Diddy is done: Sean Combs can't save his career, entertainment attorney says — but he can maybe save himself

Sean "Diddy" Combs apologized for assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura. An entertainment attorney said it won't save his career.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared to assault Cassie Ventura in 2016, a newly leaked video shows.
• An attorney said that Combs' subsequent apology won't mitigate any legal consequences.
• The video could help Combs' accusers bolster their own civil cases against the music mogul.

A "smoking gun" video of Sean "Diddy" Combs could help plaintiffs in other civil suits against him bolster their cases, an entertainment lawyer told Business Insider.

On Friday, CNN published 2016 surveillance footage that appears to show the Grammy-Award-winning producer assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.

In the video, a man appearing to be Combs shoves, drags, kicks, and throws an object toward Ventura in the hotel hallway. The video corroborates a similar incident detailed in Ventura's November lawsuit against the hip-hop mogul.

The two parties settled the lawsuit a day after it was filed, the Associated Press reported. In a previous statement to Business Insider, a lawyer for Combs said Diddy denied the allegations made in the suit and accused Ventura of trying to "blackmail" him.

Combs apologized Sunday for his actions in a video posted to his official Instagram account — though he did not specifically refer to what actions he was apologizing for, nor did he mention Ventura's name. In his apology, he called his actions "inexcusable." and said he sought therapy.

Camron Dowlatshahi, an attorney at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, told BI that the apology, which he said was an attempt to "humanize" Combs, wouldn't save him.

Meredith Firetog, Partner at Wigdor LLP and attorney for Ventura, shared a similar sentiment.

"Combs' most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt," Firetog said in a statement to BI. "When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to 'apologize' once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words."

'His career is effectively done'

Ventura alleged in her November suit that Combs paid the defunct hotel $50,000 to obtain the surveillance footage.

Dowlatshahi told BI this type of arrangement is common in Hollywood, though "it certainly doesn't look good selling off a video where someone's getting assaulted."

In a statement to BI, IHG, the parent company of InterContinental Hotel, said that the hotel is "no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage."

Dowlatshahi said it's unlikely that Ventura leaked the video to CNN because of her settlement with Combs and said it may have been a former hotel employee or someone in Combs' camp.

Regardless of how the video surfaced, it's a game changer for his other accusers, Dowlatshahi said. Combs is currently facing four sexual misconduct suits.

The lawsuits come from a former employee and three women who accuse Diddy of sexual assault, abuse, drugging, and other acts of sexual misconduct. One woman said Combs "sex trafficked and gang raped" her as a 17-year-old in 2003.

Plaintiffs in civil suits against Combs will most likely try to submit the video as evidence to prove that the music mogul has a "propensity for violence," and there is a likelihood that — should the cases go to trial — prospective jurors could be swayed by the video, Dowlatshahi said.

"It's rare to have smoking-gun evidence in those types of cases, and this video is a form of smoking-gun evidence with respect to Diddy's propensity for violence," Dowlatshahi said.

Federal authorities have also opened up an investigation in connection to the allegations made against Combs, multiple outlets, including CNN, previously reported following a DHS raid on his Miami and Los Angeles homes.

Diddy cannot be indicted in connection to his actions in 2016 due to the statute of limitations on felony assault and domestic violence charges, Dowlatshahi said. He also said, however, that the emergence of the video will probably result in investigators trying to uncover similar incriminating footage at other hotels Diddy previously stayed at.

From the perspective of Combs' defense, Dowlatshahi said Combs' lawyers will probably try to settle the cases and advise Combs to cooperate with authorities.

"His career is effectively done," Dowlatshahi told Business Insider.

Representatives for Combs declined to comment.