Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing further accusations of rape and sex trafficking in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday, the fourth such legal action against him. The lawsuit, filed by an unnamed Jane Doe, alleges Combs and two others gang raped her when she was a 17-year-old in her junior year of high school, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
The music mogul, who has been accused of sexual and physical assault in three recent claims, including two pending lawsuits, is named in the suit along with former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre, who is alleged of sexual assault in a separate suit. An unidentified “third assailant” is also named as a defendant. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory damages for lost wages, as well as “mental pain and anguish and severe emotional distress.”
The suit alleges Pierre approached the 17-year-old in 2003 at a lounge in Michigan, telling her he was “best friends” with Combs. After calling Combs to prove their relationship, the woman alleges Pierre and Combs convinced her to take a private jet to Daddy’s House Recording Studio, owned and operated by Diddy.
The complaint includes photos of Doe that she claims were taken at the studio that night, including one where she’s seen sitting on the lap of Combs, then 34.
Former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre is named in the new lawsuit alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs, Pierre and the unnamed third assailant then plied the plaintiff, referred to as “Jane Doe,” with drugs and alcohol, the suit claims, and “viciously” gang raped her.Combs and Pierre “preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs’ studio,” attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who represents the plaintiff, said in a statement Wednesday. “The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life.”
Combs, 54, denied the claims in a statement Wednesday. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” he said. “For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he said.
Combs’ ex Cassie Ventura alleged the record label exec raped her in 2018 and subjected her to years of sexual and physical abuse in a lawsuit, which the two settled one day after it was filed. Wigdor also represented Ventura.
That lawsuit and settlement sparked several more claims against Diddy and his associates. Those filed in court last month were subject to New York under the Adult Survivors Act, which expired on Nov. 23. The new allegations constitute a “crime of violence motivated by gender” under New York’s Violation of the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, the suit says.
After the suits filed against Combs and Pierre, “seeing two other women bravely speak out … gave Ms. Doe the confidence to tell her story as well,” the suit says.
Combs has been adamant in publicly denying the claims against him. “For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” he said in a statement responding to Ventura’s lawsuit. “Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation and seeking a pay day.”
He has since stepped down temporarily as chairman of his cable television network Revolt. Diddy and Cassie reached a settlement one day after the singer accused the music mogul of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in a November lawsuit.
The parties said that a resolution had been reached in the case in a release sent by attorney Wigdor; they did not disclose a settlement amount. Casandra Ventura, known professionally as singer Cassie, filed a sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against Combs, her ex-boyfriend, in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to court documents.
In a statement, Cassie said, “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”
“We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best,” Combs said in a separate statement. “Love.”
Ben Brafman, Combs’ lawyer, added in a statement to USA TODAY: “Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”
The complaint alleged Combs forced Cassie into “repeated unwanted sexual encounters” with male prostitutes whom he hired, and he recorded their encounters; plied her with drugs and alcohol; raped her in 2018; and “frequently beat” and kicked her with “uncontrollable rage” over the course of a decade.
Although the settlement avoided the potential of a trial for both Combs and Ventura, who could have faced a process of legal discovery and cross-examination in the courtroom, it opened the doors to public scrutiny and three more lawsuits against Combs.
In other news – Joshua Jackson and Lupita Nyong’o are dating
The new couple were seen walking hand in hand while taking a stroll in Joshua Tree, California on Wednesday. Both were dressed in comfortable clothing, with Nyong’o, 40, fashioned in yellow sweatpants and a white and green striped long-sleeve shirt that read, “It’s Okay to Cry.”
As for Jackson, the Dawson’s Creek star, 45, was seen wearing a gray beanie, a white crewneck, and a black pair of sweatpants. The two appeared to be enjoying each other’s company as they walked beside each other and smiled. Reps for Jackson and Nyong’o did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Read More
