Imma put the record out, Imma put the record out.’ She told me the only time he was willing to, like, really talk about the plans for her music was during the Freak Offs.”
JFC.
As Perezcious readers know, Cassie ultimately sued her ex-boyfriend for abuse, rape, and sex trafficking last November. They reached a super quick settlement the next day — though Diddy didn’t own up to anything at the time. Then, a video was released of him abusing her in a hotel. It was then, and only then, that he finally admitted to some of his wrongs. He has since been arrested on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution, among other things. He has pleaded not guilty.
Part of his indictment involved allegations that he would supposedly throw drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak offs” in which he’d force people to perform nonconsensual sex acts that he would often film. Cassie also accused him of forcing her to hook up with sex workers against her will. Terrible.
Now, though, the 54-year-old is accusing the feds of leaking the security footage of him assaulting Cassie, claiming it was released to prevent him from a fair trial. If he can prove the feds worked unlawfully, he may even fight to get his charges dismissed. Whoa.
Horrifying to hear more and more about what Cassie allegedly went through. It’s just so sad. Thank goodness she finally got out of this toxic and harmful relationship!
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via ABC/Hulu & FayesVision/WENN]
