Singer Cassie Ventura has secured a major legal victory against former escort Clayton Howard.
A California federal judge has dismissed Ventura from Howard’s lawsuit related to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged “freak off” parties, meaning Howard cannot refile his claims against Ventura. However, the judge permitted him to amend part of his broader lawsuit against Combs within two weeks.
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang dismissed Howard’s racketeering, s£x trafficking and human trafficking claims against Ventura with prejudice, according to legal documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.
Howard filed the lawsuit last year, alleging misconduct by Ventura during his employment with her and Diddy. He alleged that Ventura “directly solicited” him to travel across state lines on several occasions for commercial s£xual encounters.
He also claimed that Ventura and Diddy paid him for s£x over eight years, beginning in 2009. Ventura denied the allegation, and Judge Hwang ultimately ruled in her favor.
Howard stated that he experienced lasting psychological trauma as a result of his alleged interactions with Ventura and Diddy. In his filings, Howard described Ventura and Diddy as “toxic individuals” who had “no regard for others or the law.”
He asserted that “Ventura was not merely a victim” and alleged she actively participated with Diddy and “willingly manipulated and exploited others.” According to his lawsuit, Ventura pressured him to use illegal drugs, participate in unprotected s£x and engage in acts that he claims left him emotionally scarred.
Howard further alleged that Ventura recorded s***** encounters without consent, “showed no mercy,” and engaged in nonconsensual acts “during her menstrual cycle against his will.”
Additionally, his lawsuit claimed that Ventura convinced him to take MDMA “to lower his inhibitions and facilitate s£xual exploitation.” Howard’s filing also asserted that Diddy and Ventura used him “to satisfy their s***** fetishes and personal ambitions.”
Howard also addressed the matter publicly in a TikTok video (via Complex), where he accused Ventura and her legal team of conducting “a dedicated campaign to try to discredit me, stalk me, and harass me.”
He criticized Ventura’s motion to dismiss, arguing that her attorneys focused on the age of the allegations rather than their substance.
According to TMZ, Ventura later requested court intervention after Howard threatened her in social media posts, stating, “B****, I’m going to burn you with fire.” He allegedly called her a “w****” and said, “You want to play stupid games, you can win stupid prizes.”
Ventura’s attorneys accused Howard of harassing and intimidating their client as part of a public campaign.
USA Today reported that Ventura disclosed in a May 1 court declaration that she no longer lives in the United States. She requested that the case be moved from California to New York because travel would be more convenient for her.
“I am not a resident of the State of California,” Ventura stated in the filing. “I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to move back to the United States.” Ventura did not disclose her current country of residence.
Howard’s lawsuit against Diddy remains ongoing.
