Retired NFL star Dez Bryant is in hot water for his controversial take on Cassie Ventura following her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial.
After the rapper was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering on Wednesday, CBS Sports reporter Ashley Nicole Moss posted on X, “my thoughts are with Cassie [Ventura] and her family. as a woman, as a person, her testimony was heartbreaking and i couldn’t imagine how she feels this morning. it’s the very unfortunate reality of women who experience sexual violence — the story is just never enough.”
Ventura, 38, testified during Combs’ six-week trial in New York City that he physically and sexually abused her as well as threatened her during their tumultuous relationship from 2007 to 2018.
“I respect your opinions heavy but Cassie wasn’t no victim.. not even close,” Bryant, 36, replied to Moss’ post.
“she wasn’t a victim? for starters, we saw her beaten on camera …” Moss responded, referencing the surveillance footage showing Combs beating, kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Another X user added, “What about the assault on tape? She was definitely a victim my guy.”
Someone else noted, “The beating was brutal bro.”
A third wondered, “She wasn’t a victim of the domestic abuse we all witnessed on camera? Is THAT what she ‘wasn’t no victim’ of?”
Another critic pointed out, “We seen her try to leave & bro chased her down ..whooped her & drug her back to the room …come on Dez.”
Many blasted the former NFL star for being an “idiot,” a “f–king dork,” a “sick f–k” and a “piece of s–t.”
“Jesus f–king Christ. This kind of misogyny is so dangerous. You have a DAUGHTER!” one particularly heated netizen said of his 10-year-old child, Isabella. “Heaven forbid she falls in love with a man who mentally/emotionally/physically abuses her or traffics her. You gonna tell your daughter she’s NOT a victim and make her feel more unsafe? Scum.”
An overwhelming number of commenters dismissed Bryant’s opinion altogether given that he was arrested and charged with assaulting his own mother in 2012.
As for Ventura, her attorney Douglas Wigdor issued a statement on the singer’s behalf shortly after the verdict in Combs’ case was read.
“This entire criminal process started when our client Cassie Ventura had the courage to file her civil complaint in November 2023,” Wigdor wrote. (Combs settled with Ventura one day later for $20 million.)
“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,” he continued.
Wigdor went on to praise Ventura’s “indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice … by coming forward with her experience,” highlighting her “exemplary courage” and “unquestionable strength.”
The statement concluded, “This case proved that change is long overdue, and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”
Outside the courtroom, Wigdor informed inquiring reporters that Ventura is “in a good place” and “pleased” that Combs is facing “substantial jail time” while being “held responsible” for two federal crimes.
The maximum sentence for a transportation to engage in prostitution charge — which is the crime in which an individual knowingly transports another across state lines or international borders for the purpose of prostitution — is 10 years.
Since Combs, 55, was found guilty on two counts, he potentially faces 20 years in prison.
The music mogul will remain behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center until his sentencing on Oct. 3.
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