More than 100 people, including some who were minors at the time, are planning to file a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging that the Bad Boy Entertainment founder and others sexually assaulted and exploited them .
The impending lawsuit, announced Tuesday in Houston, would be the latest in a wave of legal filings against the disgraced 54-year-old hip-hop mogul since federal prosecutors in New York. opened a lawsuit In September, Combs was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded innocent and denied any wrongdoing.
“This is the beginning of what I hope will be a national conversation,” attorney Tony Buzbee said at a news conference Tuesday. “This type of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse should never happen in the United States or anywhere else. This should never have been allowed to go on for so long. “This conduct has created a group of individuals who are hurt, afraid, and scarred.”
Buzbee said his company expected to file cases on behalf of 120 people, an equal number of men and women, who alleged they were exploited. Buzbee said the other alleged perpetrators, who will eventually be named in the lawsuit, “will shock you.”
“They already know who they are,” he said. “And I’m not just talking about cowards here, but also about the complicit audience… those we know That they saw this behavior happening and did nothing. I’m talking about the people who participated in it, encouraged it.”
Most of the cases are expected to be filed in New York and California, and some will be filed within the next month. Twenty-five of the 120 individuals who came forward were minors who were seeking careers in the music or television industry when the alleged abuse occurred, Buzbee said.
Combs’ attorney Erica Wolfe responded to the latest allegations in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every baseless allegation that has become a reckless media circus,” the statement said. “That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and unequivocally rejects as false and offensive any claims that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. If a claim is filed and presented, he looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in the court of law, where the truth will be established on the basis of evidence and not speculation.’ ‘
According to Buzbee, several cases of sexual abuse spanning from 1991 to this year occurred during “white parties”, New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July celebrations, auditions and other parties hosted by Combs. In some cases, he said, victims were given a drink they suspected was laced with drugs.
“Once that drink takes effect, the perpetrators perform all kinds of sexual acts on the victim, often passing around while other people watch and enjoy the show and then leave the victim embarrassed, confused, injured. And are left wondering what happened,” Buzbee said. “When the victim makes contact, he or she is asked not to say anything.”
Buzbee said the youngest of the victims was a 9-year-old boy who was allegedly sexually abused by Combs and others while he was auditioning at Bad Boy Records in New York City.
In another incident, Buzbee said, a 15-year-old boy was told by Combs that he would make him a star but that he needed to meet him in private, away from his parents. She allegedly forced the boy to perform oral sex.
The charges reflect some of the details in a 14-page indictment unsealed last month, in which Combs was accused of luring female victims to participate in “freak-offs,” or elaborate sexual displays involving male sex workers, who Sometimes it lasted for several days and was sometimes recorded. The indictment alleges that Combs and his associates used violence, coercion, drugs, and bribes to coerce women into participating in the events and to keep the events secret.
Prosecutors say the victims feared they would be subjected to violence or their careers or finances would be harmed if they refused to participate. Buzbee said some of his clients have already been in contact with the FBI.
comb has been in federal custody Since his arrest on 16 September.
twelve people – including Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura According to court filings, Sangeet Samrat has recently been accused of sexual harassment in the civil court.
About a week after the indictment became public, Thalia Graves sued Combs, Alleged that he and his bodyguard drugged, held and violently raped her in 2001 and later showed a video of the attack to others. Graves, the former girlfriend of a business associate of Combs, alleged that Combs had asked to meet with her “to discuss her boyfriend’s alleged performance issues”.
When she got inside an SUV with Combs as they headed to Bad Boys Studios in Manhattan, he gave her a glass of wine. The lawsuit alleges that when she got out of the vehicle, she felt strange but assumed it was her fault, so she tried her best to act normal. According to the lawsuit, she followed Combs as he carried her to a couch in a private room of the studio, where she passed out.
The lawsuit alleges that Combs’ bodyguard threw her over a table and forced her to perform oral sex on him and Combs. The Times typically does not name accusers in sexual harassment cases until they come forward publicly, as Ventura and Graves have done.
A Florida model, who was not named in court documents, also filed a petition The lawsuit against Combs last month, Allegations that he paid her to travel abroad with him for years, pressured her to have sex with other men and women, and gave her drugs and alcohol that made her unconscious.
The lawsuit alleges that in one case at Combs’ home in Los Angeles, she was drugged and impregnated. The complaint alleges that after she told Combs she was pregnant, she was repeatedly contacted by Music Monarch’s employees, who urged her to get an abortion. According to the lawsuit, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage.
The allegations have raised questions about the culture of the music industry with some arguing that the attacks went unreported for years.
Prosecutors have alleged that Combs orchestrated a complex scheme that required several people to not only know about the behavior, but also to recruit victims, providing baby oil, drugs, and hotel rooms with extra linens for the eccentrics. Will also have to be involved in preparation and cleanup. Later. It’s not clear whether more charges are coming, but prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing.
Damien Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in announcing the charges, “Combs did not do this on his own.” “He used his business and the employees and other close associates of that business to get his way.”
