NEW YORK, May 20 — Rapper Sean "Diddy” Combs apologised yesterday after surveillance video surfaced showing him physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in 2016.

Combs is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterise him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.

Disturbing footage published Friday shows Combs attacking Ventura — a singer and model also known simply as Cassie — corroborating allegations she made in a now-settled lawsuit late last year.

"My behaviour on that video is inexcusable,” Combs said in a video posted on Instagram, adding he was "disgusted” and "sought out professional help” after the incident including therapy and rehab.

"I’m so sorry,” he said. "I’m committed to be a better man each and every day.”

The footage, which was published by CNN, shows the rap mogul hitting, dragging and kicking Ventura, who in her recent lawsuit said Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, plus a 2018 rape.

In the video, Ventura leaves a hotel room after which Combs, appearing to wear only a towel, chases her before throwing her to the ground and assaulting her.

"The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour of Mr. Combs,” read a statement from her lawyer Douglas Wigdor.

Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall in a bombshell suit that was settled out of court but succeeded by a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims against the hip-hop star.

Ventura met Combs when she was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.

Combs has previously vehemently denied all accusations against him.

"Enough is enough,” he said in a December 2023 statement, also on his Instagram page. "For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.”

In March armed agents entered Combs’ sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, a heavily publicised bicoastal operation that suggested an investigation into the rapper is underway. — AFP