Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued by his former bandmate Dawn Richard, who accused him of sexual harassment and assault when she was a member of a musical trio with the hip-hop mogul.
The multipronged lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on Tuesday, brings several claims for battery, false imprisonment, withholding millions of dollars in unpaid royalties and wages, as well as stealing her copyrighted works. Along with Combs, it names his label Bad Boy Entertainment and its president Harve Pierre, Universal Music Group and Epic Records, among various others.
Combs has been facing deepening legal trouble, with federal law enforcement raiding his homes in March as part of an investigation into human trafficking. The complaint appears to be at least the eighth brought against him since his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura filed a lawsuit against him detailing years of physical and sexual abuse. That action quickly settled but led to other accusers, including Liza Gardner, Joi Dickerson-Neal and Crystal McKinney, bringing similar complaints. Combs has denied the allegations and largely said the accusers are looking for payouts.
A representative for Combs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the complaint, Richard says she was subject to years of sexual harassment and assault. Between 2009 and 2011, she alleges she was frequently groped by Combs, who consistently made demeaning remarks about her body. When she resisted his advances, Combs retaliated by denying her singing opportunities and removing her from songs, according to the complaint.
In one incident in 2010, Richard claims she was forcefully locked inside of his car, which had no interior door handles, for over two hours.
Richard worked with Combs for nearly a decade, first as part of Danity Kane, which was formed on the third season of Combs’ Making the Band. Following its disbandment in 2009, she joined Combs’ Diddy–Dirty Money. The lawsuit claims she’s owed nearly $5 million in unpaid royalties and wages, as well as missed payments for appearing on the MTV reality series. It also accuses Combs of copyright infringement for use of her work on his latest album.
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Universal Music Group and Interscope, among various others, of enabling and profiting off of Combs’ abuse. In 2009, Bad Boy Entertainment entered a distribution deal with Interscope in which Combs’ venture was paid $50 million for its future releases. At a dinner in a Los Angeles restaurant over the agreement, Richard says Interscope chief executive Jimmy Iovine saw Combs punch Ventura in the stomach.
“At this point, Interscope Records clearly had actual knowledge that Combs was dangerous around females and that Combs was willing to brazenly batter a female in public,” the complaint states. “Even after Mr. Iovine watched Mr. Combs commit a violent assault in front of numerous high-profile witnesses, the Bad Boy-Interscope deal took place and remained in effect, providing Mr. Combs with immense financial rewards and enabling him to commit further acts of violence without fear of repercussions.”
The sexual assault claim, which is more than a decade old, was brought under New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act, a statute that allows accusers to file civil complaints involving such claims after the statute of limitations has run out. The complaint brings more than 20 claims for sex trafficking, false imprisonment, hostile work environment, retaliation and breach of contract, among others. Richard’s legal team includes Lisa Bloom, a former advisor to Harvey Weinstein.
The filing of the lawsuit follows a court on Monday ordering Combs to pay $100 million to a Michigan inmate who sued him for sexual assault. After Combs failed to appear in court, Lenawee County circuit court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone entered a default judgment against him.