Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Once The Wealthiest Artist In The World To Now Mighty Rich In Lawsuits | Explained
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs who was once considered one of the wealthiest artists in the world has now been involved in as many as 55 lawsuits.
The epic downfall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs explained through his mounting lawsuits. (Instagram)
Sean John Combs, Diddy, Puff Daddy, P.Diddy- American rapper and music producer who goes by many names and was once touted as one of the wealthiest artists in the world has now been involved in as many as 55 lawsuits (ongoing or settled). He is once again making headlines. It has been alleged that Combs had forced employees for sex and threatened them with both financial and physical harm if he wasn’t assisted in a sex trafficking scheme that has spanned across a couple of decades. Combs, who had previously pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, is behind the bars at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and slated to go on trial later in May.
Who is Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Born in 1969, Combs briefly attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., before joining Uptown Records in New York as an intern. A year later, he was appointed as the vice president of the company. After being fired by the company in 1993, Combs started his very own Bad Boy Entertainment and soon became the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s. His partner and producer Christopher Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G., was shot and killed in 1997. Same year, Combs’s “I’ll Be Missing You” from the album “No Way Out” earned him a Grammy. The track was a tribute to his late friend Notorious B.I.G., which Combs sang and recorded with Wallace’s wife Faith Evans.
Combs got through that era, flourished in his music career, and his public image softened with age.
The music mogul topped the Forbes hip-hop rich list in 2014 and 2017 and has 3 Grammys in his kitty.
Downfall and Lawsuits
Following his arrest in September 2024, numerous civil suits were filed against Combs, accusing him of sex trafficking, rape, sexual harassment, and other abuses. A case has also been filed against his 26-year-old son Christian King Combs for sexual assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other allegations.
Rodney Jones Vs Sean Combs
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr., a record producer from Chicago, filed a federal lawsuit against Combs on February 2 last year in Manhattan’s federal court, alleging that Combs engaged in various illegal activities, including the use and distribution of drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, and mushrooms. Jones claims he was forced by Combs to procure these substances and solicit sex workers who would perform sexual acts for him.
Additionally, Jones alleges that Combs forced him to record these encounters and threatened him with bodily harm if he did not comply. The lawsuit also accuses Combs of sexual harassment and assault, including non-consensual physical contact and creating a hostile work environment by appearing naked around Jones. Furthermore, Jones alleges that Combs provided women with alcohol laced with ecstasy without their knowledge. In a related claim, Jones asserts that actor Cuba Gooding Jr. inappropriately touched him during an incident on a yacht.
Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura Vs Sean Combs
The case, which both parties mutually agreed to settle, was filed in November 2023 in Manhattan’s federal court. Cassie accused Combs of physically abusing her throughout their relationship, forcing her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers. Cassie was 19 when Combs signed her to his label.
Liza Gardner Vs Sean Combs
Gardner filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court alleging that Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall forced her into having sex with them when she was 16. Gardner and Combs met in New York at an event for the album release for Jodeci. First, Combs “coerced” her into having sex with him after inviting her to an after-party, and later Hall barged into the room and allegedly forced himself on her.
Joi Dickerson-Neal Vs Sean Combs
Dickerson, who appeared in a music video with Combs, agreed to go out with him on a dinner date, where Combs allegedly drugged her. She alleged that he also filmed the sexual assault and distributed it. The case was filed in November 2023 in New York Supreme Court.
Crystal McKinney Vs Sean Combs
This lawsuit, filed in May of 2024 in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Combs assaulted McKinney, who was then 22 years old. It claims that he met her at a studio, gave her a joint, plied her with alcohol and later followed her to the bathroom to force her to perform oral sex on him.
April Lampros Vs Sean Combs
Lampros, too, accused Combs of battery, sexual assault, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and committing a crime of violence motivated by gender. They met in early 1994 when she was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology and survived “four terrifying sexual encounters” up until the 2000s. The 22-page lawsuit has been filed in New York County Supreme Court in May 2024.
Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith Vs Sean Combs
Cardello-Smith, who is currently serving a prison sentence, accused Combs of drugging him and sexually assaulting him at a party in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997.
Dawn Richard Vs Sean Combs
Dawn Richard, who was a member in two of Combs’s musical groups, said that she witnessed Combs sexually assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. She alleged that Combs used to choke and strangle her, and even throw items at her including a scalding hot pan. She claimed that Combs once had a party where dozens of underage girls were drugged and his guests performed sexual acts on them. The case was filed in September 2024 in Manhattan’s federal court.
Kirk Burrowes Vs Sean Combs
Kirk Burrowes, co-founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, alleged that Combs used to force him to watch him having sex with employees, interns, and prospective artists. He also allegedly told him to hire more homosexual male interns. He further accused Combs of using his influence to get him blacklisted in the music industry. The lawsuit was filed in New York Federal Court on February 28 this year.
Latasha Forbes & Others Vs Sean Combs
This lawsuit was filed by seven people – Latasha Forbes, Billie Cummings, Ian Fearon, Laquay Applewhite, Amad Jenkins, Fallon Matthews and one anonymous woman – in the New York Federal Court on February 28 this year. All allege that Combs, on separate occasions, sexually assaulted them.
Phillip Pines Vs Sean Combs
In December 2024, Pines filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging Combs for sexual battery, sex trafficking, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress and for other allegations. He was Combs’s executive assistant for two years. Although Pines was hired to get food for Combs, lay out his clothes, he was later forced to set up his bedroom and various hotel rooms for “Wild King Nights” parties. He was instructed to stock rooms with red lights, ice buckets, alcohol, marijuana joints, honey packs for male libido, baby oil, astro glide, towels, illegal drugs, and power banger sex machines”.
He was also tasked with removing evidence after parties, which went on hours or days, were over.
Bryana ‘Bana’ Bongolan Vs Sean Combs
Fashion designer Bryana Bongolan alleged that Combs sexually battered her, dangled her off a 17-story balcony, and then slammed her onto the patio furniture on the balcony. She was Cassie Ventura’s friend and met Combs to collaborate with her on clothing design. Bongolan filed a case in November 2024 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
DeWitt Gilmore Vs Sean Combs
DeWitt Gilmore alleged that Combs and his bodyguard assaulted him in 1996. Gilmore, who is seeking $5 million in damages, said that after exiting a club, Combs not only blocked his car, but also brandished firearms, and fired shots at him. He somehow escaped a deadly ambush. The case was filed in November 2024 in the New York Federal Court.
Thalia Graves Vs Sean Combs
Sean Combs allegedly raped Graves in 2001 after having her tied up naked with her hands behind her back when she was unconscious. The incident happened when she was just 25. He and his bodyguard Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman picked Graves up at her mother’s house and drove her to his studio to talk about the performance of her then boyfriend, who was an executive at Bad Boy Records at the time.