Sean “Diddy” Combs reacts to the release of a 2016 video showing him pushing and kicking his ex-girlfriend Cassie.
On Sunday, May 19, the 54-year-old musician shared a statement via video on Instagram, captioned with the words, “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s so hard to think about the darkest moments in your life,” Combs said in the recording. “Sometimes you have to do it. I’ve been fucking worse. I mean, I’ve hit rock bottom, but I’m not apologizing. My behavior in that video is inexcusable.”
He continued: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
“Appalled. I was appalled when I did it, I’m appalled now. I went and sought professional help, went to therapy, went to rehab. I had to ask God for his grace and mercy. I’m so sorry, but I I am committed to being a better man every day,” Combs added.
The music mogul then concluded his statement by saying that he was “not asking for forgiveness” and that he was “truly sorry”.
A representative for Combs did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
A timeline of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sexual assault allegations and lawsuits
Before his latest statement, Combs shared a post on Instagram on Tuesday, May 14 that read, “Time tells the truth.” He captioned the post: “LOVE 🖤💫✨⚡️.”
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Surveillance video, released by CNN on May 17, shows an altercation between Combs and Cassie (born Casandra Ventura) that matches her allegations in the now-settled lawsuit from last November.
Security camera footage shows Ventura leaving the hotel room and walking toward the elevator. Combs follows her and is then seen grabbing her by the neck and throwing her to the ground, before he is then seen turning around to punch her and grab her purse and suitcase.
Combs then kicks her again and starts dragging her back to the hotel room, before letting her go and walking away. He then sits down on a chair and grabs something from a nearby table, throwing it at Ventura, before walking away. Combs also turns to her again as someone else exits the elevator.
Sean “Diddy” Combs in October 2017.
Rebecca Sapp/WireImage
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs seen kicking Cassie after throwing her to the ground in hotel surveillance footage in 2016.
Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, said in a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE that the video corroborates her allegations. (Combs’ attorney previously denied any wrongdoing on his part, both when Ventura filed suit and when she and the rapper later settled.)
“The harrowing video only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. “Words cannot describe the courage and strength Ms. Ventura showed in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor said in a statement.
In Ventura’s now-settled lawsuit, she cited a very similar incident that occurred in 2016 at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, California, writing that “Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs shares ‘Time Tells the Truth’ on Instagram amid sex trafficking allegations
“After he fell asleep, Ms. Ventura attempted to leave the hotel room, but when she exited, Mr. Combs woke up and began screaming at Ms. Ventura,” the lawsuit states. “He followed her into the hotel corridor while shouting at her. He grabbed her and then picked up glass vases in the corridor and threw them at her, causing the glass to shatter around them as she ran towards the lift to escape.”
Ventura’s attorneys wrote that she eventually made it to the elevator and then took a cab back home to her apartment, according to the lawsuit.
“After realizing that her escape would only make Mr. Combs angrier at her, and completely stuck in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for running away from her abuser,” the complaint added. “When she returned, hotel security personnel made her get back in a taxi and go to her apartment, suggesting they had seen security footage of Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”
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