Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing yet another abuse lawsuit, this time filed by a participant on MTV’s Making the Band and longtime member of his band who says he harassed and assaulted her during “years of inhumane working conditions.”
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Dawn Richard says the embattled hip hop mogul “manipulated” her into thinking that “abuse and exploitation were required for female artists to succeed in the music industry.”
Richard claims she witnessed Combs abuse his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura on multiple occasions – and that recent lawsuits from Ventura and others sparked her to speak out.
“As more women courageously come forward, plaintiff has been empowered by this collective strength and now adds her voice to the growing chorus of victims bravely sharing their harrowing stories,” lawyers for Richard write. “Together, they seek justice and stand in solidarity, as the latest victims of the #Me Too movement in the music industry.”
Once one of the most powerful men in the music industry, Diddy has been hit with at least eight civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse over the past year, including claims by Ventura that were later followed by a video showing him assaulting her. The hip-hop mogul is also facing an apparent federal criminal investigation after authorities raided his homes in March.
Though the rapper has denied the legal allegations against him, he issued an apology in May over his conduct captured on the video of the Ventura attack: “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
In her new lawsuit, Richard says she first met Combs after she was selected for season 3 of Making The Band, a popular MTV reality show in the early 2000s featuring aspiring artists working under the tutelage of Combs.
She was eventually chosen as a winner of that season and joined the Diddy-run girl group Danity Kane, which released albums two albums in the late 2000s. When the band broke up in 2009, Richard says she transitioned into a member of another band called Diddy – Dirty Money.
During each stop in the Diddy universe, Richard says she was subjected to harmful behavior. While filming the TV show, she says Combs “deprived Ms. Richard and her Danity Kane bandmates of basic needs such as adequate food and sleep.” As a member of Dirty Money, he says the mogul repeatedly harassed and assaulted her, including groping her during fitting sessions.
Richard also claims to have witnessed illegal behavior toward others, including a 2009 party in Atlanta after the Soul Train Awards in which she says she was Combs “arranged for dozens of young women and girls — some of whom appeared to be underage – to be transported to the party.”
“Many of them appeared lethargic or passed out while Mr. Combs and his guests performed sexual acts on them,” Richard’s lawyers write. “Ms. Richard felt shocked and horrified at the sight of Mr. Combs and his guests violating incapacitated young women.”
She also claims to have seen specific acts of abuse toward Combs’ ex-partners. In one, she says she witnessed his ex-wife, Kim Porter, leaving his studio “in tears with visible facial injuries including a lacerated lip.” On “numerous” other occasions, Richard says she saw Combs abuse “brutally beat” Ventura.
“His persistent abuse included choking and strangling Ms. Ventura, striking her with his hands and with objects, slapping her, punching her, and throwing items at her, including a scalding hot pan,” attorneys for Richards write.
Ventura sued Combs over similar allegations in November, but the pair reached a settlement to end the lawsuit just days later.
In technical terms, Richard is accusing Combs of a slew of specific forms of wrongdoing, including violating New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act and California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, as well as various state and federal workplace protections against sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. She’s also accusing him of assault, sexual battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit also features intellectual property claims, including that Diddy infringed copyrights to her music.
A representative for Combs did not immediately return a request for comment.
