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There’s seemingly no end to Diddy’s lawsuit era. Amid the slew of official complaints against the embattled hip-hop mogul already piling up in the legal arena, former Bad Boy Records singer Dawn Richard filed a suit against him in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday.
The ex-Danity Kane member accused the label’s founder of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and fraud. Richard’s complaint also alleges that she witnessed him brutally beat his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
Similar to Sean Combs’ prior reactions to such allegations, his attorney, Erica Wolff, again slammed the claims. Rubbishing the suit against the now-disgraced artist, his legal rep told TMZ, “Mr Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit.”
Diddy’s attorney blasts Dawn Richard’s claims against him
Painting the Danity Kane singer as an opportunist, Wolff said, “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.”
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Further morally questioning the plaintiff, Wolff charged that Richard “would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr Combs” for the R&B musical trio Dirty Money if she had “such a negative experience” with her prior engagements in the 2004 MTV show “Making the Band” and the girl group.
Highlighting that Richard returned for the “Making the Band” reboot in 2020 and featured on Diddy’s fifth studio album ‘The Love Album’ in 2023, Wolff pushed, “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.”
What does the former Danity Kane member’s lawsuit allege?
Richard’s suit says that she got entangled in Diddy’s affairs as she started her journey as a participant in “Making the Band.” Per her purported experience with the mogul, Diddy allegedly called female contestants during auditions, “bi**hes,” “ugly,” “fate,” “fat” and “ugly.”
The court filing states that Richard started fearing for her life when she saw recognised one of the highly influential producer’s former girlfriends as a victim of his presumed violent behaviour.
In 2005, a devastated Kim Porter reportedly exited a music studio, instilling fears about Diddy’s intentions in the Danity Kane member. The legal docs also underline that she witnessed an intoxicated Diddy ruthlessly attack, choke and drag Cassie up the stairs of his Los Angeles mansion. Per the former Dirty Money member’s account, Diddy also threw a burning pan of eggs at Ventura while verbally abusing her, “I’ve been asking you for my s**t; I can’t stand you bi**h, you never do it right!”
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Eventually, the alleged cycle of abuse against Richard worsened as she and her Dirty Money bandmate Kalenna Harper advised the “Is It You” songstress to leave Diddy and his toxic ways. Shortly after Combs found out about their interaction, he threatened them, fuming, “Y’all bi**hes don’t get in my relationship,” adding, “Don’t tell my bitch [Cassie] what she need to be doing … Just make money and shut the f**k up … I end artists … I shelve careers … You could be missing … You bi**hes want to die today.”
At some point between 2009 and 2011, Diddy groped Richard after barging into her dressing room while she wasn’t wearing anything. The 41-year-old singer additionally accused Diddy of forcefully locking her in a car with heavily tinted windows for two hours. As she called her father for help, he eventually travelled from Baltimore to New York. Despite threatening to report the rapper to the police, Diddy told Dawn’s father to “think about (his) daughter’s career.”
Judge orders Sean “Diddy” Combs to pay Michigan inmate $100 million
Richard’s lawsuit made headlines a day after the “Bad Boy for Life” was ordered to pay $100 million in default judgment for the alleged sexual assault of Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith at a hearing on Monday. The Michigan inmate, serving up to 75 years for 2008 and 2019 first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges, filed a civil suit against Diddy in June for an alleged 1997 incident.
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The “Notorious B.I.G” artist’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, recently told multiple media outlets, “This man [Cardello-Smith] is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”
