Lawsuits against Sean Combs, better known as Diddy (Puff Daddy/P. Diddy), continue to pile up. On Monday, Combs was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old at one of his infamous “white parties.” This is one of six new lawsuits – others relate to rape and sexual assault – and part of a wave of 120 civil lawsuits filed against him since September.
Combs and his lawyers have denied all allegations against him, calling the six lawsuits an attempt to “grab publicity,” writes Business Insider (BI). In September, Combs was criminally charged in federal court with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transporting individuals for the purpose of prostitution. “We are disappointed by the decision to move forward with the unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs,” Mark Anzufillo, Combs’ attorney, said in a statement to BI after the federal charges were filed.
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While the federal indictment only names Combs as a defendant, some of his employees and associates are mentioned as members of the criminal enterprise he led. A series of civil lawsuits that hit him over the past year have identified several powerful and wealthy people in Combs’ circle. Prosecutors directly accuse them of misconduct – whether they witnessed abuse, failed to stop it, or enabled Diddy to get drugs. Some – such as Prince Harry, Nicki Minaj, or Usher – are only mentioned in passing and are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Here are the celebrities linked to the allegations against Combs.
R&B singer Aaron Hall
Aaron Hall, an R&B singer who was part of the group Guy, is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed against Combs last November in New York Supreme Court. Lisa Gardner accused Combs and Hall of sexually assaulting her and a friend in Hall’s apartment in 1990 when she was 16. She says Combs “coerced” her into having sex with him and that afterwards “Hall burst into the room, pinned her down, and forced” her to have sex with him as well. She also alleges that Combs found her at her home and choked her until she passed out; he was worried his girlfriend would find out about the incident, the complaint states. In a YouTube video, which is referenced in the complaint, Hall says “Puffy” (one of Combs’ nicknames) caught him having sex.
Music producer Harvey Pierre
Music producer Harvey Pierre is named as a defendant in two lawsuits against Combs. Both lawsuits were filed anonymously, one to New York Supreme Court and the other to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, with the plaintiff listed as Jane Doe on both documents. Pierre was Combs’ first employee at Bad Boy Records and president of his Bad Boy Entertainment. In the first lawsuit, filed in November 2023, a woman who worked as his assistant accused him of “manipulating, exploiting, and sexually assaulting” her. She says that Combs and his colleagues enabled this abuse. In the second lawsuit, filed in December 2023, the plaintiff alleges that when she was 17 years old in 2003, Combs, Pierre, and an unnamed third defendant raped and sexually trafficked her. Specifically, she alleges that Pierre smoked crack cocaine and then forced her to perform oral sex on him before flying her from Detroit to New York on a private plane. The lawsuit alleges that in New York, at a studio owned by Combs, the defendants gave the plaintiff drugs and alcohol before raping her. Pierre’s attorney said both accusations were fabricated.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is named as a defendant and accused of sexual assault. Rodney Jones Jr. – a music producer who goes by the name Lil Rod – names Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant. Specifically, Jones accuses Combs of “grooming” him to be “passed on” to Gooding. The complaint states that the two were left alone in a makeshift studio on a yacht rented by Combs. There, Gooding began “touching, groping, and fondling Jones,” the complaint states. The actor previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching. Gooding’s attorney did not respond to a BI request for comment. Grooming is an English slang term. It describes the process by which an adult builds a relationship with a child, young person, or adult in order to abuse them and manipulate them into doing things they would not normally want to do. The abuse is usually sexual or financial, but can also involve other illegal acts.
Justin Dior Combs
Jones also accused Combs’ 30-year-old son, Justin Dior Combs. Jones accuses Justin Combs of hiring sex workers and underage girls, as well as participating in parties known as “freak-offs.” He also says that the younger and older Combs were the only other people present in the room when “Gee,” his friend, was shot in the studio – implying that one of them shot Gee. Justin Combs’ attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said on his radio show that the accusation was “completely insane.”
Famous jeweler Jacob Arabo
Jacob Arabo, better known as Jacob the Jeweler, is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed against Combs by Adria English in July. In the lawsuit, English accuses Combs of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and human trafficking. The lawsuit alleges that she worked for years at Combs’ famous white parties as a go-go dancer and that, at least at one party, he forced her to have sex with Arabo, one of the party guests. The lawsuit against him is not Arabo’s first brush with the law. In 2006, he was arrested on charges of money laundering. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for falsifying records and making false statements, CBS reported. Arabo did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
Rapper Young Miami
Young Miami, a member of City Girls, is mentioned in Jones’ amended complaint. She is not accused, nor is she accused of sexual abuse. She is listed as part of Combs’ sex trafficking operation and accused of bringing Combs a drug, sometimes called “pink cocaine,” on a private plane. The complaint alleges that she was one of Combs’ sex workers. It also alleges that her cousin, named Jane Doe 1, assaulted Jones by forcibly performing oral sex on him without consent. A representative for Young Miami did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
Stevie J
Jones states in his amended complaint that Grammy winner Stevie J, Combs’ longtime collaborator, recruited sex workers and participated in Combs’ “freak-offs,” although he does not specifically accuse him. Jones accuses Combs of teaching Stevie J which “types of sex workers to look for and how to engage them.” Jones also accuses Stevie J of sending threatening messages when Jones publicly asked Combs to pay him for his work on Combs’ “The Love Album.” His attorney did not respond to a BI request for comment.
Singer Kalenna Harper
Kalenna Harper was a member of Diddy-Dirty Money. In the Richards complaint, she says that she and Harper were at Combs’ house where they witnessed him yelling at his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura and choking her before throwing a “hot pan of eggs” at her and dragging her up the stairs. Richards’ complaint says that Harper got her out of the house, but that the two later spoke to Ventura and encouraged her to leave the relationship. Combs responded with threats, the complaint alleges. In response to the lawsuit, Harper wrote on Instagram. “While I fully respect Donna’s right to tell her experiences, I want to emphasize that her story reflects her personal perspective and should not be interpreted as a universal truth applicable to everyone mentioned.” She added: “It is important to understand that although I was present in some of the same professional settings mentioned, many of the allegations and incidents described in this lawsuit do not reflect my experiences, and some are inconsistent with my truth,” she said.
Jimmy Iovine
Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics, is also mentioned in Richards’ complaint. The complaint talks about a dinner Combs held in the months leading up to the partnership signed by their companies. At the dinner, which was attended by Ne-Yo, Usher, and Cassie Ventura, Combs argued with his girlfriend, punched her in the stomach, “causing her to double over in pain.” “Even after Mr. Iovine watched Mr. Combs commit an act of violence in front of numerous witnesses, their deal went forward and earned Combs enormous financial rewards, as well as the ability to continue committing violence without fear of consequences,” the complaint states.
Lucian Grainge
Universal Music Group CEO and father-in-law of Sofia Richie, Lucian Grainge, was originally named as a defendant in Jones’ amended lawsuit but was later dropped. He was initially accused of helping Combs, particularly in racketeering and human trafficking. Universal’s Motown Records had a licensing agreement with Combs’ Love Records. The complaint alleges that as CEO, Grainge “had a duty to ensure that the financial support they provided to Sean Combs and Love Records was not used to fund sex workers, drugs, and alcohol. Grainge’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss, calling the allegations “outrageously false.” In a statement to BI when the lawsuit was first filed, Grainge’s attorney Donald S. Zakarin called the
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Source: Nedeljnik
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