America’s Best ditches Diddy’s Sean John eyewear brand after Cassie beating video
America’s Best has ditched Diddy’s Sean John eyewear brand after shocking footage emerged of him violently attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura earlier this month.
The retailer confirmed that they ‘no longer sell Sean John’ and have removed the frames from all their stores and replaced them with glasses of a similar price.
Prescription glasses, which are part of the Diddy’s brand, have also been removed from the America’s Best online store.
While the retailer did not give a reason for the move, it comes amid anger over surveillance footage of the rapper attacking Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.
The video, obtained by CNNshows the rapper, whose real name is Sean Combs, shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist as he chases Cassie down the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.
America’s Best has axed Diddy’s Sean John eyewear brand after shocking footage emerged of him violently attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura earlier this month. (Image: Diddy and Cassie are seen on the red carpet two days after the hotel incident in March 2016)
The retailer confirmed that they ‘no longer sell Sean John’ and have removed the frames from all their stores and replaced them with glasses of a similar price.
When she tried to get into an elevator, he grabbed her by the back of the head and knocked her to the ground.
The 54-year-old rapper then kicked her as she lay motionless on the ground.
Diddy stood over her, kicked her again and then dragged her by the hoodie back to their room.
Two days later, the pair appeared hand-in-hand on the red carpet for the premiere of The Perfect Match.
Cassie, 37, claimed in a now-settled lawsuit that Diddy paid the same hotel $50,000 for the footage after the attack.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Cassie’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor said: ‘The heartbreaking video has only further cemented Mr. Combs’ disturbing and predatory behavior.
“Words cannot express the courage and determination Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to expose this.”
The singer was accused by Diddy and others of lying about the abuse, and she took to Instagram to urge people to “open your heart to believe the victims the first time” after the video surfaced.
She urged people to ‘open your heart to believe the victims the first time’ after she was accused by Sean and others of lying about the abuse
Jennifer Lopez, 54, who dated Diddy between 1999 and 2001, was also “disturbed” and “heartbroken” by the images, according to a source.
Diddy responded with an apology video on Instagram. “I’ve hit rock bottom, but I’m not making excuses,” he said, adding that he was “f***ed up” at the time.
Cassie sued the rapper last year for rape and a series of other offenses. They settled out of court in November for an undisclosed amount.
In a statement at the time, Cassie said: “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have a degree of control.
“I would like to thank my family, fans and advocates for their continued support.”
In his own statement at the time, Diddy’s attorney said his settlement of the case was in no way an admission of guilt.
Cassie took to Instagram on Thursday to break her silence after a video was released of her ex-boyfriend, rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, beating her up
‘Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” his attorney Ben Brafman said.
“For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand for $30 million under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail.
“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit filled with baseless and outrageous lies in order to damage Mr. Combs’ reputation and seek a payday.”
The pair dated between 2007 and 2018, after meeting in 2006 when she was 19 and he was 37. She was recording her debut album at the time.
In her suit, Cassie recalled an incident similar to the one captured on security footage at the LA hotel.
This is the former InterContinental hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, where Diddy allegedly attacked then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura
Cassie tries to escape in an elevator. Diddy, after chasing her down the hallway, grabbed her by the back of the hoodie and threw her to the ground
The lawsuit alleges, “Around March, during an FO at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Mr. Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, causing her to suffer a black eye.
“After he fell asleep, Ms. Ventura attempted to leave the hotel room, but as she left, Ms. Combs woke up and began yelling at Ms. Ventura. He followed her into the hallway, yelling at her.
“He grabbed her, then grabbed glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, shattering the glass around them as she ran to the elevator to escape.”
Cassie said in the suit that she eventually managed to escape Diddy and go to her own apartment, but out of fear of the rapper decided to return to the hotel.
“When she realized that her walking away would cause Mr. Combs to become even angrier with her, and completely trapped in his vicious cycle of abuse, Ms. Ventura returned to the hotel with the intention of apologizing for the running away from her abuser,” the spokesperson said. complaint thus resolved.
“When she returned, hotel security staff urged her to get back into a taxi and go to her apartment, suggesting they had seen the security footage showing Mr. Combs punching Ms. Ventura and throwing glass at her in the hallway from the hotel.’
According to the legal claim, Diddy paid the InterContinental Century City $50,000 for the hallway security footage showing the alleged assault.
The couple then made a second appearance on March 7, with Cassie wearing a different dress
Cassie has described a years-long, torturous relationship in which he controlled her movements and subjected her to abuse. He has always denied wrongdoing.
The March 2016 footage of the incident comes just two months after Diddy’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by Homeland Security as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
He is also fighting lawsuits from other accusers alleging sexual misconduct and abuse.
Diddy’s sons, Justin and Christian ‘King’ Combs, were handcuffed during the raid on their father’s Los Angeles home.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit claiming Diddy forced him to recruit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
Another accuser of Diddy was a woman who said the rap producer raped her 20 years ago when she was 17.
Diddy and his lawyers have denied all allegations in the lawsuits.
The rapper is one of the most influential hip-hop producers and managers of the past thirty years.
Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop’s largest empires, blazing a trail with several entities tied to his famous name.
He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has collaborated with a slew of top artists including Notorious BIG, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.