Editor’s note: The following article includes descriptions of sexual assault.
This week, several more claimants have come forward, accusing rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse. On November 19, three men and two women filed separate complaints against the Bad Boy Records founder through Tony Buzbee, the attorney who previously claimed he would represent over 100 clients accusing Combs of misconduct.
“For years, Combs and his businesses engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women, men, and minors,” all the complaints read, per People magazine. “This abuse was, at times, verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. As part of his pattern of abuse, Combs manipulated both men and women to participate in highly-orchestrated performances of sexual activity with both commercial sex workers and unsuspecting partygoers.”
Amongst the new plaintiffs is an unidentified man who claims the rapper sexually assaulted him when he was 39. While attending a house party in New York City in 2022, the plaintiff claimed that he was given a drink that made him feel disoriented and lose control of his body, eventually leading him to black out.
When he regained consciousness, he recalls being in a “dark bedroom with black walls, on a bed with black sheets,” where he realized that Combs was “on top of him sodomizing him.” The plaintiff claims that he fought off the rapper before leaving the party.
Other male plaintiffs, including an unnamed former actor, recall feeling disoriented, passing out, and waking up to Combs sexually assaulting them. With allegations dating back to 2001, all five complaints assert that Combs’ alleged abuse was “shockingly typical” as the star believed he was “above the law.”
The music mogul is now facing nearly two dozen lawsuits, with a surge beginning last November when his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, accused him of abuse. Though attorneys settled that case within a day of its filing, Combs denies committing any form of sexual abuse. As previously reported by theGrio, the star’s legal team said Combs “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.”
“That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” attorney Erica Wolff added in a statement. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”
Combs is currently in federal custody as he awaits trial on criminal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. The star’s trial is set to take place in May 2025.
