Kesha is standing with Cassie Ventura in the wake of Sean “Diddy” Combs being found guilty on two of five federal charges he faced during an eight-week trial. During the trial, Ventura spent four days on the witness stand testifying against Combs, her ex-boyfriend. In her testimony, she alleged that Combs raped her, forced her to have sex with male sex workers while he watched, and physically abused her.
“Cassie, I believe you,” Kesha wrote on X. “I love you. Your strength is a beacon for every survivor.” Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but found not guilty on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. In a press statement, Ventura’s legal representative Doug Wigdor said, “Although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.“
In November 2023, Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in New York alleging years of assault. In May 2024, a surveillance video from March 2016 surfaced online, capturing Combs chasing, kicking, and dragging Cassie down a hotel hallway. In April 2024, Kesha took the stage with Renee Rapp at Coachella for a surprise performance of her 2010 hit “Tik Tok,” during which she altered the lyrics to sing “Wake up in the mornin’ like fuck P-Diddy,” rather than “feelin’ like P-Diddy.” Later that year, Kesha revealed plans to re-record “Tik Tok” to permanently change the lyric when she is legally able.
A few months before Ventura filed her suit against Combs, Kesha settled a long-running legal battle with her former producer Dr. Luke. In 2014, she filed a suit against the producer, born Lukasz Gottwald, which alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Gottwald denied the allegations and that same year countersued the singer, claiming she had defamed him. In 2016, a judge dismissed Kesha’s claims, largely on the grounds that they were too old. Gottwald’s defamation suit was settled in June 2023 after the two parties reached a “resolution.”
“Only God knows what happened that night,” Kesha wrote in a statement following the settlement. “As I always said, I cannot recount everything that happened. I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved.”
