Diddy’s Assault Of Cassie Left Stevie J In Shock

Stevie J says he was thrown for a loop by the video of Diddy assaulting Cassie at a hotel in 2016, which CNN published for the first time, earlier this year. He reflected on seeing the footage for the first time and how he handled it during an interview with TMZ for the outlet’s docuseries, The Downfall of Diddy.

“It really threw me for a loop,” Stevie said. “I always think about and talk about things I know to be true about Sean Combs.” From there, he alleged that he spoke with Diddy about the incident afterward and the Bad Boy mogul said he was in a “dark place” at the time. “After I saw the video, I went and saw him in Miami and we had a conversation. And I let him know how affected I was by that. I didn’t know he had that in him to do that,” Stevie said. “I just know that he was in a dark place in his life, as he described to me. He was just doing a lot of drugs and it was just dark for him.”

Being in a “dark place” echoes comments Diddy made shortly after CNN first published the footage. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said in a video on social media. “I was f**ked up—I hit rock bottom—but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. 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.”

More recently, Diddy has been trying to get out of jail on bond after authorities arrested him on charges of alleged sex trafficking and racketeering, back in September. A decision on his latest try is expected at some point this week. If unsuccessful, he’ll be spending Thanksgiving behind bars. He’s already pleaded not guilty and denied all of the allegations against him.