Cassie Wins Dismissal Motion in Lawsuit Involving Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Singer Cassie Ventura is shown in a May 27, 2021, photograph shared on her Instagram account. A federal judge granted her motion to dismiss claims in a civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs on Oct. 21, 2026. (Photo via Cassie Ventura's Instagram)

A federal judge has granted singer Cassie Ventura's request to dismiss claims against her in a $35 million civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs, while allowing the broader case to continue.

U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Ventura's motion Wednesday during a hearing in Los Angeles, according to court minutes reviewed by SuperThrowbackParty.net.

The Oct. 21 ruling was recorded in a one-page document filed in the Central District of California in the case brought by Clayton Howard, a man who says he was hired to participate in sexual encounters involving Combs and Ventura.

ORIGINAL FEDERAL COURT RECORD

Howard v. Combs et al. — Oct. 21, 2026

U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Cassandra Ventura's dismissal motion and separately ruled on a motion involving Sean Combs and corporate defendants.

Central District of California · Case 2:25-cv-06031 · Document 181 · One page

Read the court's original ruling (PDF)

Howard filed the lawsuit in June 2025, alleging that he was subjected to sexual exploitation, coercion and abuse during encounters he says took place over several years.

The allegations have not been established as fact by the court.

Ventura's attorneys challenged Howard's claims, arguing that his allegations did not establish the necessary legal basis to hold her liable for sex trafficking or related misconduct.

The defense also pointed to Howard's own descriptions of Combs exercising control over the encounters, arguing that those accounts did not establish that Ventura had coerced him.

The court granted Ventura's dismissal motion, identified as document 163 in the record.

But the ruling was not a dismissal of the entire lawsuit.

The judge granted part of a separate dismissal motion filed by Combs and corporate defendants and denied other portions. The court allowed an amendment within 14 days and directed Combs to file an answer within the same period.

The written minutes refer to an oral ruling delivered during the hearing and do not specify whether Ventura's dismissal was with prejudice, which would generally prevent the same claims from being brought against her again.

That distinction could matter if Howard seeks to pursue additional claims.

The judge also denied Howard's request to substitute another proposed amended complaint and said the court would consider a separate request involving an additional response to defense arguments.

Howard has repeatedly revised his lawsuit as the court has considered challenges to its allegations.

The $35 million figure represents damages sought in the litigation, according to AllHipHop's reporting. It is not a court award, settlement or finding that any defendant owes Howard money.

The ruling comes amid continuing civil litigation stemming from allegations involving Combs, whose legal troubles have generated a series of overlapping but separate cases.

Ventura previously testified in Combs' federal criminal trial. The allegations and procedural outcome in Howard's civil lawsuit must be evaluated independently of that prosecution.

The latest court action establishes one immediate result: Ventura's dismissal motion was granted, but the broader litigation has not concluded.

A$AP Rocky’s ‘Shroom Clouds’ Draws Accusations of Using Artist’s Footage

A$AP Rocky's latest music video is facing allegations that its creators used another artist's work without permission, turning a brief psychedelic sequence into a dispute over artificial intelligence, ownership and credit.

The controversy centers on a scene roughly 2 minutes, 25 seconds into the video for "Shroom Clouds," released Oct. 19. It features a figure amid concentric rings in a grassy field, with the surrounding landscape appearing to bend into a tunnel.

The disputed visual sequence appears about 2 minutes, 25 seconds into A$AP Rocky's official "Shroom Clouds" music video. (A$AP Rocky/YouTube)

Visual effects artist Cache Bunny says the sequence came from a 2019 project he created with director Ari Fararooy and parkour athlete Jason Paul.

His allegation goes beyond a shared visual idea.

In Instagram posts circulated over the weekend, Cache Bunny accused Rocky's production team of taking the earlier footage, processing it with AI and replacing Paul with the rapper while retaining details of the original landscape.

The posts highlighted apparent similarities in the grass, shadows and camera perspective. The earlier work was published in April 2019, more than seven years before Rocky's video.

The original Instagram post remains publicly linked, and Rocky's official video contains the disputed sequence. The similarities have drawn attention from other creators, but the available comparison does not independently establish how the newer footage was produced or whether the original material was licensed.

The video's own credits, however, confirm that artificial intelligence was part of the production.

Rocky shares directing credit with Aisultan Seitov and Pietro Biz Biasia. North of Now is listed as the production company, with additional postproduction and visual-effects contributors. The credits identify Spike and Red, along with Ces, as AI artists.

The use of AI in a production does not establish that another artist's work was copied, and the credits do not identify which contributors created the disputed sequence.

On Monday, a statement attributed to AWGE creative director Robert Gallardo began circulating online. A screenshot and subsequent published reporting attributed to him an acknowledgment that a breakdown in reviewing AI-generated material had resulted in work associated with Cache Bunny appearing without attribution.

ORIGINAL SOURCE · APRIL 2019

Ari Fararooy's original video

The earlier visual work at the center of the dispute was published years before "Shroom Clouds."

View the 2019 Instagram post

The statement also described an effort to contact the artist to discuss resolving the matter. Its original Instagram Story could not be independently authenticated.

The controversy arrives at an awkward moment for Rocky, whose music videos have long been an important part of his reputation as a visual artist.

In an interview with Complex before "Shroom Clouds" was released, the rapper discussed artificial intelligence's place in music production while emphasizing his preference for hands-on creative work.

"I prefer to do things myself, practically," he said.

The song, featuring reggie and Jeremih, is part of the continuing rollout surrounding Rocky's album "Don't Be Dumb."

No publicly verified copyright lawsuit or licensing agreement involving the disputed sequence has emerged.

For now, the unresolved questions concern not simply whether AI was used, but whether another creator's work entered the production without permission, who authorized its use and what steps will be taken to address the complaint.

Soul Train Awards Return After Three Years With Chaka Khan Among Honorees

Chaka Khan is featured in promotional artwork for the 2026 Soul Train Awards. The Chicago-born singer will receive the Classic Soul Honor when the ceremony returns to her hometown. (Courtesy of BET)

Chaka Khan will receive the Classic Soul Honor at the 2026 Soul Train Awards, bringing one of R&B's most celebrated voices into the spotlight as the show returns to her hometown of Chicago.

BET announced the honor Thursday. The awards, last held in 2023, will be taped in Chicago and broadcast Nov. 27 on BET and, for the first time, CBS.

The homecoming brings together two pieces of Chicago music history.

Khan, born Yvette Stevens on the city's South Side, emerged in the early 1970s as the lead singer of Rufus. Around the same time, Don Cornelius was turning a local television dance show into a national showcase for Black music.

"Soul Train" debuted on Chicago station WCIU-TV in 1970 and entered national syndication the following year. For decades, the program gave soul, funk, R&B and eventually hip-hop performers a television platform that few other shows offered.

Khan's own career would cross many of those same musical boundaries.

With Rufus, she helped create funk and soul classics including "Tell Me Something Good," written by Stevie Wonder, "Sweet Thing" and "Ain't Nobody." Her solo career began in 1978 with "I'm Every Woman," but her 1984 recording of Prince's "I Feel for You" made an especially important connection between established R&B and the emerging sounds of hip-hop.

The song brought together Khan's vocals, Wonder's harmonica and a rap by Grandmaster Melle Mel, whose repeated introduction of her name became one of the record's most memorable features.

More than four decades later, Khan is still working that connection.

Her latest album, "Chakzilla," released in September, features Snoop Dogg on "Boogie's in My Soul." The rapper opens the track with another playful chant of her name, recalling Melle Mel's contribution to the 1984 hit. The album also features collaborations with Sia and Lenny Kravitz.

And this isn't Khan's first trip to the Soul Train Awards as an honoree.

At the 2009 ceremony, she received an Icon Award and was celebrated with a tribute featuring Erykah Badu, Fantasia, Ledisi, Angie Stone and Melle Mel.

"Chaka Khan is the embodiment of soul music," BET President Louis Carr said in Thursday's announcement, citing her work with Rufus and the generations of performers influenced by her solo recordings.

The latest recognition follows Khan's 2023 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year.

Actor and comedian Anthony Anderson will host the revived awards ceremony, which returns after a three-year absence with new fan-voted categories and an expanded television audience.

The Soul Train Awards will air Friday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. Eastern on BET and CBS.