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Kristin Chenoweth is opening up about her experience with domestic abuse.
On Saturday, May 18, the Broadway actress, 55, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) reflecting on the recently-released video of Sean “Diddy” Combs, in which he can be seen physically assaulting his then-girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
“Honestly I have my reasons for the Sean Combs video bothering me so much,” Chenoweth wrote. “The main thing I need to do is pray for him. For real.”
When a commenter replied to Chenoweth’s post stating that she should pray for “victims” and not “evil abusers,” the actress opened up about her own experience with violence in a relationship for the first time.
“Never wanted to come out with it, but here we go,” she began. “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,” she continued. “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.”
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
“It was the lowest I’ve been in my life,” she wrote, sharing several more posts. “I must admit I haven’t forgiven yet. It’s beyond me. God is helping me through that part.”
“A victim has to handle it however [she/he/they] needs to and is best for them,” Chenoweth continued, adding that by sharing her experience, “maybe it helped someone.”
Chenoweth is currently married to singer Josh Bryant. The pair wed on Sept. 2, 2023, in Texas.
The actress’ social media posts come after CNN released 2016 surveillance video footage on Friday, May 17, of Diddy, 54, grabbing, shoving and kicking his former girlfriend.
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The video shows Ventura leaving a hotel room and walking toward an elevator before Combs follows her, grabs her by the neck and throws her to the ground. He can then be seen kicking her and then dragging her toward the direction of the hotel room. Combs then walks away, before sitting down in a chair and throwing an object at her.
Combs’ actions depicted in the video match allegations that Ventura, 37, made in a now-settled lawsuit filed in November.
Ventura’s attorney Douglas H. Wigdor told PEOPLE in a statement that the “gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs.”
“Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor added.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.