Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former collaborator John Legend said he’s “horrified” by the allegations of abuse raised against the rapper and mogul and said all instances of abuse need to be “brought to light.”
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, May 30, the “All of Me” singer, 45, discussed the pending sexual assault lawsuits against Combs, 54, as well as a video that shows him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
“I was horrified by the descriptions that I read before the video evidence came out,” Legend said of the video from 2016, in which Combs throws Ventura, 37, to the ground and kicks her. “And absolutely it’s something that needs to be brought to light when it happens.”
Combs has faced eight lawsuits alleging abuse in the last year. While Ventura’s was settled out of court quickly, the remaining lawsuits have yet to be heard. Legend said his “default stance is to believe women” and that he hopes the coming months will “make these women whole again.”
Legend collaborated with Diddy on the 2023 track “Kim Porter,” a tribute to Combs’ long-time girlfriend and the mother of three of his seven children. Porter died in 2018 at the age of 47 due to complications stemming from pneumonia. Legend called the allegations against his former collaborator “shameful.”
“It’s quite a shame,” he said. “I really just want accountability and hopefully some healing for all of his victims.”
Diddy has not commented on the lawsuits he is facing, but he did issue an apology video via Instagram on May 19 after the footage of his assault on Ventura was released.
“It’s difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, sometimes you gotta do that,” he shared. “I was f—ked up. I mean, I hit rock bottom but I make no excuses. My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted.”
Ventura’s attorney, Meredith Firetog, lambasted the apology video in a statement to Us Weekly, saying that the move was “disingenuous” and came far too late.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday,” Firetog, a partner at Wigdor LLP, said at the time. “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
Cassie herself waited a week to respond to the video’s release, asking everyone who saw the footage to work on “believing victims the first time.”
“The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning. Domestic Violence is THE issue,” she posted via Instagram on Thursday, May 23. “It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
