Warning: This story contains details of abuse.
Kristin Chenoweth is speaking out.
After a 2016 video of Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was recently released online, the Broadway star shared how she personally relates to the footage.
"There is no excuse no matter what his defense is," Chenoweth wrote on X May 17. "Heartbreaking I used to love him."
The Wicked alum later added, "Honestly I have my reasons for the Sean Combs video bothering me so much. The main thing I need to do is pray for him. For real."
When some social media users criticized Chenoweth for praying for Combs—including one commenter who told her to "pray for victims' deliverance, not for evil abusers"—the Tony winner detailed her own experience with abuse.
"Never wanted to come out with it, but here we go," she continued in a May 18 post. "Several years ago I was severely abused. It took me therapy and prayer to understand I deserved better. I was deeply injured physically and spiritually. The only thing I knew to do when I got out was pray. Pray for myself. Pray for him as he grew up abused. So. There y'all go."
On May 17, CNN released hotel surveillance footage from 2016 that showed Combs grabbing Ventura—whose 2023 lawsuit accusing him of physical and sexual abuse was settled outside of court—throwing her to the ground, kicking her and dragging her.
After the video was released, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said the images were "extremely disturbing and difficult to watch" but noted it was not presenting a case against Combs relating to the assault.
"If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016," the office's statement read, "unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted."
Shortly after, Combs—who denied Ventura's allegations in the lawsuit—issued an apology on social media.
"It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you gotta do that," the music mogul said in a May 19 Instagram video. "I was f--ked up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video."
He added, "I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. Had to go into therapy, had to go into rehab, had to ask God for His mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."
However, Ventura's lawyer criticized Combs.
"Combs' most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt," attorney Meredith Firetog told CNN. "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."
Diddy made headlines in March when authorities raided his homes in Miami and Los Angeles. To learn more about that case, keep reading.