Sean “Diddy” Combs has filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against TV network NBC over a recent documentary titled “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.”
The lawsuit claims that the documentary falsely portrays Combs as a criminal, alleging he committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors.
“Indeed, the entire premise of the Documentary assumes that Mr. Combs has committed numerous heinous crimes, including serial murder, rape of minors, and sex trafficking of minors, and attempts to crudely psychologize him,” the complaint reads.
Combs’ legal team argues that the documentary advances unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and maliciously defames him, causing significant damage to his reputation.
“It maliciously and baselessly jumps to the conclusion that Mr. Combs is a ‘monster’ and ‘an embodiment of Lucifer’ with ‘a lot of similarities’ to Jeffrey Epstein” read part of the complaint
Despite the complaints, NBC Universal and the entertainment company’s spokespersons for that produced the documentary, which is also named in the suit, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Combs is currently awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, and his legal team contends that the documentary’s allegations could bias potential jurors.
The lawsuit seeks to hold NBC and the documentary’s producers accountable for the harm caused by their reckless statements.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trafficked at least three women in a 20-year long sexual abuse scheme, prosecutors said on Thursday in bringing a new criminal indictment against the incarcerated hip-hop mogul.
The three-count indictment contains no additional charges, but alleges he transported three female victims along with commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally. The first indictment, brought in September, referenced just one female victim.
Combs, 55, is due to go on trial starting May 5. He pleaded not guilty to the first indictment last year. His lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The indictment charges Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The prosecutors said Combs used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.
Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called “freak offs” with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines.
One of the victims is Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie. Combs apologized last May after CNN broadcast a video showing him kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway.
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has said he had never denied the incident, but that the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.
Agnifilo has also argued that the “freak offs” described by prosecutors were consensual sexual activity.
Combs has been detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail on Wednesday as he awaits a May sex trafficking trial by a judge who cited evidence showing him to be a “serious risk” of witness tampering and proof he has tried to hide prohibited communications with third parties while incarcerated.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled in a five-page order following a bail hearing last week. At the hearing, lawyers for the hip-hop mogul argued that a $50 million bail package they proposed would be sufficient to ensure Combs doesn’t flee and doesn’t try to intimidate prospective trial witnesses.
Two other judges previously had agreed with prosecutors that the Bad Boy Records founder was a danger to the community if he is not behind bars. Subramanian concurred.
“There is compelling evidence of Combs’s propensity for violence,” Subramanian wrote.
Lawyers for Combs did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the decision. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for prosecutors, declined comment.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employees. An indictment alleges that he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
A federal appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan considers his bail request. That appeal was put on hold while Subramanian, newly appointed to the case after an earlier judge stepped aside, considered the bail request for the first time.
Subramanian said he took a fresh look at all the bail arguments and the evidence supporting them to make his decision.
Prosecutors have insisted that no bail conditions would be sufficient to protect the public and prevent the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer from fleeing.
They say that even in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, Combs has orchestrated social media campaigns designed to influence prospective jurors and tried to publicly leak materials he thinks can help his case. They say he also has contacted potential witnesses through third parties.
Lawyers for Combs say any alleged sexual abuse described in the indictment occurred during consensual relations between adults and that new evidence refutes allegations that Combs used his “power and prestige” to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs.”
Subramanian said evidence shows Combs to be a “serious risk of witness tampering,” particularly after he communicated over the summer with a grand jury witness and deleted some of his texts with the witness.
The judge also cited evidence showing that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations during pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn when he paid other inmates to use their phone code numbers so he could make calls to individuals who were not on his approved contact list.
He said there was also evidence that he told family members and defense counsel to add other people to three-way calls so their communications would be more difficult to trace and that he made efforts to influence his trial’s jury pool or to reach potential witnesses.
Subramanian said his “willingness to skirt” jailhouse rules to conceal communications was “strong evidence” that any conditions of release would not prevent similar behavior.
The judge said defense claims that Combs stopped using one particular phone technique criticized by prosecutors was belied by the fact that Combs apparently used it again on Sunday, two days after his bail hearing last week.
Even a bail proposal that would include the strictest form of home confinement seemed insufficient, the judge said.
“Given the nature of the allegations in this case and the information provided by the government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ — like a private security detail — to follow those conditions,” Subramanian wrote.
A string of sexual assault allegations have been made against Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in the history of rap.
Four women, including his long-time partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, have filed lawsuits against the musician, accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.
Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a similar suit in February, alleging Combs abused him over a year-long period when he was living on the star’s properties and working on his music.
In a statement issued last December, Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking for a quick payday”.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said, adding he would fight to clear his name.
However, in March 2024, federal agents raided two houses owned by the star “as part of an ongoing investigation” into sex trafficking.
His lawyer called the action an “unprecedented ambush” and a “gross overuse of military-level force”, and maintained his client’s innocence.
Combs – who has also gone by the names Puffy, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Love, and Brother Love – essentially rewrote the rules of hip-hop in the 1990s, but his career has been punctuated by controversies.
Here is a timeline of his career and the accusations made against him.
1969-89: Early life in New York
Sean John Combs was born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York.
His mother, Janice, was a teacher’s assistant, while his father Melvin was a former member of the US Air Force who became an associate of the drug-trafficker Frank Lucas, who later inspired the Ridley Scott film American Gangster.
In 1972, Melvin was fatally shot in his car during a drug transaction after being misidentified as an informant. Combs was just two, although he didn’t learn the circumstances of his father’s death until much later.
Raised by his mother, he was a flashy kid who loved rap music and played football for the school team.
As a teenager, he danced in music videos for artists such as Diana Ross and the Fine Young Cannibals.
Taking a cue from his mother, who worked multiple jobs to support Sean and his sister Keisha, he also worked six separate newspaper delivery routes, before enrolling to study business administration at Howard University.
Early 1990s: Party plans turn into tragedy
At university, Combs gained a reputation for throwing lavish parties, some of which attracted more than a thousand guests.
After booking musicians such as Heavy D and Terry Riley to play at these gigs, he came to the attention of Uptown Records’ founder Andre Harrell, who gave him an internship in New York.
Combs eventually dropped out of university to work there full-time, guiding the early careers of artists including Mary J Blige and Jodeci.
However, tragedy struck in 1991, when Combs co-promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at City College of New York. Nearly 5,000 people showed up to the gymnasium, which could only fit 2,730 people. In the ensuing crush, nine people died and 29 people were injured.
An inquiry by the New York Mayor’s Office cited Combs for hiring inexperienced security guards. However, the star and his lawyers maintained he was not responsible for security at the event.
“City College is something I deal with every day of my life,” the musician said in 1998. “But the things that I deal with can in no way measure up to the pain that the families deal with. I just pray for the families and pray for the children who lost their lives every day.”
No criminal charges were filed over the tragedy, but family members of the people who died sued the promoters, the college and the city, accusing them of negligence.
The case was settled for $3.8m (£3m), of which Mr. Combs paid $750,000.
Mid-to-late 1990s: A new beginning
Combs struck upon the idea of pairing R&B singers like Mary J Blige with the street-tough sounds of hip-hop/Getty Images
While at Uptown, Combs signed a young Brooklyn rapper called Christopher Wallace – aka Biggie Smalls, or the Notorious B.I.G. – and started work on his debut album.
But his relationship with Harrell broke down and Combs was fired. He retaliated by setting up his own label, Bad Boy Records, and taking Biggie with him.
The star’s debut album, Ready To Die, was hailed as an all-time rap classic, selling millions of copies and generating the multi-platinum singles Juicy and Big Poppa.
Combs quickly expanded the Bad Boy roster, releasing hit albums by Faith Evans, Ma$e, 112 and Total.
The label’s sound was slick and polished. Its biggest singles lifted chunky samples from well-known hits. The practice was frowned upon by hip-hop purists, but it was catnip to radio programmers.
1997: Notorious B.I.G. is murdered
The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy (as he was then known) on the set of the Hypnotize music video in 1997/Getty Images
In March 1997, Biggie Smalls was gunned down in a drive-by shooting at the age of 24.
The murder has never been solved, but it has consistently been linked to the East-Coast-West-Coast rivalry that consumed rap music in the 1990s and which had previously claimed the life of Tupac Shakur.
Combs, who had been travelling in the car behind his friend, poured his grief into a song, I’ll Be Missing You, which became one of the biggest songs of 1997.
The song, based around The Police’s Every Breath You Take, also featured on Combs’ debut album, No Way Out, which sold seven million copies worldwide.
1999: New York shooting
By this stage, Bad Boy had become one of the most important labels in rap. Aside from its own releases, artists including Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez were asking Combs to remix their songs, hoping for a dash of hip-hop credibility.
But there was trouble, too. In May 1999, Combs was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Interscope Records executive Steve Stoute, after a disagreement over a music video. He pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to a one-day anger management class.
Later that year, he was charged with criminal possession of a weapon when police found two nine-millimetre guns in his car, after an argument in a club turned violent.
Combs and his then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were both arrested. Combs was later acquitted of all charges. Lopez was not charged.
2003: Sued by business partner
A former president of Bad Boy Entertainment sued Combs in 2003, alleging that his former business partner threatened him with a baseball bat and forced him into signing over his shares in the company.
In his lawsuit, Kirk Burrowes also says that Combs intimidated Mary J Blige into dropping him as her manager in 2001.
Combs denied the allegations, calling them “complete fantasy”.
An appeals court dismissed the case in 2006, ruling that the statute of limitations has expired.
2005-2018: Relationship with Cassie Ventura
Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura were in an on-and-off relationship for more than a decade./PA Media
In 2005, 20-year-old singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura scored a minor club hit in Germany with her debut single, Me & U.
After hearing it on a night out, Combs convinces Cassie (as she is known professionally) to join Bad Boy Records for a 10-album deal.
Her self-titled debut was released in 2008 and its futuristic, space-age R&B proved to be a hit with critics.
By that stage, Combs and Ventura were in a relationship. But in a civil lawsuit filed in December 2023, she said the mogul had used his position of power to “set the groundwork” for a “manipulative and coercive romantic and sexual relationship”.
Her lawsuit included multiple graphic descriptions of violent abuse, alleging that Combs “regularly beat and kicked Ms Ventura, leaving black eyes, bruises, and blood”.
Ventura also alleged sexual abuse and rape, and claimed that many of these incidents were witnessed by Combs’ “tremendously loyal network” who “were not willing to do anything meaningful” to stop the violence.
Combs strenuously denied the allegations and accused Ventura of trying to extort him. They settled the case a day after it was filed in New York, with Combs’ lawyer saying the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing”.
2007-2024: Business ventures
Music took a back seat after 2007, when Combs signed a deal with British drinks company Diageo to promote the French vodka brand, Cîroc, in the US for a 50-50 profit split.
His endorsement saw the brand placed in dozens of music videos – including Diddy’s own single “Ciroc Star” – and helped increase sales from 40,000 to 2,000,000 cases per year by 2014.
Around the same time, he co-founded the media company Revolt, whose TV channels and websites are described as “the unapologetic, authoritative voice of hip-hop culture”.
Combs’ involvement with both companies came to an end in 2023-24. He had previously sued Diageo, accusing it of neglecting his brand because of race.
2015: Arrested for fighting football coach
In 2015, Combs got into a scuffle with his son’s football coach prompted by an argument during training.
As the row escalated, Combs allegedly threatened an intern with a kettle bell. He was later arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
The charges were subsequently dropped. A representative for Combs said press accounts of the incident were “wholly inaccurate”.
2019: Gina Huynh alleges abuse
The first allegations of abuse to surface against Combs came from his model ex-girlfriend Gina Huynh.
Although largely unreported at the time, Huynh gave an interview to YouTube personality Tasha K, where she said Combs had been physically abusive and offered her money to get an abortion during their on-off, five-year relationship.
On one occasion, she alleged that Combs had once “stomped on my stomach really hard – like, took the wind out of my breath”.
He did not respond to the accusations.
September 2023: Musical comeback
The musician won a lifetime achievement award last year, shortly before accusation against him started piling up./Getty Images
Combs ended an eight-year musical hiatus with the release of his fifth record. Titled The Love Album: Off The Grid, it featured collaborations with The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, 21 Savage and Mary J Blige.
The release coincided with Combs being named a “Global Icon” at the MTV Awards.
In November, The Love Album earned the star his first solo nomination at the Grammys, in the best progressive R&B album category.
However, he pulled out of the ceremony as his legal troubles mounted.
November 2023: Three lawsuits in the space of one week
In the same week as Cassie filed (and settled) her lawsuit against Combs, two more women came forward with claims of abuse and assault.
In a complaint filed in Manhattan, Joi Dickerson-Neal accused the star of drugging and sexually assaulting her when she was a college student in 1991. She also claimed he recorded the attack and distributed the footage without her consent.
A third woman, Liza Gardner, also filed court papers accusing Combs of coercing her into sex in the early 1990s and then, a couple of days later, choking her so hard that she passed out.
The lawsuits all came shortly before the expiration of the New York Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily allowed people who said they were sexually abused to file claims, even after the statute of limitations had expired.
“The claims involving alleged misconduct against Mr Combs from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute are all completely denied and rejected by him,” they said in a statement.
“The New York Legislature surely did not intend or expect the Adult Survivors Act to be exploited for improper purposes. The public should be sceptical and not rush to accept these unsubstantiated allegations.”
December 2023: Underage sex claim
A fourth woman sued in December, claiming she was “sex trafficked” and “gang raped” by Combs, former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre and another man in 2003, when she was 17 years old.
In court papers, the woman alleged she was given “copious amounts of drugs and alcohol” before the attack and was left in so much pain that she could barely stand or remember how she got home.
In response, Combs said he “did not do any of the awful things being alleged”, while Pierre said the “disgusting allegations” were “false and a desperate attempt for financial gain”.
The judge in the case later ruled that the woman, who filed her case anonymously, would have to use her real name if she wanted to proceed.
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” he wrote. “For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.
“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
February 2024: Accusations of grooming
Music producer Rodney Jones Jr, who produced nine tracks on The Love Album, sued Combs in February 2024, accusing the star of making unwanted sexual contact and forcing him to hire prostitutes and participate in sex acts with them.
In court papers filed in New York, Jones also claimed that Combs tried to “groom” him into having sex with another man, telling him it was “a normal practice in the music industry”.
Combs’ lawyer, Shawn Holley, called the producer “nothing more than a liar” and described his claims as “pure fiction” that can be discredited by “overwhelming, indisputable proof”.
March 2024: Combs’ properties raided
Aerial view of raid on Sean “Diddy” Combs home in LA./Getty Images
One month later, federal agents raided two properties owned by Combs in Los Angeles and Miami. Computers and other devices were confiscated while officers searched his Californian mansion.
Combs was also stopped at an airport in Miami as he prepared to leave for the Bahamas, according to the New York Times. He is said to have handed over a number of electronic devices and was not detained.
The Department of Homeland Security said the searches formed “part of an ongoing investigation”, but it was not clear how their inquiries were related to the civil cases against Combs.
His lawyer called the raids a “witch-hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits” and said his client was innocent.
Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami have been raided as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation against the rapper.
The 54-year-old is facing growing numbers of sexual harassment and rape lawsuits and was not seen as Homeland Security agents descended on his mansions on Monday (25.03.24) afternoon, footage from Fox 11 and TMZ showed.
It is not yet clear yet whether Diddy, real name Sean Combs, was the target of the investigation.
At least two men – who are believed to be the rapper’s sons Justin and King Combs – were put in handcuffs at his home in Holmby Hills, LA.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told TMZ in a statement: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.
“We will provide further information as it becomes available.”
The raid comes amid the mounting lawsuits recently filed against Bad Boy Records founder Diddy including allegations of assault and human trafficking – all of which have been denied by the entertainer.
In February, he was sued by former male employee Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, who accused the rapper of sexual assault while working on his 2023 album ‘The Love Album: Off the Grid’.
The producer and videographer claimed the abuse repeatedly took place from September 2022 to November 2023 and alleged he was forced to perform inappropriate acts with sex workers at Diddy’s request – claiming he once woke up drugged and in bed with his boss.
Diddy’s attorney Shawn Holley has said “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar” seeking to “shamelessly” win a $30 million lawsuit against his client.
In November 2023, Diddy’s singer’s ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, 37, known as Cassie, became the first woman to accuse Diddy of rape and abuse – with her case swiftly settled out of court the same month.
Her lawyer Douglas Wigdor told Page Six after news of Monday’s raids on Diddy’s homes broke: “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law.
“Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
Rapper Diddy.
Cassie had claimed in her suit Diddy forced her to have sex with male prostitutes as he sat and watched.
Just weeks after he settled her case, Diddy faced another three additional lawsuits from women claiming he sexually assaulted them.
One woman alleged she was aged just 17 when Diddy allegedly gang-raped her in 2003.
A spokesperson for the rapper denied the accusations, telling Page Six some of the allegations were “fabricated” and “nothing but a money grab”.
