Hip-Hop

Ye (formerly Kanye West) is being sued by a former assistant who alleges the rapper drugged and sexually assaulted her during a studio session he co-hosted with Diddy.
Lauren Pisciotta, the ex-assistant who filed the new lawsuit, previously sued Ye in June, when she accused him of sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination; a legal rep for Ye denied the lawsuit’s allegations in June.

Amended court documents were filed in California on Oct. 8 and first obtained by TMZ, according to The Hollywood Reporter, who reached out to Ye’s rep for comment.

Pisciotta, who worked for Ye for a year, claims in the October filing that she and an unnamed artist management client were invited to one of Combs’ studio sessions.

She says “drinks were served to her and others in attendance, followed by an announcement that everybody had to drink, if they wanted to stay.”

“After a few small sips of the beverage, poured at the direction of Kanye West a.k.a. Ye by a studio assistant and then served to her by Kanye West, Plaintiff suddenly started to feel disoriented,” the suit alleges. Pisciotta claims she got roofied. Pisciotta says upon waking up she felt “immense shame and embarrassment” but could remember almost nothing about what happened.

She alleges Ye brought up that night to her years later, telling her they “did kind of hook up,” and that he provided details about what happened.

Pisciotta, an OnlyFans model, worked for Ye first as an executive assistant and later as chief of staff for his companies.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is named in the amended case filing as co-host of the studio event on the night of the alleged incident. However, Pisciotta has not made any accusations against him.

Diddy is currently being held in a Brooklyn jail, awaiting trial after his Sept. 16 arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering.

A federal appeals court judge has ruled to keep Sean “Diddy” Combs locked up while he makes a third bid for bail in his sex trafficking case, which is slated to go to trial in May.

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In a decision filed Friday (Oct. 11), Circuit Judge William J. Nardini denied the hip-hop mogul’s immediate release from jail while a three-judge panel weighs his bail request.

Combs’ lawyers appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 30 after two judges rejected his release.

Combs, 54, has been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his Sept. 16 arrest on charges that he used his “power and prestige” as a music star to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers in events dubbed “Freak Offs.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges alleging he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

At a bail hearing three weeks ago, a judge rejected the defense’s $50 million bail proposal that would’ve allowed the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer to be placed under house arrest at his Florida mansion with GPS monitoring and strict limits on visitors.

Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., who has since recused himself from the case, said that prosecutors had presented “clear and convincing evidence” that Combs is a danger to the community. He said “no condition or set of conditions” could guard against the risk of Combs obstructing the investigation or threatening or harming witnesses.

In their appeal, Combs’ lawyers argued that the judge had “endorsed the government’s exaggerated rhetoric” and ordered Combs detained for “purely speculative reasons.”

“Indeed, hardly a risk of flight, he is a 54-year-old father of seven, a U.S. citizen, an extraordinarily successful artist, businessman, and philanthropist, and one of the most recognizable people on earth,” the lawyers wrote.

Combs’ lawyers have not asked the new trial judge, Arun Subramanian, to consider releasing him on bail. At a hearing Thursday, as Combs sat alongside his lawyers in a beige jail jumpsuit, Subramanian suggested he would at least be open to taking up the issue.

After setting a May 5 trial date, Subramanian briefly questioned Combs’ lawyers about his treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center, which has been plagued by violence and dysfunction for years.

Combs lawyer Mark Agnifilo, who had previously sought to have him moved to a jail in New Jersey, told the judge: “We’re making a go of the MDC. The MDC has been very responsive for us.”

Another Combs lawyer, Anthony Ricco, told reporters outside the courthouse afterward: “He’s doing fine. It’s a difficult circumstance. He’s making the best of the situation.”

But, Ricco said: “Nobody’s OK with staying in jail for now.”