Editor’s Be aware: A model of this story first revealed in March. It has been up to date to incorporate further info.
CNN
—
Even earlier than legislation enforcement raided his houses, the rapper, producer and businessman Sean “Diddy” Combs confronted a number of authorized points.
Since November 2023, he has confronted a number of separate civil lawsuits accusing him of a variety of sexual misconduct and different criminal activity. A type of instances has already been settled, however the others stay lively.
A number of of the lawsuits allege misconduct was captured on video. As well as, some had been filed underneath the New York Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window for grownup victims to file a lawsuit towards their alleged abusers and the establishments that enabled them, no matter statutes of limitations. This one-year window ended on November 24, 2023.
In September, Combs, 54, was indicted on federal expenses of racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution. He has pleaded not responsible. Combs was denied bail and can stay in federal detention as he awaits trial.
Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at every of the civil lawsuits, what they allege and the way Combs has responded.
The fundamentals: Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer often known as Cassie who beforehand dated Diddy, filed a federal lawsuit within the Southern District of New York on November 16, 2023, towards Diddy and the businesses Dangerous Boy Data, Dangerous Boy Leisure, Combs Enterprises, Epic Data and Doe Corps. 1-10.
The allegations: Ventura alleged she was raped and subjected to years of violent abuse by Diddy. The lawsuit accuses him of intercourse trafficking, human trafficking, sexual assault and battery, gender-motivated violence, sexual harassment, gender discrimination and a hostile work atmosphere.
The go well with particularly described an altercation at a resort hallway round March 2016 during which Diddy “grabbed at her,” beat her and threw glass vases at her.
Diddy’s response: Lawyer Ben Brafman stated in an announcement emailed to CNN by way of Diddy’s publicist, “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.”
The assertion continued, “For the previous 6 months, Mr. Combs, has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, underneath the specter of writing a harmful ebook about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Regardless of withdrawing her preliminary menace, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to submitting a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ fame and looking for a pay day.”
In Might 2024, CNN published hotel surveillance video from 2016 during which Combs grabbed, shoved, dragged and kicked Ventura and threw an object at her in a resort hallway. Afterward, Diddy posted a video apologizing, saying “My conduct on that video is inexcusable. I take full duty for my actions in that video.”
The place the case stands: The lawsuit was settled “amicably” just a day afterward, each side stated. “A choice to settle a lawsuit, particularly in 2023, is on no account an admission of wrongdoing,” Brafman stated.
The fundamentals: Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court docket on November 23 towards Diddy, Dangerous Boy Leisure doing enterprise as Dangerous Boy Data, and Combs Enterprises LLC.
The allegations: Dickerson-Neal accused Diddy of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1991, when she was a Syracuse College pupil who had appeared with Combs in a music video. She additionally alleged she was a sufferer of “revenge porn,” saying he filmed the assault and confirmed it to others.
Diddy’s response: A spokesperson stated the allegations are “made up and never credible,” including the transfer is “purely a cash seize.”
“This last-minute lawsuit is an instance of how a well-intentioned legislation may be turned on its head,” the spokesperson stated. “Mr. Combs by no means assaulted her, and she or he implicates firms that didn’t exist.”
The place the case stands: In April, attorneys for Diddy and the opposite defendants asked the court to throw out parts of the go well with, denying the allegations and claiming sure allegations towards Combs “had been introduced underneath statutes that didn’t exist on the time the alleged misconduct occurred” and thus couldn’t be revived underneath the Grownup Survivors Act.
The fundamentals: In a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court docket on November 23 and in an amended grievance on March 12, Liza Gardner sued Diddy, Aaron Corridor, MCA Inc., MCA Music Leisure Group, Geffen Data, Common Music Group NV, John and Jane Does 1-10 and ABC Corps. 1-10.
The allegations: Gardner accused Combs and Aaron Corridor, a member of the R&B group Man, of battery and sexual assault in 1990, when she was 16 years previous.
She alleged that after they gave her alcoholic drinks, Diddy compelled her into having intercourse and Corridor pinned her down and compelled her to have intercourse. The subsequent day, Diddy assaulted her and choked her till she handed out, the lawsuit states.
Diddy’s response: In December, Diddy posted on Instagram denying the claims.
“Sufficient is sufficient. For the final couple of weeks, I’ve sat silently and watched individuals attempt to assassinate my character, destroy my fame and my legacy,” he said. “Sickening allegations have been made towards me by people searching for a fast payday. Let me be completely clear: I didn’t do any of the terrible issues being alleged. I’ll struggle for my identify, my household and for the reality.”
CNN has reached out to Corridor for remark. He has not but publicly spoken in regards to the allegations.
The place the case stands: Gardner’s attorneys have moved to voluntarily discontinue the case and refile it in New Jersey state court docket, the place the assault allegedly occurred. Attorneys for UMG and the opposite music firms additionally moved to dismiss the case, arguing the claims are “time-barred” and “in any other case poor as a matter of legislation.”
The fundamentals: An nameless girl utilizing the identify Jane Doe filed a federal lawsuit within the Southern District of New York on December 6 towards Diddy, Harve Pierre, an unnamed third assailant, Daddy’s Home Recordings Inc. and Dangerous Boy Leisure Holdings Inc. Doe filed an amended grievance on March 29.
The allegations: Doe accused Diddy, Pierre and a 3rd particular person of intercourse trafficking and gang rape in 2003, when she was a 17-year-old highschool pupil.
Diddy’s response: In court docket filings, Diddy formally denied the allegations and instructed the court docket the lawsuit ought to be dismissed as a result of the lady’s “choice to attend greater than 20 years to file her grievance has prejudiced” him as a result of he has “misplaced the flexibility to defend himself absolutely and pretty.” He additionally argued the proof might now be “unavailable, misplaced, or compromised” and that “witness identification, availability, and recollections are doubtless compromised because of the substantial passage of time.”
Pierre, the previous president of Dangerous Boy Data, filed a 15-page response asking the court docket to dismiss the grievance. He stated he “by no means participated within the sexual assault of the Plaintiff nor did he ever witness anybody else sexually assaulting the Plaintiff.”
Daddy’s Home Recordings Inc. and Dangerous Boy Leisure Holdings Inc. have additionally filed motions asking the court docket to dismiss the case.
The place the case stands: Attorneys for Diddy, Daddy’s Home and Dangerous Boy Leisure have filed a movement to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the case was “baseless and time-barred.”
The fundamentals: Rodney Jones, a music producer and videographer who glided by Lil Rod, filed a federal lawsuit within the Southern District of New York on February 26 towards Diddy and quite a lot of different defendants. The go well with was refiled on March 4, and proposed amended complaints had been filed on March 25 and March 27.
The allegations: The lawsuit particularly accuses Diddy of racketeering, sexual assault and intercourse trafficking in 2022 and 2023 as Jones labored on Diddy’s most up-to-date album “Love.” Jones additionally alleges Combs didn’t compensate him for his music producing work.
As well as, the lawsuit accuses Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexual assault and makes reference to a number of different celebrities by identify and by description.
Diddy’s response: Diddy’s lawyer denied the allegations and referred to as Jones’ claims “lies.”
“His reckless name-dropping about occasions which might be pure fiction and easily didn’t occur is nothing greater than a clear try and garner headlines. We’ve overwhelming, indeniable proof that his claims are full lies,” lawyer Shawn Holley stated.
An lawyer for Gooding has not responded to CNN’s request for remark.
The place the case stands: A few of the defendants moved to dismiss the case. Jones subsequently moved to voluntarily dismiss them, and the court docket ordered them faraway from the case.
O’Marcaigh v. Christian and Sean Combs
The fundamentals: Grace O’Marcaigh, who labored as a crew member and bartender on a yacht leased by Diddy and his household in December 2022, named Sean Combs and his son Christian Combs in a lawsuit filed April 4 in Los Angeles Superior Court docket.
The allegations: Christian Combs is accused of sexual assault within the lawsuit. His father is accused of premises legal responsibility and aiding and abetting his son.
The lawsuit alleges the yacht expertise was “offered as a healthful household tour” however become a “hedonistic atmosphere” the place suspected intercourse employees and different celebrities had been usually introduced aboard.
Within the early morning of December 28, Christian Combs pressured O’Marcaigh to drink a shot of tequila and shortly thereafter he assaulted her, the lawsuit says. O’Marcaigh believes the tequila, which she says Christian Combs introduced aboard, might have been laced with medicine, in accordance with the lawsuit.
On the yacht, Christian Combs “cornered” O’Marcaigh in a room and “grew to become bodily and very aggressive,” the lawsuit states. The alleged sexual assault stopped solely when one other yacht worker entered the room.
Diddy’s response: Aaron Dyer, an lawyer for Combs and his son, stated in an announcement the lawsuit incorporates “manufactured lies and irrelevant info.”
The place the case stands: Dyer stated he’ll search to “dismiss this outrageous declare.”
Crystal McKinney information lawsuit towards Diddy
The fundamentals: Crystal McKinney, a former mannequin and winner of MTV’s 1998 Mannequin Mission competitors present, filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Might 21 towards Combs, Dangerous Boy Data and Sean John Clothes LLC, and Common Music Group Inc.
The allegations: Within the lawsuit, McKinney claimed that she was “drugged and sexually assaulted” by Combs in 2003, when she was 22 years previous, following a Males’s Style Week occasion in New York Metropolis.
She sued the defendants for violation of the New York Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Safety Legislation.
Diddy’s response: CNN has reached out to representatives for Combs, Dangerous Boy Data, Sean John Clothes LLC, and Common Music Group Inc. for remark.
The place the case stands: The defendants haven’t but responded to the go well with, in accordance with the court docket docket.
“Diddy” going through extra abuse allegations
The fundamentals: April Lampros, who met Diddy in 1994 when she was a pupil at New York’s Style Institute of Know-how, filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court docket on Might 23 towards Combs and different entities and unnamed individuals.
The allegations: Lampros accused Combs of 4 cases of sexual assault from the mid-Nineties to the early-2000s. The go well with additional accuses the rap mogul of battery, assault, negligent infliction of emotional misery and violation of the victims of gender-motivated violence safety legislation.
Diddy’s response: Diddy has in a roundabout way responded to the allegations.
The place the case stands: The doc has not but been reviewed by the county clerk.
The fundamentals: Adria English, a former grownup movie actor who says she labored for Sean “Diddy” Combs between 2004 and 2009, accused Combs of intercourse trafficking and sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in July.
The allegations: English alleges Combs and different defendants within the lawsuit used her as “a sexual pawn for the pleasure and monetary advantage of others” throughout “White Events” at Combs’ houses within the Hamptons, New York, and Miami, Florida. She accuses Combs of forcing her to “interact in prostitution and intercourse work” between 2006 and 2009.
Diddy’s response: “Irrespective of what number of lawsuits are filed it gained’t change the truth that Mr. Combs has by no means sexually assaulted or intercourse trafficked anybody,” Jonathan Davis, an lawyer for Combs stated in an announcement when requested about English’s lawsuit. “We stay in a world the place anybody can file a lawsuit for any purpose and with none proof. Happily, a good and neutral judicial course of exists to search out the reality and Mr. Combs is assured he’ll prevail towards these and different baseless claims in court docket.”
The place the case stands: The grievance is with the US District Court docket for the Southern District of New York.
The fundamentals: Daybreak Richard, a former member of Danity Kane, a musical group fashioned by Combs as a part of the MTV actuality collection “Making the Band,” accused him of sexual battery, sexual harassment and false imprisonment, amongst different allegations, in a grievance filed in September in federal court docket.
The allegations: Most of Richard’s claims stem from her expertise making the TV present and her time as a part of the musical group between 2006 and 2009. Her go well with alleges Combs “commonly referred to the 5 girls as ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ and denigrated their bodily appearances” and through Richard’s tenure within the bands “required her to stay at his varied residences and studios” whereas “depriving” her and her bandmates of “primary wants corresponding to ample meals and sleep.”
She additionally claims to have witnessed Combs “brutally beat” his then-girlfriend Ventura.
Diddy’s response: Erica Wolff, Combs’ lawyer, denied the allegations in an announcement to CNN and accused Richard of getting a monetary motive. “It’s unlucky that Ms. Richard has forged their 20-year friendship apart to attempt to get cash from him, however Mr. Combs is confidently standing on fact and appears ahead to proving that in court docket,” the assertion learn.
The place the case stands: The grievance is at the moment with the New York federal court docket.
The fundamentals: Thalia Graves has accused Combs and his then bodyguard and head of safety, Joseph Sherman, of drugging and assaulting her in 2001 and filming the assault.
The allegations: Graves alleges that whereas in a automobile with Combs and Sherman, she accepted a suggestion of a glass of wine and started to really feel “lightheaded, dizzy and bodily weak,” in accordance with her go well with. She misplaced consciousness and later awoke assaulted by Combs and Sherman as she got here out and in of consciousness, the lawsuit states.
Diddy’s response: CNN reached out to representatives of Combs for remark. In an announcement, Sherman denied the “false and baseless accusations” towards him and referred to the go well with as a “clear try at a cash seize.”
“These accusations will not be solely false however damaging to my character,” he stated. “I’ve by no means met the accuser, and I used to be not working with Sean Combs through the time in query. I will probably be pursuing authorized motion to handle this defamation and defend my identify.”
The place the case stands: The grievance is at the moment with the New York federal court docket.
The fundamentals: An unidentified girl has alleged that she was drugged with alcohol and unknown substances and sexually assaulted by Combs on a couple of event in 2022.
The allegations: Jan Doe’s accusations span 4 years from the autumn of 2020 to the summer time of 2024, months after the rapper and producer had been named as a defendant in a number of lawsuits and was underneath federal investigation.
In accordance with her grievance, Combs “compelled Jane Doe to have vaginal intercourse with out her consent” at his house in April 2022. In one other alleged incident, Doe alleges that she was compelled to take ketamine and different medicine in July 2022, she blacked out and was sexually assaulted, which resulted in her getting pregnant. In accordance with the grievance, certainly one of Combs’ associates repeatedly contacted her to encourage her to get an abortion, however she later suffered a miscarriage.
Diddy’s response: CNN has reached out to representatives for Combs for remark.
The place the case stands: The grievance was filed in New York and is at the moment there.