Cassie Ventura has been dismissed from a $35 million lawsuit filed by a former escort who claims he participated in alleged “freak-off” sessions involving her and Diddy.
According to documents obtained, U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted the singer’s motion to dismiss during an Oct. 21 hearing in Los Angeles. The ruling allows the lawsuit to continue against Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs. The case was filed last June by Clayton Howard, who alleged that Diddy and Cassie hired him on multiple occasions and claimed the singer aborted his child.
“Defendant Ventura’s motion to dismiss is hereby granted; this will be the order as stated on the record,” the court minutes read. The allegations against Ventura were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.
Howard, who worked as a male escort under the name “Dave,” named Ventura, Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, and CeOpco LLC in his lawsuit. He alleged that Ventura arranged encounters at Diddy’s direction and claimed the pair used drugs and coercion to abuse him during paid sessions in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Cassie’s attorneys argued that Howard failed to connect her alleged conduct to sexual activity involving force, fraud, or deception. They also pointed to multiple cash payments and his repeated returns as evidence against his trafficking claims. Her legal team further referenced Howard’s allegations about Diddy’s violence and control over his former girlfriend, including his alleged authority to determine when encounters ended.
“These defects are not curable by better drafting or any reframing of the facts,” her lawyers wrote.
A July 2025 ruling gave Howard another opportunity to amend his complaint, leading him to file a fifth amended version on August 3, 2025. Meanwhile, Cassie’s court filings stated that she is a U.S. citizen currently living outside the country, with no plans to return.
In the days leading up to the hearing, Howard attempted to submit another revised complaint that changed his account of being confined for approximately 12 hours during an alleged encounter in Miami in December 2016. The court rejected the request.
The same ruling partially granted motions to dismiss filed by Bad Boy Entertainment and CeOpco, giving Howard 14 days to amend his complaint. The court also said it would consider his request to submit an additional response. Diddy, who is serving the 50-month prison sentence imposed last October, has denied wrongdoing and was ordered to respond by a Nov. 4 deadline.
Cassie, who shares three children with her husband, Alex Fine, reportedly moved out of the United States quietly ahead of her testimony in Diddy’s sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
