Key Takeaways
- U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang dismissed Cassandra Ventura with prejudice from Clayton Howard's $35 million lawsuit on Oct. 21.
- Clayton Howard, a self-represented former male escort who worked under the name "Dave," sued Ventura, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC and CeOpco LLC last June over being “forced” to participate in ;freak-offs.’
- Ventura's attorneys argued Howard never connected her conduct to sex obtained through force, fraud or deception, citing Howard’s own account of multiple cash payments and return visits.
Cassie Ventura has been dropped from a $35 million lawsuit filed by a former escort who claims that he was involved in “freak-off” sessions with her and Diddy.
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted the singer's motion to dismiss at an Oct. 21 hearing in Los Angeles, according to documents obtained by Complex, which allows the case to proceed against Diddy, real name Sean Combs. The suit was filed last June by Clayton Howard, who alleged that he was hired by Diddy and Cassie on multiple occasions and claimed that 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 minutes read. The allegations against Ventura were dismissed with prejudice.
Clayton Howard, who worked as a male escort under the name "Dave," named Ventura, Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC and CeOpco LLC in the suit. He alleged Ventura arranged sessions under Diddy’s order, and that the two used drugs and coercion to abuse him during paid encounters in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Attorneys for Cassie argued he never connected her conduct to sex performed through force, fraud or deception, and pointed multiple cash payments and return visits as proof that he was not a victim of trafficking. They also referenced Howard’s complaint about Diddy’s violence and control over his former girlfriend, including his ability to decide when encounters ended.
"These defects are not curable by better drafting or any reframing of the facts," her lawyers wrote.
A July 2025 ruling had given Howard another shot, and he filed a fifth amended complaint on August 3, 2025. Meanwhile, Cassie’s filings in the case have stated she is a U.S. citizen now living outside the United States, with no intention of moving back.
Days before the hearing, Howard tried to substitute a fresh rewrite that altered his claim of roughly 12 hours of confinement during a December 2016 encounter in Miami, which was denied.
The same order granted Bad Boy Entertainment and CeOpco's motion only in part, with Howard being allowed 14 days to amend, and said the court would consider Howard's request to file an additional response. Diddy, who is serving the 50-month sentence imposed last October, has denied wrongdoing and was ordered to answer by a Nov. 4 deadline.
Cassie, who shares three children with her husband, Alex Fine, quietly relocated from the U.S. ahead of her testimony in Diddy’s sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
