Dee Barnes doesn’t want you to forget the dark past of a heavily-celebrated Black male producer.
On May 17, CNN acquired exclusive footage from hotel surveillance cameras of Diddy chasing his ex-girlfriend Cassie down the hall while only wearing a towel. Once Diddy caught up to Cassie, who was waiting for an elevator, Diddy began kicking and hitting her before he dragged her back to the room. Since the incident occurred in 2016, he can’t be charged for it.
“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office posted in a May 17 statement on Instagram. “As of today, law enforcement has not presented a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
Cassie previously described this event in a lawsuit against Diddy that was settled in a matter of hours.
As the video went viral, Barnes announced she was logging out of social media for the day.
“Seeing that video is extremely triggering,” Barnes posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “#DrDre punched, slammed, kicked and stomped me out. #Concussion
“Logging TF off.”
In a September 2015 interview with HuffPost, a month after the Straight Outta Compton movie came out, Barnes described the alleged assault against her.
“He grabbed me by my hair, and he started slamming me against the wall,” Barnes said. “It is a painful and dramatic experience. And then when you add celebrity into the factor, it’s a constant reminder. In my situation, there’s actually references in songs.
“Music is around for generations. So there’s a constant reminder when the song plays.”
You can watch the full 2015 interview below.
