Sean Diddy Combs was hit Monday with a new wave of lawsuits accusing him of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy the first time he’s been sued by a person alleging they were abused as a minor.
Some of the Does, echoing others who’ve accused Combs in recent months, allege that he used his fame and the promise of potential stardom to entice victims to lavish parties or drug-fueled hangouts where he then assaulted them. Some allege that he beat or drugged them. Others say he threatened to kill them if they didn’t do as he pleased or if they spoke out against him.
The lawsuits describe alleged assaults dating to the mid-1990s, including at Combs’ celebrity-studded white parties in Long Island’s Hamptons, at a party in Brooklyn celebrating Combs’ then-collaborator Biggie Smalls, and even in the storeroom at Macy’s flagship department store in midtown Manhattan.
The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuits are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action following Combs’ Sept. 16 arrest on federal racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. The lawsuits are among more than a dozen in the last year that accuse Combs of sexual assault.
Messages seeking comment were left for Combs’ lawyers and other representatives. When the planned lawsuits were announced Oct. 1, a lawyer for Combs said the rapper and producer cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.
Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case, which involves allegations 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.
