New lawsuit accuses Diddy, former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre of gang rape
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.
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, Cassie settle lawsuit alleging rape, physical abuse
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.
Lawsuit settlement:Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Cassie settle bombshell lawsuit alleging rape, abuse, sex trafficking
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.
Adult Survivors Act:Why so many sexual assault lawsuits have been filed under New York law
Diddy, Harve Pierre accused of sexual assault in more lawsuits
Bad Boy Entertainment and Pierre were also sued in November for negligence and sexual assault less than a week after the Cassie lawsuit. Pierre, who has been with Diddy's company since its inception in 1993, is accused by an unnamed former employee of using "his position of authority as plaintiff's boss to groom, exploit, and sexually assault her," according to a complaint obtained by USA TODAY.
The former employee alleged "Pierre engaged in a year-long pattern of grooming" her, which led to sexual harassment and sexual assault "on multiple occasions" between 2016 and 2017. The anonymous assistant also named Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records and Combs Enterprises as co-defendants for alleged negligence and gender violence. The former employee said the companies "knew or should have known that Pierre was unfit to be in a position of authority" before the alleged sexual assault.
A spokesperson for Bad Boy Entertainment told USA TODAY that the allegations "were never brought to the attention of the company."
"Neither the plaintiff nor the executive are current employees of the company," the spokesperson added. "We are now investigating the allegations, and our top priority is the safety and well-being of our employees."
Harve Pierre lawsuit:Diddy's former Bad Boy president sued for sexual assault; company says it's 'investigating'
The suit against Pierre came just days before Combs faced two additional lawsuits. The second complaint accuses the music mogul of in 1991 drugging and raping then-college student Joi Dickerson-Neal. Combs videotaped the January 1991 assault and distributed the tape to others in the music industry, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
After Dickerson-Neal "reluctantly agreed" to dinner with Combs, he "intentionally drugged" her, the suit says; Dickerson-Neal recalls Combs taking her to a music studio, and then to his home where the assault and the "revenge porn" allegedly took place. Following the alleged sexual assault, "a male friend (also identified as Davante Swing, a member of R&B group Jodeci, in the suit) revealed to (Dickerson-Neal) that he had viewed the 'sex tape' along with other men."
Diddy's spokesperson called Dickerson-Neal's allegations "made up and not credible" in a statement to TMZ at the time.
A third lawsuit, filed by a Jane Doe in the New York Supreme Court, accuses Combs and Guy singer Aaron Hall of the sexual assault of her and a friend. This lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY, claims Combs and Hall took turns raping the two women in an incident that occurred in 1990 or 1991.
The lawsuit alleges after the two women met Combs at an MCA Records event, where he and Hall were "handsy," Combs and Hall took the unnamed woman and her friend to Hall's apartment, where she was given more alcohol and later coerced into having sex with Combs. The woman says as she lay traumatized on the bed, Hall allegedly came in, pinned her down and raped her.
A spokesperson for Combs called the third lawsuit a "money grab" in a statement. "Because of Mr. Combs' fame and success, he is an easy target for anonymous accusers who lie without conscience or consequence for financial benefit."
The lawsuits against Combs and Pierre were filed in New York under the Adult Survivors Act.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Naledi Ushe, Edward Segarra, Pamela Avila