Aubrey O'Day Says the 'Picture Is Getting a Lot More Clear' with Diddy After 2016 Cassie Assault Video Surfaces

A video of Diddy grabbing, shoving and kicking Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 was released by CNN on May 17

Aubrey O'Day Reacts After Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Homes Are Raided amid Lawsuits
Aubrey O'Day; Sean "Diddy" Combs. Photo:

John Lamparski/Getty; Steve Granitz/WireImage

  • After surveillance video of Diddy attacking Cassie was released, Aubrey O'Day responded on social media
  • "The picture is getting a lot more clear," the singer wrote
  • O'Day was previously a member of Danity Kane, formed on Making the Band, before Combs removed her from the group

Aubrey O'Day is sharing her thoughts on the disturbing new video footage of Sean "Diddy" Combs physically assaulting ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

After CNN released the surveillance video of Combs, 54, grabbing, shoving and kicking Ventura, 37, in actions that match allegations she made in a November 2023 lawsuit against Combs that was settled the next day, the Danity Kane member reacted in a social media post.

"The picture is getting a lot more clear for you all I can imagine," wrote O'Day on X (formerly Twitter) after previously speaking out about Combs' alleged mistreatment of women including herself.

Sean Combs (L) and singer Cassie Ventura arrives for the 2018 Met Gala on May 7, 2018, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. - The Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute. The Gala's 2018 theme is Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Cassie Ventura.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

She also issued a warning alongside the assault footage: "abuse survivors or anyone that triggers easily might not want to watch (images are disturbing)."

O'Day then issued "prayers" to "all his victims," mentioning Ventura and Combs' late ex, Kim Porter, who died at age 47 in 2018.

Danity Kane — which originally featured O'Day, Aundria Fimbres, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett, Shannon Bex and Dawn Richard — was formed by Combs on MTV's Making the Band in 2005 and later signed to his label, Bad Boy Records.

The group achieved success with the hit singles "Show Stopper" and "Damaged" though only released two albums before Combs removed O'Day and Woodgett from the lineup in 2008 following tension between the women and the music mogul.

Shortly following the video's release, Ventura’s lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor shared a statement on the matter with PEOPLE. "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs," he wrote.

Sean "Diddy" Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023
Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Paras Griffin/Getty

"Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light," continued the lawyer.

A rep for Combs has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In the video, taken at the since-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Ventura exits a hotel room and walks toward an elevator as Combs chases her down the hallway wearing only a towel around his waist.

Once Combs reaches Ventura, the clip shows him grabbing her by the neck, tossing her to the ground. He then violently kicks her as she lays on the ground, before grabbing her purse and suitcase.

Sean "Diddy" Combs
Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Bryan Steffy/WireImage

As she remains motionless on the ground, he then briefly drags her toward their room before letting her go and walking away.

In the November lawsuit, Ventura accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and domestic violence, outlining an incident that lines up with the hotel altercation from the video.

According to the lawsuit, Combs “became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye” while in a hotel in 2016.

"After he fell asleep, Ms. Ventura tried to leave the hotel room, but as she exited, Mr. Combs awoke and began screaming at Ms. Ventura," the lawsuit claims, adding that "he followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her."

Cassie Ventura and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs pose ringside at "Mayweather VS Pacquiao" on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Ethan Miller/Getty

Then, per the lawsuit, he "grabbed" the "Me & U" singer and "took glass vases in the hallway" before throwing them at her, "causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape."

Ventura was eventually able to get into the elevator and take a cab to her apartment, per the lawsuit.

“Upon realizing that her running away would cause Mr. Combs to be even angrier with 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 claims. “When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a cab and go to her apartment, suggesting that they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs beating Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hotel hallway.”

Sean "Diddy" Combs attends Black Tie Affair For Quality Control's CEO Pierre "Pee" Thomas at Fox Theater on June 02, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Paras Griffin/Getty

The complaint also features an allegation that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the hallway security footage from that event.

IHG Hotels tells PEOPLE in a statement, "This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage."

After both parties agreed to settle the lawsuit, Combs' lawyer Ben Brafman said the settlement was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing."

"Mr. Combs' decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims," he wrote. "He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best."

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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