Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was the subject of a fourth wave of sexual misconduct lawsuits filed on Tuesday night by Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee and his California co-counsel Andrew Van Arsdale, according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
Five more anonymous accusers — three men and two women — claim they were sexually assaulted, abused and/or exploited by Combs in incidents dating back to 2001 in New York and Miami. One woman claims she was 18 years old when she was drugged and forced to perform oral sex on Combs and his bodyguards in a limousine while attending a Halloween party in 2001.
Following a night out at a popular Miami nightclub in 2022, one man claims that he was invited back to Combs’ Florida mansion for an after-party, where he was allegedly drugged and led into a bedroom where a small group of men and women were waiting. The man claims that he lost consciousness and awoke to Combs allegedly sexually assaulting him.
Combs denied all claims of sex abuse. “As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process,” his media team said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Combs, 55, is already the subject of more than two dozen lawsuits alleging predatory behavior ranging from sexual harassment to drugging and rape. He also is fighting a criminal prosecution and has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his Sept. 16 arrest. The founder of Bad Boy Entertainment pleaded not guilty to an indictment that charged him with racketeering and sex trafficking. His trial in the federal criminal case is set to begin in May 2025.
All five of the new lawsuits were filed under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, which allows revival of certain otherwise-expired claims until March 1, 2025. All of the accusers used John and Jane Doe pseudonyms — although some New York judges have already ruled that the plaintiffs can’t proceed anonymously.
Two of the new accusers claim they were teenagers at the time of their alleged encounters with Combs. In the alleged 2001 incident, one woman says she was 18 when she attended a Halloween party at a New York City nightclub, which Combs and his entourage were also attending. Combs and his group allegedly supplied her with drinks throughout the night, before a security guard allegedly escorted the woman and two friends to a nearby limo where Combs and six members of his security team were waiting inside.
After being handed a drink, the woman claims that she began to feel woozy and “Combs ordered [her] to perform oral sex on one of the security guards.” The woman claims the guard fondled her breasts and assaulted her. “Drugged, scared, and confined among numerous men, Plaintiff did as Combs and his security guards ordered,” the lawsuit claims. “Combs called the women profanities as he degradingly sprayed champagne all over them as they performed these sexual acts against their wills. Ultimately, Combs forced Plaintiff to perform oral sex on himself, which she did.”
In another claim, a model claims that she was 17 years old when she was invited and escorted to a 2004 Fourth of July party hosted by Combs in the Hamptons. After taking a sip of a circulating cocktail at the bash, the woman alleges she became disoriented and later awoke with her underwear missing and “she felt throbbing pains in her vaginal and anal areas.” The woman alleges that Combs and two bodyguards threatened her, and at that point she “recognized that at least Combs had sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious,” according to the lawsuit.
Three men also came forward against Combs, two who claim they were assaulted recently. One man says he was 39 when he attended a party in New York hosted by Combs in 2022. After taking sips of his drink, the man claims he passed out. “When Plaintiff regained consciousness, he was in a dark bedroom with black walls, on a bed with black sheets,” the lawsuit alleges. “Everything around him was dark. Plaintiff was horrified to find Combs on top of him, sodomizing him.” The man claims he fought Combs off and fled the party.
A second man alleges that he was drugged and assaulted during an after-party at Combs’ home in Miami in 2022. The John Doe claims that Combs gave him a drink and took him on a tour of his mansion, which ended at a bedroom where three men and two women were waiting. “As Plaintiff and Combs entered the room, Combs demanded the women perform sexual dances and acts on the other three men,” the lawsuit claims. The man claims he lost consciousness and when he “regained some awareness, he noticed his clothes were missing,” the suit alleges. The man claims he was unable to fight off Combs allegedly sexually assaulting him.
A third man claims that he was assaulted by Combs and an unknown man during an audition for a music video acting role in October 2001. The John Doe claims he was drugged and held down by Combs’ bodyguard as Combs allegedly assaulted him. “Plaintiff recalls hearing a few other people in the room laughing and talking, and seeing what appeared to be camera flashes going off, but could not see anything directly at this point,” his lawsuit alleges. The man claims he received medical and dental care as a result of injuries he sustained during the alleged assault.
The latest round of lawsuits from Buzbee follows an unnamed “prominent” celebrity suing the national trial attorney for extortion on Monday. The anonymous man claimed he received a demand letter from Buzbee’s firm earlier this month with “entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault” in an alleged attempt to force a private settlement. Buzbee vehemently denied any wrongdoing, calling the extortion allegation “frivolous.”
“We expect to be filing cases weekly naming Mr. Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings,” Buzbee added in an Instagram statement on Tuesday.
Representatives for Combs noted the celebrity John Doe’s lawsuit against Buzbee in their Tuesday statement. “The extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs,” they said.
Buzbee and Van Arsdale have filed 15 prior lawsuits against Combs over the past two months. They said at a press conference in late September that they planned to file complaints on behalf of more than 120 vetted clients.
Combs’ current legal woes date back to November 2023, when his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed her stunning rape and sex-trafficking lawsuit. Combs denied Ventura’s claims, and settled with her within 24 hours for an undisclosed sum. In her disturbing complaint, Ventura accused Combs of repeated physical violence, sex trafficking, and rape. She said he forced her to participate in highly choreographed, drug-fueled sex with male sex workers while he masturbated and filmed the encounters.
Two other women stepped forward with rape claims a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. Several others filed similar claims of violent sex abuse in the months that followed. Combs’ homes in Florida and California were raided by federal authorities in March. In May, harrowing hotel surveillance video obtained by CNN showed Combs brutally body-slamming, kicking, and dragging Cassie in the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in March 2016. Combs quickly acknowledged and apologized for the beating, saying his actions were inexcusable. Apart from that one instance of physical violence, Combs has largely denied all accusations of misconduct.
If convicted as charged in his criminal case, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
From Rolling Stone US
