Diddy punched Cassie right in the stomach, and Usher allegedly saw the whole thing.
That’s the shocking claim Dawn Richard made during her second day of testimony in the explosive federal case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s facing serious charges like sex trafficking, racketeering, and more. According to Richard, the alleged abuse happened in 2010 at a restaurant in West Hollywood. She didn’t just say it quietly in court, she dropped names. Big names. She testified that Usher was one of the people who witnessed the moment when Diddy turned violent on then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Richard told the court that Cassie and Diddy were having what looked like a private conversation when things took a dark turn. “Mr. Combs punched Cassie in the stomach,” she said. “She immediately leaned over and left.” NBC News had a reporter inside the courtroom and confirmed Richard’s statement. And it wasn’t just Usher she says was there, singer Ne-Yo, rap legend Big Daddy Kane, and music exec Jimmy Iovine were reportedly around, too.
But it didn’t end at the restaurant. According to Richard, the abuse continued in the car ride back to Cassie’s house. “Combs grabbed her, slapped her, popped her in the mouth, and told her to shut the f–k up,” she testified. “Everyone was quiet the rest of the ride.” That moment, as disturbing as it is, is just one of several Richard claims to have witnessed while working with Diddy. It’s worth noting she’s not just a random name, Richard was part of Danity Kane, the girl group formed by Diddy’s reality show Making the Band, and later collaborated with him again in Dirty Money.
This isn’t her first time speaking up. Richard filed a civil lawsuit last year against Combs, accusing him of groping, false imprisonment, and assault, saying she endured years of what she called “inhumane working conditions.” In court last week, she described another chilling scene, this time in 2009. Diddy allegedly hit Cassie with a skillet full of eggs. Yes, a skillet. “He came downstairs, asking where his phone was, and he threw her to the ground,” Richard said. “He attempted to kick her; she fell to the ground and went into the fetal position.”
The most terrifying part? The threat that allegedly came after. Richard claims that after she witnessed the skillet incident, Diddy looked her dead in the eye and said, “You could go missing… we could die.” She said she was shocked, scared, and couldn’t believe that was the beginning of her new journey with Dirty Money. Imagine being threatened with your life as part of a music group.
Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all the federal charges against him, but the courtroom drama is far from over. Richard’s testimony adds to the growing pile of disturbing allegations and paints a brutal picture of what went on behind the scenes. With big names like Usher now tied to these moments, whether as silent witnesses or not, the pressure is mounting.
Social media is already reacting hard. Fans are calling out celebrities who allegedly saw the abuse and didn’t speak up. People are also questioning how much the industry really knew and whether it enabled Combs for too long. With every new testimony, the curtain’s being pulled back further on what looks like years of unchecked violence and intimidation.
If Richard’s claims are true, Diddy didn’t just abuse Cassie behind closed doors, he did it in public, in front of industry peers, and then kept working with them like nothing happened. That’s the part that’s got people stunned. Not just the violence, but the silence that followed.
We’ll keep watching this case as it unfolds, but right now, Dawn Richard’s voice is loud and clear, and she’s naming names.
