CNN Denies Accusation From Diddy Lawyers: ‘Never Altered’ Cassie Assault Video
Written by djfrosty on March 14, 2025
CNN is denying accusations from Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys that the network altered and then destroyed the infamous 2016 surveillance video of him assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
In court filings Thursday, attorneys for the indicted hip-hop mogul leveled a bombshell accusation: that CNN “substantially altered” the footage in “significant respects” and then destroyed the original copy, even though they knew about the criminal investigation into Diddy.
But in a statement just hours later, CNN flatly rejected the claim: “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source. CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested.”
Thursday’s dispute is significant because Diddy’s attorneys will cite CNN’s alleged mishandling as a reason for the footage to be excluded from the upcoming trial, potentially depriving prosecutors of a visceral piece of evidence to present to jurors. In the filing, Combs’ team confirmed that they would make such arguments would be covered in a upcoming motion.
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” The case centers on elaborate “freak off” parties in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex, as well as on alleged acts of violence to keep victims silent.
A trial is currently set to start on May 5. If convicted on all of the charges, Combs faces a potential life prison sentence.
The Cassie video, which aired on CNN in May, showed Combs striking his then-girlfriend in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The clip drew far more attention to the accusations against the star, and prompted an apology from Combs shortly after it aired.
“My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” Combs said at the time. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry.”
In the months leading up to trial, attorneys for the star have repeatedly targeted the tape in pre-trial motions, including previously claiming that federal authorities had improperly leaked it to the press to “taint the jury pool.” Prosecutors sharply denied that charge, arguing that Combs was using such claims to in an effort to “suppress a damning piece of evidence.”
In Thursday’s court filing, Diddy’s lawyers said that subpoenas to CNN had proven that the video had been altered, including “covering the time stamp, “changing the video sequence” and “speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are.” As a result of the changes, the clips “do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question.”
In the same filing, the Combs legal team also argued that CNN had “purchased the only known copy” of the footage, uploaded into their systems, and then “destroyed the original footage.”
In a statement to Billboard on Friday, Cassie’s attorney Douglas Wigdor criticized Diddy over the filings: “It is not surprising that Combs would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial. I am confident that the video fairly and accurately represents what happened, will be admitted into evidence, and that Combs will be held accountable for his depravity.”