Sean “Diddy” Combs Faces Multiple New Lawsuits in Federal Court
Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a series of new lawsuits filed in federal court Monday.
The six complaints, first obtained by NBC News, were filed in the Southern District of New York on behalf of four males and two females, none of whom are named in the filings. The incidents alleged in the complaints span from 1995 to 2021 and include allegations of sexual assault and rape.
Among the accusers is a man who was 16 at the time of the alleged incident and a woman who was a 19-year-old college student when she alleges Combs raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2004. All of the incidents occurred in either New York City or the Hamptons, according to the suits. Two of the lawsuits include incidents alleged to have happened at Combs’ lavish Labor Day “White Parties” at his Hamptons property.
The lawsuits were filed by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee — who announced at a news conference on Oct. 1 that he was representing accusers with allegations against Combs — under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. Under this law, victims have a two-year window ending in March 2025 to file older claims.
“We’re going to just try to file cases that we feel are credible and legitimate,” Buzbee told NBC News.
The lawsuits name Combs and his various businesses as defendants, and the accusers are seeking unspecified damages.
“There’s an overarching theme here, as you probably can see, which is basically Sean Combs feels like he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to do it,” Buzbee said in an interview before filing the lawsuits.
NBC News has reached out to Combs’ legal team for comment. Combs has denied all civil and criminal claims via his attorneys, stating the accusations leveled against him are “sickening” and the result of people looking for a “quick payday.”
The oldest of the allegations comes from a woman who alleges she was assaulted and raped by Combs in a bathroom in 1995 when she attended a music video release party, court documents allege. At least two of the lawsuits contain allegations that accusers’ drinks were spiked with drugs making it hard to fight back during alleged sexual assaults.
In one lawsuit, a man alleges he was sexually assaulted in 1998 when he was 16 years old at one of Combs’ “White Parties” in the Hamptons. He claims he discussed his aspirations to break into the music industry with Combs, but the interaction took a turn when Combs allegedly asked him to expose himself, leading to an accusation of sexual assault.
In 2006, another accuser claims that Combs sexually assaulted him at one of his “White Parties” in the Hamptons. The man, who worked for a security company at the time, said he alerted a supervisor after the incident.
Another lawsuit alleges that in 2008 Combs physically and sexually assaulted an employee of a popular clothing brand at a Manhattan department store. That man, who claims he lost his job shortly after the incident, reported the event to the store’s security.
The most recent allegation describes an incident from 2021, where the accuser claims he felt disoriented after one drink at a party and was sexually assaulted by Combs and other unknown men, according to court documents.
The new filings arrive as the music mogul is facing federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. While the specific allegations in the lawsuits are newly reported, the court documents suggest a troubling picture of drug-fueled parties with violence, echoing details found in the recent criminal indictment against him filed by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York last month.
These latest lawsuits follow a New York judge setting a May 5 trial date for Combs’ criminal case. He is currently awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Federal prosecutors indicated that they are analyzing data from over 90 devices belonging to Combs that were seized during property raids earlier this year and at the time of his arrest in New York.
Combs, who has had bail denied twice by two different judges, is attempting to overturn those decisions. Prior to last week’s hearing, Combs’ attorneys filed a bail appeal in New York’s federal appeals court.
Buzbee’s latest civil suits add to a series of lawsuits filed since Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura brought forward a federal lawsuit nearly a year ago, accusing Combs of physical and sexual abuse over several years. Combs and Ventura reportedly settled for an undisclosed amount the following day, with Combs denying all allegations at that time.
“Between the grand jury leaks and the incendiary public statements, the agents all but ensured that the grand jury would be tainted as well as the general public from which we will soon select a jury,” the filing states.
Combs’ legal team is pushing for an evidentiary hearing on the matter, although prosecutors have denied the accusations. The judge presiding over the case indicated during last week’s hearing that he is likely to impose a reciprocal gag order, limiting media engagement for both sides.
In the months following Ventura’s lawsuit, several individuals have pursued legal action against Combs, including Dawn Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, who accused Combs of groping, assaulting, imprisoning her, and threatening her life.