Topline
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a brand new civil lawsuit by a lady who claims she was drugged and raped by the music mogul and his bodyguard Joseph Sherman, who're additionally accused of recording the assault and displaying it to others, within the newest in a collection of sexual misconduct lawsuits Combs has denied.
Combs has denied wrongdoing throughout all of the lawsuits and never been criminally charged. (Photo by … [+]
Timeline
Thalia Graves filed a federal lawsuit in New York on Tuesday claiming she was provided a glass of wine by Combs and Sherman in 2001, when she was 25, that made her “lightheaded, dizzy and physically weak” earlier than she misplaced consciousness and was raped by the 2 males her whereas her palms have been tied behind her again.
Combs is sharing a unit with disgraced former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, in accordance with The New York Times, as the previous crypto mogul serves out a 25-year sentence in jail for counts of conspiracy, fraud and cash laundering linked to a scheme that misplaced former FTX prospects, lenders and traders a number of billion {dollars}.
A federal court docket in Manhattan unseals costs in opposition to Combs for racketeering, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution, alleging he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Combs is arrested in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury.
Federal investigators might deliver Combs’ accusers to testify earlier than a grand jury quickly and most plaintiffs who've filed lawsuits in opposition to the rapper have already been interviewed by investigators, sources told CNN—a transfer that might point out prosecutors want to cost someone, although no costs have been filed but.
Plaintiff April Lampros accuses Combs in a lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday of sexual assault over 4 “terrifying sexual encounters” between 1995 and 2001, together with three incidents of rape and one occasion of Combs forcing her to take ecstasy.
Former mannequin Crystal McKinney recordsdata a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court docket accusing the rapper of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his New York recording studio in 2003.
Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, speaks out after CNN obtained a 2016 video of Combs attacking her in a resort hallway, stating on Instagram Thursday morning that home violence “broke” her and she is going to “always be recovering” from her previous—Combs later apologized for the video.
In February, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sues the rapper in New York in February and alleges he was “subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction” and was compelled to have interaction in relations with intercourse staff he employed. In a set of extensively coated allegations, Jones says within the lawsuit that Combs often hosted “sex-trafficking parties” with underage ladies and unlawful medication, and implies document label executives who regarded the opposite means financially benefited from entry to celebrities and dignitaries just like the British royal Prince Harry, who shouldn't be accused of any wrongdoing or of attending events himself (Combs’ legal professional tells the Los Angeles Times the go well with consists of “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction”).
Combs is hit with one other sexual assault go well with in December, accusing the rapper of drugging and taking part in a gang rape of the unnamed lady in 2003, when the accuser was 17 years outdated.
A lady named Joie Dickerson-Neal alleges in a lawsuit Combs drugged her, sexually assaulted her and secretly recorded the assault whereas she was a university pupil in 1991.
An nameless plaintiff accuses Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of raping her and a buddy in 1990 or 1991 after assembly at an MCA Records occasion in New York—a go well with that, just like the Dickerson-Neal grievance, was filed shortly earlier than the expiration of a New York regulation quickly permitting lawsuits for older assault allegations that might ordinarily be previous the statute of limitations.
Ventura’s $30 million go well with is settled the day after it was filed for an undisclosed quantity, with Ventura telling CNN she selected to “resolve this matter amicably,” whereas Combs’ legal professional says the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and didn’t change his denial of the allegations.
Cassie Ventura recordsdata the go well with in opposition to Combs, alleging he raped her in 2018 and subjected her to a years-long abusive relationship that included bodily abuse and his assertion of “complete control” over her private {and professional} life.
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Contra
Combs has denied all of the allegations in opposition to him along with his attorneys characterizing some of the lawsuits and their accusations to Forbes as cash grabs, “baseless” or “sickening.”
What To Watch For
An upcoming docuseries. Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson stated Tuesday that Netflix had received a “bidding war” for a docuseries in regards to the string of latest abuse, rape and intercourse trafficking allegations in opposition to Combs. Jackson confirmed in a tweet Tuesday that the streamer purchased the G-Unit Film & Television collection about Combs he first began teasing in December, including that, “if more victims keep coming out, I’m gonna need more episodes.” Proceeds from the movie go to victims of sexual assault, Jackson stated in November.
Tangent
Combs posted to Instagram in May to apologize for his “disgusting” conduct within the surveillance video that confirmed him grabbing, dragging and kicking Cassie in 2016. The video appeared to again up a lot of the claims Ventura made in her November lawsuit, which an legal professional for Combs known as “offensive and outrageous” on the time. Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office known as the video “extremely disturbing” and “difficult to watch” however stated no costs can be filed as a result of the obvious assault happened past the statue of limitation in California. In his apology video, Combs stated the occasions occurred in “one of the darkest instances” of his life and stated he was “truly sorry” for his conduct. Meredith Firetog, one of Ventura's attorneys, later slammed the apology as disingenuous in an announcement and stated it was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.” In Ventura’s November lawsuit, she accused Combs of paying the resort by which the surveillance video was captured $50,000 for the footage.
Surprising Fact
Combs’ former private chef, Cindy Rueda, accused Combs in a since-settled 2017 sexual harassment lawsuit of having her put together and serve meals to the rapper and his visitors whereas they have been engaged in sexual exercise or proper after that they had carried out so.
Key Background
The allegations contained in lawsuits in opposition to Combs date way back to the Nineties, when he based his personal document label, Bad Boy Records, which Rolling Stone has known as “one of the most influential hip-hop labels of all time.” The label has signed main artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Janelle Monáe and Cassie, and has put out a number of of Combs' personal albums, together with “Press Play” and “Last Train To Paris.” Combs bought a 50% stake in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group in a reported $30 million deal in 2005. Combs has constructed a fortune by way of Bad Boy Records, a number of liquor manufacturers, a style label and different ventures. He sold his share within the DeLeón tequila model for $200 million earlier this yr. He was ranked No. 14 on Forbes' record of the highest-paid entertainers in 2022, making an estimated $90 million that yr. One of the rapper’s raided houses is situated in Holmby Hills, an prosperous neighborhood the place Combs bought a house for $40 million ten years in the past.
Further Reading
Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ L.A. And Miami Homes (Forbes)
Sean Combs Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 17-Year-Old In Latest Lawsuit (Forbes)
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Rape And Sexual Assault In Two New Separate Lawsuits (Forbes)
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Rape And Sex Trafficking By Singer And Former Partner (Forbes)
