Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys have now formally requested that a judge exclude the 2016 hotel surveillance video, showing singer Cassie Ventura being savagely beaten by the disgraced mogul, from his upcoming trial.
In May 2024, CNN footage from March 5, 2016, showed Diddy, who was dressed in only a towel and socks, grabbing Cassie, throwing her to the ground, kicking her, and attempting to drag her back toward their hotel room.
After the incident went viral, Diddy issued a public apology, describing his actions as “inexcusable.” Despite his very public admission, his legal team is arguing that the footage is distorted and unreliable.
“There is no longer any dispute that the CNN footage from March 5, 2016, at the InterContinental Hotel, offered by the government at three separate bail hearings, is wholly inaccurate, having been altered, manipulated, sped-up, and edited to be out of sequence,” his legal team writes.
His attorneys added, “Relevant evidence must be authenticated before it can be admitted… The government has not proffered any competent evidence through which it could authenticate these videos.”
CNN had denied any allegations of altering the video.
Diddy’s eight-week trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, but this week, his attorneys filed a motion to delay his trial by two months.