After a string of lawsuits from former associates and staff, Sean “Diddy” Combs is going through one more authorized battle as a former male worker has filed a fifth sexual assault swimsuit in opposition to the mogul.
Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed the swimsuit in opposition to Combs within the Southern District of New York on Monday, alleging that Combs made undesirable sexual advances and compelled him to rent intercourse staff and have interaction in relations with them.
Jones is in search of $30 million within the case, which lists a number of different events he claims didn’t “adequately monitor, warn or supervise” Combs’ actions. In his submitting, Jones names Combs’ son Justin; his chief of workers, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge; former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam; and quite a few document labels and Jane and John Does. He refers to all events as a “RICO enterprise,” suggesting they collectively violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
In the swimsuit obtained by Variety, Jones, who produced six songs on the rapper’s Grammy-nominated “The Love Album: Off the Grid” that launched in Sept. 2023, outlines an in depth record of accusations. He claims that Combs acquired, used and distributed ecstasy, cocaine and different illicit medicine; displayed unlawful firearms; and laced alcoholic drinks supplied to minors and intercourse staff at his numerous houses, amongst different allegations. The swimsuit additionally redacts the names of a rapper and an R&B singer who “[consorted] with underage girls and sex workers.”
Jones claims that he lived with Combs from Sept. 2022 by means of Nov. 2023, and was repeatedly a sufferer of sexual harassment from Combs and “subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction.” In the swimsuit, Jones says that he resided with Combs at a number of of his residences in New York, Los Angeles, Florida and a rented yacht within the U.S. Virgin Islands.
During his time with Combs, Jones says he recorded hours of audio and video footage of him and his workers “engaging in seriously illegal activity.” He states that he was topic to “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus,” and was pressured to work in Combs’ toilet because the mogul showered nude. He says he raised the problems with Khorram, to which she responded, “you know, Sean will be Sean” and that it was his means of “showing that he likes you.”
Among the claims within the swimsuit, Jones states that he believes Combs drugged him on Feb. 2, 2023, and that he wakened bare in mattress with Combs and two intercourse staff. He alleges that Diddy was grooming him for intercourse, and inspired him to recruit prostitutes by asking him to put on a Bad Boy baseball cap at a Miami institution to “signal to any sex worker he approached” that Combs was making an attempt to solicit them.
Elsewhere, Jones says that Combs flaunted weapons and spoke of getting away with capturing individuals, divulging that Combs mentioned he was answerable for a capturing at a New York City nightclub in 1999 with rapper Shyne. Combs was acquitted of gun possession and bribery costs, whereas Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Jones additionally states that an altercation between Combs and his son Justin at a Los Angeles recording studio led to 1 man getting shot within the abdomen. Combs allegedly advised Jones to deceive the police and as a substitute say that the person was hit in a drive-by capturing.
Jones names different celebrities within the swimsuit, recalling that Combs pressured him to look at a video of musician Stevie J participating in intercourse with one other man. Screenshots of the video are included within the swimsuit. He additional alleges that Combs launched him to actor Cuba Gooding Jr. on his yacht, and that Gooding bodily groped and fondled him. Jones additionally names City Girls’ Yung Miami, Combs’ on-and-off girlfriend, claiming Combs instructed Miami’s cousin to sexually assault him.
Combs’ lawyer, Shawn Holley, shared a press release with Variety refuting Jones’ claims. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 billion lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday,” she mentioned. “His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines. We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Representatives and authorized counsel for Jones and Gooding didn’t instantly reply to Variety‘s request for remark.
Combs has been a goal of quite a few sexual assault fits since his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed in opposition to him in November. Per week later, two different lawsuits had been filed in opposition to Combs alleging revenge porn and assault. And, in December, a lady filed a swimsuit alleging Combs raped her in 2003. Combs made a public assertion that month, writing on social media that “enough is enough” and that he didn’t do any of the “awful things being alleged.”