On Monday, a lawsuit was filed in New York against Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging the jailed producer sexually assaulted a male singer in 2015.
According to a report from USA Today, a man who chose to remain anonymous recounted an incident that occurred at an afterparty in Los Angeles, California, when he was 23 years old. Allegedly, during that event, Combs offered the victim a record deal with Bad Boy and the opportunity for studio time together.
Attendees at the afterparty included Combs, where the man also performed at a nightclub in Montebello, California. The man detailed attending the afterparty, which reportedly involved the presence of drugs and alcohol. The accuser mentioned that Combs provided him with a drink containing his brand of vodka, Ciroc. After consuming the beverage, the man claimed to have felt lightheaded and eventually lost consciousness.
READ: Another Indictment Filed Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in Sex Trafficking Case
As recounted in the lawsuit reported by USA Today, the man described witnessing Combs and his group participating in group sexual activities while he drifted in and out of consciousness. The group interactions allegedly involved other individuals who appeared to be either drugged, unconscious, or potentially paid escorts.
The man said he woke up to Combs groping him. Combs allegedly then threatened the man — telling him he could contact his manager and essentially ruin his music career.
Combs was also accused of ordering the man to have sex with a woman who he did not know. The man claimed he needed to use the bathroom before doing so, but he used the opportunity to leave the venue.
The man said he did not report the assault at the time because he feared his music career would be jeopardized, according to USA Today.
Combs’ lawyers denied the latest sexual assault allegations in a statement issued to Variety.
“As we’ve said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous or demonstrably false. Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor,” they said.
On September 16, 2024, Combs was arrested outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail twice, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined there was a “serious risk” of witness tampering in this case.
Combs’ legal team sought home detention with GPS monitoring. In exchange, they offered to post $50 million bail and to use Combs’ home as collateral.
“The government has proven the defendant is a danger. The bail package is insufficient even on risk of flight,” Carter said while denying Combs’ bail a second time.
In March 2024, federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami. Reports indicated that the raid was connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The reported raids also occurred four months after his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Ventura at a California hotel in 2016. After the video was released, Combs put out a video expressing remorse for his behavior. That video is mentioned in the criminal charges filed this week against Combs.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
In that case, Gardner claimed Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall drugged and raped her and a friend following an Uptown Records event in 1990. Gardner said she was 16 at the time of the incident. She also accused Combs of choking her a day after the assault
Days after footage of the 2016 assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four instances between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Lampros claimed Combs promised to mentor her and connect her with executives in the fashion industry. Instead, Combs allegedly forced her to drink before raping her in a hotel room. Lampros recalled another instance in which Combs forced her to perform oral sex on her in a parking garage while a parking attendant watched.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. Most recently, Jay-Z filed for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Combs’ federal trial is set to begin in May.
[Feature Photo: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File]
