While Sean “Diddy” Combs has fervently denied ex-girlfriend Cassie’s rape and assault allegations, multiple women have come forward with similar claims of alleged misconduct by the music mogul.
Us Weekly confirmed in November 2023 that Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of rape and repeated physical abuse that lasted nearly a decade. Cassie and Diddy dated off and on from 2007 to 2018.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Cassie said in a statement.
Cassie’s attorney Douglas Wigdor also alleged that Diddy offered his client “eight figures” in a bid to “silence her.” Cassie denied his supposed payday.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images Sean “Diddy” Combs and ex-girlfriend Cassie weathered many ups and downs during their romance before parting ways for good in 2018. While Cassie (real name Cassandra Ventura) has since married Alex Fine and become a mother, her relationship with Diddy hasn’t stopped making headlines. The New York Times reported in November 2023 […]
Diddy refuted Cassie’s allegations in a statement provided by his lawyer. “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” Ben Brafman told Us. “For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
Following Cassie’s complaint, several other women came forward with new or past accusations, including Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day and Kimora Lee Simmons.
In March 2024, several of Diddy’s homes, including properties in Miami and Los Angeles, were raided by Homeland Security in connection to a sex trafficking investigation.
A rep for both Cassie and an anonymous plaintiff suing Diddy released a statement in response to the raids: “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.”
Keep reading for more details about the allegations against Diddy:
Cassie
Cassie’s lawsuit came with a “trigger warning” notice at the top, noting that her claims contained “highly graphic information of a sexual nature.” Cassie asserted in her filing that Diddy often tried to control her when they were dating by taking drugs, physically hurting her and forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes on camera. She also claimed that Diddy forced his way into her home in 2018 and sexually assaulted her.
According to Cassie, Diddy also threatened to blow up Kid Cudi’s car. Cudi, who Cassie started dating during one of her splits from Diddy, corroborated her claims to The New York Times. Cudi’s rep asserted that the rapper’s vehicle did explode after Diddy’s warning.
Diddy denied all of Cassie’s claims.
One day after filing the lawsuit, Cassie confirmed to Us through her attorney Douglas Wigdor that she and Diddy had reached a settlement.
“I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control,” the November 17 statement read. “I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support.”
Diddy also released a statement distributed through Window, telling Us, “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
Following the settlement, attorney Neama Rahmani exclusively told Us that the case was likely settled so quickly was because “Cassie ran out of time,” noting that some of her allegations were “a little bit older.”
Rahmani went on to explain that a New York statute of limitations law about filing civil lawsuits and sexual assault cases was set to close days after Cassie’s filing. “Cassie was up against the clock and the parties really were unable to finalize their negotiations before that window was going to close,” he shared. “So, she was forced to file a lawsuit.”
Nearly six months after the duo settled their lawsuit, CNN obtained video footage of Diddy allegedly assaulting Cassie in 2016. In the clip, Diddy wore only a towel and appeared to grab Cassie by her neck.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Wigdor told Us in a statement after the footage resurfaced. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Diddy later apologized for his actions. “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted,” he said via Instagram. “I went and sought out professional help. I’ve been going to therapy, going to rehab. Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry, but I’m committed to being a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
Kimora Lee Simmons
In 2004, a then-pregnant Simmons was profiled by New York magazine when she attended the Manhattan City Center’s benefit performance of The Owl and the Pussycat. The interview referred to an alleged previous incident where “Kimora said something to Combs and he threatened to hit her.” Per the profile, Diddy “eventually got down on his knees” to publicly apologize.
Kimora Lee, who was married to Russell Simmons at the time, accepted Diddy’s apology. “I respect him for being a fierce entrepreneur and I appreciate knowing that everything he does is emulating my husband,” she told the outlet.
While Hollywood may appear to be all glitz and glam on the surface, the industry has seen its fair share of scandals through the years. The New York Times and the New Yorker first published investigative pieces in 2017 that accused disgruntled movie producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual assault and harassment. Soon after, Weinstein stood trial and was […]
Gina Huynh
Huynh, also known as Virginia V, claimed during a 2019 interview on “Unwine With Tasha K” that Diddy physically assaulted her at one point during their five-year relationship.
“He stomped on my stomach really hard — like, took the wind out of my breath,” she alleged. “I couldn’t breathe. He kept hitting me. I was pleading to him, ‘Can you just stop? I can’t breathe.’”
According to Huynh, Diddy also grabbed her by the hair and started “punching” the back of her head. “He was mentally, emotionally and physically abusing me. He would always compare me to Cassie and tell me that I’m the bad one, she’s a good one,” added Huynh.
Diddy never publicly addressed Huynh’s claims.
Aubrey O’Day
O’Day first crossed paths with Diddy when she auditioned for his MTV series Making the Band 3. Diddy chose her to start Danity Kane alongside Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex, D. Woods and Aundrea Fimbres. The girl group was immediately signed to Diddy’s label Bad Boy Records. During Making the Band 4, Diddy revealed that O’Day had been kicked out of the band but claimed there was no bad blood.
O’Day previously told Us her side of the story in July 2019.
“Diddy broke us up in the height of our fame on national television, on MTV,” she claimed to Us. “I want to talk about what we’re going through because I think what Danity Kane has gone through since then is so powerful for women, for people, for artists. We have had to learn everything the hard way since we were broken up by [Diddy] on national television.”
During a 2022 interview on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, O’Day claimed she was fired from Danity Kane because she “wasn’t willing to do what was expected of [her] — not talent-wise, but in other areas.” In September 2023, O’Day further claimed that Diddy asked her to sign an NDA in exchange for Danity Kane’s publishing rights.
“I have to release him for any claims or wrongdoings or actions prior to the date of the release,” she alleged on the “OnlyStans” podcast. “I have to sign an NDA that I will never disparage Puff, Bad Boy, [Diddy’s mom] Janice Combs, or Justin Combs Music, or EMI, or Sony ever in public.”
O’Day has since been a vocal advocate for Cassie following her lawsuit. “Money > accountability. Every time,” show wrote via her Instagram Story in reaction to Cassie and Diddy’s November 2023 lawsuit settlement. “Welcome to another chapter of the system is well in place 💔.”
Joi Dickerson-Neal
Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Diddy in New York Supreme Court in November 2023. According to court docs obtained by Us at the time, Dickerson-Neal claimed the musician “drugged, sexually assaulted and abused” her during her time as a college student in 1991 and claimed Diddy created and distributed “revenge porn” featuring her in it.
In the lawsuit, Dickerson-Neal recalled appearing in one his music videos while studying at Syracuse University. The duo allegedly went out to dinner following the video shoot, after which Dickerson-Neal claims Diddy “intentionally drugged” her and assaulted her at his home. Dickerson-Neal alleges that Diddy filmed the incident and shared the footage with others.
Dickerson-Neal sued Diddy for “substantial and lifetime injuries,” as well as monetary compensation for “mental and emotional injury, distress, pain and suffering and injury to her reputation.”
A spokesperson for Diddy denied Dickerson-Neal’s allegations in a statement to CNN at the time, calling her claims “made up and not credible” and “purely a money grab.” The statement continued: “Mr. Combs never assaulted her, and she implicates companies that did not exist.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs. Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Jane Doe
In December 2023, an anonymous plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, accused Diddy of sex-trafficking and gang-raping her in 2008 in a Southern District of New York lawsuit. Doe, who was just 17 years old at the time of the alleged incident, said she was flown to New York City by Diddy to meet with him.
During their time together, Doe says Diddy and his friends forced themselves onto her after giving her “copious amounts of drugs and alcohol,” according to court docs obtained by Us.
“As alleged in the complaint, Defendants preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs’ studio,” Doe’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, told Us in a statement at the time. “The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life.”
Diddy once again denied any wrongdoing, telling Us in a statement, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” He continued: “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.”
He ended his message by emphasizing he “did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” adding, “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones
Jones sued Diddy for $30 million in damages in February 2024, accusing the rapper of drugging, threatening and sexually assaulting him for more than a year. In court docs obtained by NBC News, Jones alleged that while living with Diddy from September 2022 to November 2023, he recorded audio of the rapper partaking in “serious illegal activity” with friends and colleagues. The music producer also claimed he was sexually harassed and assaulted by Diddy in the artist’s Florida, Los Angeles and New York homes and a yacht Diddy rented in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to the lawsuit, the extent of Jones’ assaults and harassment included “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus.”
Diddy’s attorney Shawn Holley called Jones a “liar” in a statement to Us. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit, shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday,” he stated. “His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines.”
Holley went on to add that Diddy and his team have “overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies” and that the “outlandish allegations” would be addressed in court.
In March 2024, Jones amended his complaint to include Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant. While the original filing accused the actor of sexually harassing and assaulting Jones on a yacht that Diddy rented, Gooding wasn’t initially included as one of the people being sued.
The lawsuit alleged that Diddy tried to “pass off” Jones to Gooding when leaving them alone together in a studio on the boat. “Cuba Gooding Jr. began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders,” Jones’ lawsuit alleges, per court docs obtained by USA Today, further claiming that Diddy “failed to step in and stop” Gooding from assaulting Jones.
Us Weekly reached out to Gooding for comment.
Jones’ amended suit was filed the same day that several of Diddy’s properties were raided by Homeland Security in connection to a sex trafficking investigation.
Crystal McKinney
In a May 2024 lawsuit, the model accused Diddy of drugging and sexually assaulting her after they allegedly met in 2003. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, McKinney claimed that Diddy brought her to his music studio after a fashion week event.
While in a room with his colleagues who were drinking and smoking, McKinney took a hit of a blunt she claimed felt “very powerful” that made her feel like she was floating. She alleged that Diddy demanded that she follow him into the bathroom where she claimed he forced himself on her. McKinney claimed that Diddy kissed her before putting his crotch in her face and demanded that she “suck it.”
McKinney said she refused Diddy’s advancement but she claimed the music mogul pushed her head down and forced her to perform oral sex.
Dawn Richard
Dawn Richard Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
In September 2024, the Danity Kane member filed a lawsuit accusing Diddy of manipulating, terrorizing and sexually abusing her.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Richard accused the producer of promising to advance her singing career if she gave in to his demands.
In response to the lawsuit, Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolff released a statement, telling Us, “Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour. If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year. It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”
New York Indictment
On September 17, 2024, Diddy was indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
The indictment accuses the music mogul of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo told Us Weekly in a statement. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community.”
Agnifilo added, “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The indictment includes allegations listed back to 2009.
Jay-Z’s alleged involvement
Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000, as detailed in a civil lawsuit that was originally filed against Diddy alone in October, and refiled to add Jay-Z’s name on December 8.
The accuser, who remained anonymous and was only identified as “Jane Doe,” claimed the assault occurred at an after party for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Jay-Z said in a statement to Us on December 8 that he denied the allegations lodged against him. “My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” Jay-Z wrote at the time. “No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
