When Cassie’s Friend Wrote a Scathing Letter to Diddy Supporting Abuse Claims: "I'm Traumatized by You"

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

Ever since her friend, Casandra Ventura, accused her ex-boyfriend Sean Diddy Combs of assault, songwriter and activist, Tiffany Red, has steadfastly supported her. Following the release of a 2016 assault video, shared by CNN, showing Combs hitting and punching Ventura in a hotel hallway, Red reiterated her concerns. The Grammy winner posted a note on her Instagram that read, "Lock him Up!" referring to the music mogul. As per Page Six, in December 2023, Red penned a shocking open letter backing Ventura's allegations of abuse by Diddy. “I’m breaking my silence, freeing myself from haunting recollections, standing in solidarity with Cassie, and standing up for myself,” she said in the letter published by Rolling Stone. 

“I fear for my safety as her suit alludes to me, although not by name. I hope that revealing my identity to the public will afford me some measure of protection.” Red asserted that she saw Ventura and Combs get into a nasty argument at a karaoke bar in 2015, during the Me & U singer's 29th birthday. “When I walked out of the room, you had her backed into a corner in the hallway outside of the door, and your security surrounded you two as you cursed her out with your hands in her face,” the R&B musician claimed. “She and I briefly made eye contact. I felt helpless. She looked afraid and kept looking down at the floor. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared.” Red stated she complied with Ventura's request to go back to her apartment because she was 'afraid' the Last Night rapper would 'hurt' his former girlfriend.

“Prior to this incident, [Ventura] had confided in me that you were physically abusive, and the way you were in her face that night was alarming to me,” the songwriter continued in the letter. “I didn’t want to leave her alone.” Red also claimed that she was at Ventura's house when she heard Combs yell at her, “Emotional singing bitch, where are you?!” “You were visibly intoxicated, and so was Cassie,” Red claimed in her letter. “She appeared sedated and very withdrawn. It was the first time I saw her this way.” Red stated Combs was angry because his ex-girlfriend would not have sex with him. This prompted her to interject, “She doesn’t have to have sex with you if she doesn’t want to.” However, the famed rapper allegedly responded, “She gonna get this d–k,” and the couple eventually drove off. 

“I was terrified for Cassie and completely traumatized,” Red wrote. “She later told me, Combs made her have a ‘Freak Off’ — which was later described in her lawsuit as an ‘arrangement’ where Combs would make her perform sexual acts with male sex workers — that night.” Red added that she was “disturbed to [her] core” over the incident. “There were occasions when I heard you yelling at her and making threats, observed her so high I was afraid of her overdosing at a party you threw for her in Malibu, and witnessed both of you getting IVs after a different night of partying,” she added in her letter. “With Cassie bravely sharing her story, I’m finally free to share mine. That night of her birthday, and so many others, are burned in my brain and have tormented me since.”

Red concluded by accusing Combs of being a violent abuser, “I am traumatized by you." “The burden of vocalizing these experiences should never have been mine or anyone else’s. I continue to work through the PTSD, paranoia, and anxiety from these events…Your abuse of power has inflicted ongoing harm on countless individuals, including myself, my friends, and my peers.”

Sexual Assault: If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)