Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: new lawsuit claims rapper urged alleged victim to terminate pregnancy
Disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is maintaining an upbeat frame of mind as he prepares to fight sex trafficking charges, despite being on suicide watch.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs remains “remarkably” upbeat in his notoriously tough Brooklyn prison because he’s so focused on proving he’s not a sex trafficker, according to his lawyer.
“His state of mind is actually remarkably positive,” Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ when reminded that the disgraced hip-hop mogul could spend more than a year behind bars before even reaching trial.
“I spend several hours with him every day. His resolve is strong, he’s engaged, he’s focused on his defense,” Agnifilo said in a new clip for TMZ’s “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment.”
“He is so focused on trying to right his wrong that it’s actually giving him a form of strength and a form of confidence that I think is going to get him through a difficult time.”
Combs, who is facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering raps, was put on suicide watch days after he was arrested as a “preventative measure” in Metropolitan Detention Centre Brooklyn, where he is housed in a special unit away from the prison’s general population.
The notorious jail has long been plagued by tales of “barbaric” and “reprehensible” conditions for inmates — who have included sex abusers R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell.
However, his legal team refutes Combs is in a negative state of mind.
“We see him every day and he has come to terms with the fact that this is where he is for now. We are trying to get this matter to trial as soon as possible,” Agnifilo said.
“There’s an adage that we have in my office: ‘Don’t tell me what I did wrong, tell me what I do next.’ And that’s where he is,” the attorney said.
Combs is accused of multiple charges including forcing women into “Freak Off” sex sessions with male prostitutes that were often recorded, the bombshell federal indictment alleges.
Allegations have been building against Combs since last year, when his former girlfriend, the pop star Cassie, alleged the one-time rapper subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 sexual assault.
A litany of women and men have made allegations against the former rapper.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. Here, we take a look at the allegations against him, and the celebrity friends who are staying silent – and those who aren’t.
JANE DOE PREGNANCY, SEX ASSAULT CLAIM
It comes as a new alleged victim of Combs filed a lawsuit claiming he drugged her, assaulted her, and impregnated her in a ketamine-fuelled night.
The woman, named only as Jane Doe, is represented by lawyer Joseph L. Ciaccio.
TMZ obtained the court papers which show the woman claims she first met Diddy overseas in 2020 and he subsequently invited her to join him on an all expenses paid trip.
The woman said she continued to meet with the rapper regularly in 2021 and 2022 but claims she did so under pressure from his staff who used “coercive and harassing language” and arrived at her home to collect her and compel her to travel to his residences in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
The court paperwork specifies a night in April 2022 where the woman alleges her drink was spiked with an unknown substance and she was forced into sex which left her with various injuries, including a bite mark on her foot.
The woman also named a sexual encounter from July 2022 where she says she blacked out and became pregnant after the rapper gave her ketamine.
It is alleged associates of Diddy ‘harassed’ the woman to get an abortion until she naturally miscarried.
The lawsuit further alleges the woman was in contact with Diddy until recently and she feared he had somehow managed to track her movements.
PLAYBOY BUNNY
Ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, Kendra Wilkinson, who dated the late Playboy magazine founder when she was aged 18, said she had attended two of Diddy’s celebrity-filled gatherings.
“I remember just going to like one or two,” Wilkinson said on the Kyle and Jackie O Show.
“I never saw anything really bad happening around me. Sex is sex, in my opinion.
“So, I’m not saying that something bad didn’t happen,” she continued.
“I’m saying that nothing bad ever happened to me.”
CASSANDRA ‘CASSIE’ VENTURA
R & B singer Cassie’s 2023 lawsuit against former boyfriend Combs was said to have set off US authorities’ interest in him. Cassie – full name Casandra Ventura – alleged that she was trafficked, sexually assaulted and beaten by Combs on multiple occasions over the course of a decade.
Ms Ventura alleged that Combs brought her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fuelled lifestyle” not long after she met him, signing her to his label in 2005 when she was just 19 and he was 37.
She alleged that the abuse began almost immediately and that, as she was trying to end their relationship in 2018, he forced himself into her Los Angeles home and sexually assaulted her.
In May, CNN obtained 2016 CCTV footage, which showed an incident that appeared to show Combs chasing her down the corridor of a Los Angeles hotel and proceeding to punch and kick her outside a set of elevators.
According to the complaint, which cited the altercation as occurring “around March 2016,” Combs became “extremely intoxicated and punched Ms Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye”.
Surveillance footage showed Combs leaving Ms Ventura cowering on the floor before returning and pushing her into a corner. He is then seen throwing an object with force at her, which was also cited in her complaint.
Combs settled the lawsuit one day after it was filed for an undisclosed amount of money.
Ms Ventura told CNN she had chosen to “resolve this matter amicably,” while Combs’ lawyer said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and didn’t change Combs’ denial of the allegations.
THE ‘WHITE’ PARTIES
For years, Combs’ infamous “White Party”, which was held annually at his lavish Hamptons estate was the stuff of legend in Hollywood, attracting Oscar winners, rock stars, rappers, and sports stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian were among the big names who attended the parties
The parties have come into focus with several victims claiming he forced them to engage in sexual acts with guests during the white dress code-only events.
Adria Sheri English, a former adult film actress who worked with Combs in the 2000s, said he had used her as a “sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefit of others” during the parties he hosted at his homes in New York and Miami.
“The things that we were forced on me to do … haunt me to this day,” English, who claims in her lawsuit and a criminal complaint that Combs pressured her to have non-consensual sex with his party guests, told The New York Post. .
“I anticipate testifying in New York’s federal court to help ensure Diddy is imprisoned for life,” she stated.
WHAT CELEBS SAID
While Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Justin Bieber have remained silent, other famous faces have spoken out against him.
Rapper and mogul 50 Cent, who is working on a Netflix documentary about Combs, had a dig at him in a tweet after appearing on the Drew Barrymore Show, saying: “Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I don’t have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house,” the rapper captioned a photo alongside Barrymore.
The “lube” comment appeared to be related to the “more than 1000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” that was seized from Combs’ homes during a March raid, as stated in the indictment.
He later tweeted a bottle of “Diddy” lube.
Coming soon! LOL 😆 pic.twitter.com/VeHPJvnFof
— 50cent (@50cent) September 25, 2024
View co-host, Whoopi Goldberg, called the allegations “extensive and disturbing”, while colleague Sunny Hostin said Combs was involved in “mob-like behaviour,” referring to the indictment.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this month rapper and actor LL Cool J said, “I feel for his children. The rest, I can’t speak on. That’s what we got a court system for. But I feel for his kids.”
JAGUAR WRIGHT
Jaguar Wright, an American musician, claims to have been to ‘Diddy’s parties’ and suggested she went to parties with the intention of rescuing potential victims.
In a video shared to social media she asked, “Who is going to help them? What HR department do you know that has worked for any of these labels?”
JOI DICKERSON-NEAL
Joi Dickerson-Neal, who said Ms Ventura had inspired her to speak out, alleged Combs had “intentionally drugged” and raped her when she was a university student in 1991, and had made her a victim of revenge porn by filming the assault and showing it to others.
Representatives for Combs blasted the lawsuit as “purely a money grab” and have asked for it to be thrown out.
LIZA GARDNER
Liza Gardner accused Combs and R & B singer Aaron Hall of plying her with drinks and then forcing her to have sex with them against her will when she was just 16. She also claimed that Combs had come to her home the next day and choked her until she lost consciousness. Combs’s lawyer slammed the claims as “bogus”.
JANE DOE
A woman so far identified only as Jane Doe claimed that Combs, former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre and a third person gang-raped her in a New York studio when she was a 17-year-old high school student.
A few days later, Combs spoke out on social media against “sickening allegations … by individuals looking for a quick payday”. His lawyers are seeking to dismiss the “baseless and time-barred” case. Mr Pierre has meanwhile called the suit a “tale of fiction”.
RODNEY ‘LIL ROD’ JONES
Rodney Jones, a producer and videographer who had worked on Combs’s most recent album, accused him of being behind an illegal racketeering enterprise in which he was forced to buy drugs, solicit sex workers and tape sex acts. He also alleged Combs and Jerry Maguire actor Cuba Gooding Jr had groped him without consent.
GRACE O’MARCAIGH
Grace O’Marcaigh, who worked on a yacht leased by Combs in 2022, accused the rapper and his son, Christian “King” Combs, of sexual assault. She blamed them for creating an “environment of debauchery” with suspected sex workers celebrities on board.
CRYSTAL McKINNEY
Model Crystal McKinney claimed she had been drugged and sexually assaulted by Combs following a Fashion Week event in 2003 when she was 22. She also said he had subsequently “blackballed” her in the modelling world.
APRIL LAMPROS
April Lampros, who says she met Combs as a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology in 1994, detailed “four terrifying sexual encounters” during the early 2000s.
DAWN RICHARDS
Dawn Richards, who once sang in two Combs-founded music groups including Danity Kane, said she had personally witnessed his violence against Ms Ventura and that he had threatened her life when she tried to step in.
DERRICK LEE CARDELLO-SMITH
A lawsuit was also filed by Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, an inmate who claims Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party 30 years ago, according to court documents obtained by Detroit’s Metro Times.
On September 9, Mr Cardello-Smith was awarded a US$100 million (A$146 million) default judgment after Combs failed to appear for a virtual hearing.
A Lenawee County Circuit Court judge set up a payment schedule of US$10 million (A$14 million) per month for Combs, which was scheduled to start on October 1.
The lawsuit claims that Cardello-Smith and Combs met while he was working at a Detroit restaurant in 1997. During a night of drinking and marijuana smoking, they reportedly had sex with a group of women, according to the suit. Mr Cardello-Smith said he felt a man’s hand, which he claims was Combs, touching him.
The suit also alleges that Combs served him a spiked drink that caused him to pass out. When he woke up, Combs was having sex with a woman and allegedly said to him, “I did this to you, too.”
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, disputed the judgment and Mr Cardello-Smith’s account.
“This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years,” he said.
Combs has moved to dismiss the suit.
THALIA GRAVES
Thalia Graves claims Combs and his bodyguard drugged, bound and sexually assaulted her in 2001, and filmed the incident.
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles, Thalia Graves said she’s still emotionally and mentally damaged by the alleged 2001 attack.
“It goes beyond just physical harm caused by and during the assault. It’s a pain that reaches into your very core of who you are, and leaves emotional scars that will never be fully healed,” she said.
“I’ve had PTSD, depression and anxiety. I’m emotionally scarred. It has been hard for me to trust others, to form healthy relationships, or even feel safe in my own skin.
“Flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts make me feel like it’s a constant struggle.”
Graves’ lawyer, Gloria Allred, said her client’s claims were not part of the criminal indictment.
DIDDY’S FAMILY, KIM PORTER’S ALLEGED MEMOIR
Four of Sean Combs’ seven children slammed “hurtful and false rumours” about their late mother, Kim Porter.
Quincy, 33, Christian, 26, Jessie, 17, and D’Lila, 17, denied rumours that a memoir purported to be written by Porter before her death was authentic and denounced anyone speaking to media.
The memoir titled Kim’s Lost Words: A journey for justice, from the other side is a top seller on Amazon and was published after Combs was indicted on September 17. It went to the top of Amazon’s Literature and Fiction List.
The book details alleged disturbing and graphic sexual encounters with Combs and other well-known celebrities, as well as alleged physical abuse from Combs against Porter.
One of the authors Chris Todd, has said he cannot guarantee its authenticity, after he claimed to receive a flash drive containing the book from two music industry sources and he insists he “believes it to be true”, Rolling Stone reports.
People magazine reports the family is considering legal action after the book’s release.
“Kim Porter never authored a manuscript, and any claims suggesting otherwise are entirely false and fabricated,” another source close to the family told People. “The baseless pages in the book not only misrepresent Ms. Porter’s lived experience and legacy, but also continue to cause unnecessary distress to her loved ones. Kim Porter has four children, two of whom are still minors, and all of whom no longer have access to their father while he is detained awaiting trial. Chris Todd, who is credited as the publisher, has no connection to Kim Porter or her family.”
Combs’ children also criticised “horrific conspiracy theories” about Porter’s “tragic passing,” given that Porter’s ex and Quincy’s biological father, Albert Joseph Brown III, recently shared an Instagram post calling for an investigation into Porter’s death.
“Our lives were shattered when we lost our mother,” the statement read.
“She was our world, and nothing has been the same since she passed. While it has been incredibly difficult to reconcile how she could be taken from us too soon, the cause of her death has long been established. There was no foul play.”
This is the first time any of his children have spoken about anything linked to Diddy, but Quincy and Christian, and his 30-year-old son, Justin Combs, were all seen in court during Combs’ bail hearings.
Porter’s close friend Eboni Elektra also shared via Instagram that Porter did not write a secret book and “would never do a such a thing.”
Combs is being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after being denied bail twice while he awaits trial.
– with AFP
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