Today, we're bringing you episode three of the latest podcast from 20/20 and ABC Audio, "Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy." In this episode, Diddy signs a young singer with a hit single who’s on the fast track to fame. Cassie Ventura reportedly agrees to a 10-album deal. They become romantically involved and Cassie’s career flatlines, leaving fans wondering why she only released one studio album. We chart their decade-long relationship -- from the glamorous red carpet appearances to allegations of hidden abuse. A warning that this episode includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please call the domestic violence hotline at: 1-800-942-6906 or go to https://www.thehotline.org. Remember, you can catch new episodes of "Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy" early by following the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who is Cassie Ventura and how did she rise to fame?
This was the era of flip phones and DVDs, so people glanced at paper handouts inside their folders as they scribbled down notes in actual notebooks. Sean Diddy Combs had gathered everyone to tell them about a new artist he'd signed to his Bad Boy Records label.
Diddy was in the middle of a successful run with Danny Kane on his MTV show Making the Band, and he was getting ready to release the debut album of Atlanta rapper Young Jock. But Diddy wasn't happy with the label's recent performance. He said publicly that he was trying to get things back on track. So now he had another up-and-coming artist he wanted everyone in the room to meet. Cassie Ventura.
That day, she wore her long, dark hair tucked behind her ears and big gold hoop earrings. She dressed casually, with little to no makeup. Combs was in his late 30s. He sat at the head of the conference table while 19-year-old Cassie was at the other end. She was there with a producer she'd been working with. They'd release a song you've probably heard of called Me and You.
To this day, Me and You is the track Cassie is best known for. A song that would go on to peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. A song that stayed on the charts for about six months. In other words, back in 2006, Cassie's song was one of the country's most popular singles.
Chapter 2: What was the significance of Cassie's hit single 'Me and You'?
It's an infectious song. It has a weird, creepy vibe, but at the same time, it's fun to sing along to, and it's just simple.
For me, this song brings back memories of being 18 years old and driving around with my friends in my mom's car. It was the kind of song where if you heard it on the radio, you'd tell your friends, yo, turn that up. It was this song that caught Diddy's attention.
He told everyone gathered at the conference table that the song had been haunting him in nightclubs, and that he thought Cassie had a personality that, quote, the whole world could fall in love with. Before Bad Boy released a remix, Me and You was already an underground hit, even without the backing of a big record label. Cassie Ventura had built up a fan base DIY style.
The secret ingredient was early social media. Remember MySpace? MySpace was only about three years old at the time. It was the beginning of social media for millennials like me who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s. My profile had posts about soccer players I liked, like Ronaldinho, Zizou, and Henri, and some of my favorite music.
I probably posted a picture of me working my after-school retail job at Hollister. I hope to God that picture doesn't still exist. Today, it's pretty common for artists and influencers to get famous off of social media alone. But when Cassie was starting out, it was pretty new to release music without a label, to build connections directly with fans without going through a gatekeeper.
Here's Cassie and the producer she'd been working with, named Ryan Leslie, talking about this in a video blog.
If you're a kid on the internet and you're looking to find new music, you go on the internet, you go on MySpace. People find me.
Within three weeks, this record propelled Cassie to the top 10 artists on MySpace.
And that's when the major labels came knocking, including Bad Boy Records, Sean Combs' company. As an attorney, I can tell you that the terms of any deal like this are usually private. We later find out Bad Boy reportedly offered Cassie a contract to make 10 albums. That was huge and also pretty unusual for a new artist without a proven track record.
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Chapter 3: How did Cassie's relationship with Sean 'Diddy' Combs begin?
It's common in settlements like this for the two sides to agree not to say bad things about each other. So all we've heard from Cassie is an Instagram post where she thanked fans for their support, but didn't mention Diddy by name.
So what happens if we take the accounts of hidden abuse Cassie alleges in her lawsuit and compare them with the parts of her life that were visible to the public these last 20 years? What picture emerges? That's coming up after the break.
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The Stanley Cup playoffs. Man, your nerves might be shot. And you might be screaming your lungs out. And you might be clinging to hope. And it might be tarps off time. And the guy next to you might be your new best friend. And you might be dreaming about the Cup. And you might be completely lost for words, but that's what it's all about. That's hockey.
The Stanley Cup playoffs presented by GEICO begin April 20th on ESPN.
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Chapter 4: What are the allegations of abuse made by Cassie against Diddy?
Hey, I'm Brad Milkey. You may know me as the host of ABC Audio's daily news podcast, Start Here. But I'd like to add aspiring true crime expert to my resume. And here's how I'm going to make it happen. Every week, I'm going to unpack the biggest true crime story that everyone is talking about.
ABC's got some unique access here, so I'll talk to the reporters and producers who have followed these cases for months, sometimes years. We'll bring you the latest developments and the larger context on the true crime stories you've been hearing about. Follow the crime scene for special access to the people who know these stories best.
In September of 2007, Cassie threw a party to celebrate her 21st birthday. The party was at a hotel in Las Vegas. In photos, you can see her wearing shimmery pants and a white tank top. She's smiling, holding a glass of bubbly. According to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs showed up to the party uninvited. He brought some of his celebrity friends along too, including Britney Spears.
Combs and his longtime girlfriend, Kim Porter, had reportedly broken up. They were together on and off for about 13 years and raised four children together. In her lawsuit, Cassie alleged that Combs forcibly kissed her in a bathroom that night of her birthday party and that she did not consent to his unwanted contact.
That fall, according to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs invited her to come to Miami by herself under the pretense of a work obligation. She says he hired a party promoter to make fake flyers for an event that she was supposed to host. But Cassie's lawsuit claims there was no party. It was all a sham.
The suit says Cassie was, quote, stunned at how easily Mr. Combs was able to recruit others to lie for him. Alone with Combs at his Miami home, Cassie alleged he pressured her to take drugs. She felt she couldn't say no because it might hurt her career. And after she took the drugs, the lawsuit says, she became more intoxicated than she ever had been before.
And that's when she alleges Combs had sex with her. Then, Cassie alleges, Combs used his wealth, power, and influence to take control of different parts of her life. First, renting her an apartment in New York within walking distance of his, then doing the same in LA. He paid for her car, and when she went to events, he paid for her clothes and makeup too.
She alleged he used drugs to keep her complacent and compliant. Cassie alleges that she became increasingly isolated and frightened as her relationship with Combs escalated into sexual and physical violence. As the years ticked by, she says she was, quote, unable to see a pathway out of Mr. Combs' abusive hold on her life. Sean Combs categorically denies these allegations.
In 2008, Cassie released a new single with Bad Boy called Official Girl, featuring Lil Wayne. As Cassie promoted the track on radio stations across the country, she kept getting asked, when are we going to see your next album?
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Chapter 5: How did Cassie's music career progress and why did it stall?
Chapter 6: What was the public and industry reaction to Cassie's performances?
I started recording, and then I took a little break to shoot a movie, then went back to recording, and been recording and working on that album ever since.
Cassie says the album was pretty much done, that it was being mixed, and that she even had a title for it.
That's awesome. So what's the album going to be called?
Electro Love.
All right, you got an idea of when we can expect it?
Later this year, obviously fall this year.
But by the fall, Cassie's sophomore album was still M.I.A., About a month after that radio interview, Cassie made an appearance at Diddy's white party for the first time. It's the same party that we told you about in episode one, where Ashton Kutcher swung across the pool Tarzan style.
Cassie wasn't officially Diddy's girlfriend at this point, but the young artist caught the attention of the cameras.
Oh, well, I've never been to the white party before. I don't know. I'm excited to see what's inside. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm excited.
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Chapter 7: What was the impact of Cassie's relationship with Diddy on her personal life?
Chapter 8: What is the current status of the legal case between Cassie and Diddy?
Put the good in your morning. GMA 7A on ABC.
The Stanley Cup playoffs. Man, your nerves might be shot. And you might be screaming your lungs out. And you might be clinging to hope. And it might be tarps off time. And the guy next to you might be your new best friend. And you might be dreaming about the Cup. And you might be completely lost for words, but that's what it's all about. That's hockey.
The Stanley Cup playoffs presented by GEICO begin April 20th on ESPN.
Hey, I'm Brad Milkey. You may know me as the host of ABC Audio's daily news podcast, Start Here. But I'd like to add aspiring true crime expert to my resume. And here's how I'm going to make it happen. Every week, I'm going to unpack the biggest true crime story that everyone is talking about.
ABC's got some unique access here, so I'll talk to the reporters and producers who have followed these cases for months, sometimes years. We'll bring you the latest developments and the larger context on the true crime stories you've been hearing about. Follow the crime scene for special access to the people who know these stories best.
In September of 2007, Cassie threw a party to celebrate her 21st birthday. The party was at a hotel in Las Vegas. In photos, you can see her wearing shimmery pants and a white tank top. She's smiling, holding a glass of bubbly. According to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs showed up to the party uninvited. He brought some of his celebrity friends along too, including Britney Spears.
Combs and his longtime girlfriend, Kim Porter, had reportedly broken up. They were together on and off for about 13 years and raised four children together. In her lawsuit, Cassie alleged that Combs forcibly kissed her in a bathroom that night of her birthday party and that she did not consent to his unwanted contact.
That fall, according to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs invited her to come to Miami by herself under the pretense of a work obligation. She says he hired a party promoter to make fake flyers for an event that she was supposed to host. But Cassie's lawsuit claims there was no party. It was all a sham.
The suit says Cassie was, quote, stunned at how easily Mr. Combs was able to recruit others to lie for him. Alone with Combs at his Miami home, Cassie alleged he pressured her to take drugs. She felt she couldn't say no because it might hurt her career. And after she took the drugs, the lawsuit says, she became more intoxicated than she ever had been before.
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