Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs is facing allegations of sexually abusing a man after a record producer filed a lawsuit accusing him of continuous groping and a potential drug-related assault. Producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones lodged a lawsuit against Combs in the Southern District of New York on Monday.
Jones claims that Combs made unwanted sexual advances, coerced him into hiring sex workers, and compelled him to engage in intimate activities with them. He also claims he has hundreds of hours of video documenting Combs' "serious illegal activity." The beleaguered hip-hop star is already facing lawsuits from three women, and has loss several commercial deals in wake of the allegations.
More Trouble for Sean 'Diddy' Combs
In the $30 million lawsuit, Jones has named some of the music industry's prominent figures as co-defendants. He alleges that record executive Ethiopia Habtemariam dismissed Combs' groping behavior as "friendly horseplay" and a way of "showing that he likes you."
Combs has denied the allegations, labeling them "sickening", and his legal representative has dismissed Jones's claims as "pure fiction."
"Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 billion lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday," Combs' attorney Shawn Holley told TMZ.
"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.
"We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr Jones' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr Blackburn refuses to return our calls."
Combs enlisted Jones in August 2022 to produce some tracks for the R&B album 'The Love Album: Off the Grid,' which received a Grammy nomination following its release in September 2023.
"Mr Jones agreed, and his life has been detrimentally impacted ever since," the lawsuit claims.
For more than a year, Jones endured "constant, unsolicited, and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus" at Combs' homes in Florida, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as on a leased yacht in the US Virgin Islands.
During their time on the yacht, Combs introduced Jones to Cuba Gooding Jr., and on this occasion, the actor reportedly engaged in inappropriate behavior by "touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones's legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders."
Bombshell Allegations
Jones claims that he was also sexually assaulted by a female cousin of Combs's girlfriend Yung Miami and was forced to watch a video of record producer Stevie J engaging in sexual activities with another man.
According to the lawsuit, Jones was obligated to work in Combs' bathroom, where the star would shower naked behind a glass screen. The producer alleges that Combs boasted about having shot people and threatened to cause physical harm if Jones did not comply with his demands.
Jones alleges that the "forceful and demanding" star privately confessed to being involved in a 1999 nightclub shooting, for which he was acquitted of gun possession and bribery charges.
"Mr Combs consistently made it clear that he has immense power in the music industry and with law enforcement," the lawsuit claims.
Jones alleges that at the star's house parties, underage girls and sex workers were present, and he witnessed the star drugging their drinks.
Moreover, he claims he was instructed to visit bars and nightspots in Miami to hire sex workers.
Jones also claims that he personally experienced being drugged in February of last year, waking up naked, dizzy, and confused in bed with Combs and two sex workers.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, three weeks after Jones set up a Gofundme campaign seeking funds to sue the rapper for unpaid royalties.
The lawsuit also names includes Combs' son Justin, his chief of staff Kristina Khorram, and Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grange as defendants.
It accuses Khorram of 'grooming' Jones on Combs's behalf and asserts that Motown Records, Love Records, and Universal Music Group constituted a 'Rico enterprise' that 'failed to adequately monitor, warn, or supervise' Combs and his inner circle.
Earlier this week, Combs was alleged of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl in his Manhattan recording studio, which he vehemently denied. Combs disputed the accuracy of a photograph showing the girl sitting on his lap.
In his filing to the New York court, he refutes the claim that he, along with his longtime friend Harve Pierre and a third unidentified man, flew the girl to his New York studio and provided her with 'copious amounts of drugs and alcohol' in 2003.
