Sean "Diddy" Combs was accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old high school student in 2003, according to a lawsuit filed on Dec. 6. This is the fourth sexual misconduct suit filed against Combs in the last month, following an action filed by his former partner, R&B singer Cassie, which was subsequently settled out of court.
The suit claims that Combs, as well as Harve Pierre, the then-president of Combs' company, Bad Boy Entertainment, gang-raped an unidentified 17-year-old high school student after the latter met her at a club in Detroit. The plaintiff claims she was flown to New York to meet Combs at a recording studio, where she claims she was subsequently given "copious amounts" of drugs and alcohol, and then raped by Combs, Pierre, and an unidentified third man. The lawsuit includes several photos allegedly taken of the plaintiff (her face obscured) at the location, as well as a photo of the plaintiff with Combs prior to the alleged assault.
The lawsuit includes the above photo, allegedly taken of the plaintiff (her face obscured) with Combs in 2003.
The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages. As her lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement: “As alleged in the complaint, defendants 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. The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life.”
In the filing, lawyers credited the suit filed by Cassie (legal name Cassandra Ventura) for inspiring the plaintiff to take action.
“Most triggering for Ms. Doe was reading about Ms. Ventura’s allegations of sex trafficking and being forced to have sex with other men against her will," the filing states. "Ms. Doe obviously understands that she too had been sex trafficked, and that Mr. Combs' behavior in forcing women into nonconsensual sex was not an isolated incident or unique only to Ms. Ventura."
Combs pictured with former partner Cassie, who accused him of years of abuse in a November lawsuit which was settled out of court.
Within an hour of the filing, Combs (who had previously been silent about the accusations save for statements from his attorneys), posted this message on X (formerly known as Twitter):
"Enough is enough. 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."
Sean Combs posted the statement to X (formerly known as Twitter) within an hour of news of the lawsuit breaking.
The flood of allegations against Combs began on Nov. 17, when Cassie filed suit against her former partner. Her suit included allegations of rape, physical abuse, and even threats to blow up the car of rapper Kid Cudi, with the rapper confirming to the New York Times that a car had indeed exploded in his driveway. Combs denied the allegations through his attorney, and the case was settled out of court the following day, with Cassie saying in a statement: "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control."
The following week, Combs was accused in separate lawsuits by Joi Dickerson-Neal and an unidentified woman for sexual misconduct that allegedly occurred in the 1990s. Combs' attorney denied the allegations. (All three of the previous lawsuits were filed under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which allowed alleged victims of sexual abuse to file lawsuits even after the statute of limitations had expired. The law itself expired on Nov. 27.)
Combs stepped down from his position as chairman of Revolt, the television platform he co-founded, on Nov. 28.
