politique

9 people have sued Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual assault in 10 months. Here’s a timeline of the allegations against him.

August 28, 20240
Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

On May 28, Rolling Stone published an investigation into Combs after interviewing his former friends, colleagues, and artists at his label, Bad Boy Records. The report featured new allegations against Combs, but he has not been sued in relation to these alleged incidents.

Three unnamed women who claimed they attended Howard University with Combs said they witnessed him assaulting a woman on campus.

The mother and two close friends of Shakir Stewart, a music executive who died in 2008, told Rolling Stone that Combs broke a chair over Stewart’s head in 2000. They said Combs attacked him because Stewart tried to date Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Kim Porter.

Kirk Burrowes, the former president of Bad Boy Records, and Felicia Newsome, the first manager of Bad Boy’s recording studio, claimed that Combs attacked an unnamed woman inside the label’s offices in 1994 and they had to pull the rapper off her.

Another woman, who went by the pseudonym of Anna, told Rolling Stone that Combs tried to solicit her for sex while she was working as a freelance graphic designer for Bad Boy Records in 2001.

Davis, Combs’ attorney, told Rolling Stone in a statement that the rapper refused to respond to the new allegations.

“Mr. Combs cannot comment on settled litigation, will not comment on pending litigation, and cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable,” Davis said. “We are aware that the proper authorities are conducting a thorough investigation and therefore have confidence any important issues will be addressed in the proper forum, where the rules distinguish facts from fiction.”

Representatives for Combs did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

May 29, 2024: CNN reports that Combs’ case may be brought before a federal grand jury.
Adria English accuses Combs (center) of forcing her to have sex with guests at the rapper’s “white party” annual event, according to LA Times.

Johnny Nunez / WireImage

On July 3, The Los Angeles Times, Fox News, and TMZ reported that Adria English, a pornstar, accused Combs of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sex trafficking in a lawsuit filed in a district court in New York.

The LA Times reported English said she worked for Combs between 2004 and 2009 and accused him of forcing her to have sex with guests at his high-profile “white parties.”

The publication reported that English claimed Combs forced her to have sex with guests, including celebrity jeweler Jacob Arabo, while she worked for Combs at his high-profile parties in Miami and New York between 2004 and 2009.

English said Combs threatened to “blackball” her from the entertainment industry if she did not engage in sex work at the parties. English said she went back to California in 2009 to escape Combs.

A representative for Arabo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Jonathan Davis, Combs’ attorney, told Business Insider in a statement: “No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone.”

“We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court.”

August 26, 2024: Combs files to dismiss Jones’ lawsuit.
Sean Combs performing at Howard University’s Yardfest in October 2023.

Thaddaeus McAdams / WireImage

A day later, Jones spoke to Rolling Stone about working with Combs and why he decided to speak out.

Jones alleged that his first “uncomfortable” experience with Combs was “around Thanksgiving” when Combs asked him to do drugs. Jones didn’t specify whether this was 2022 Thanksgiving or 2023 Thanksgiving.

“He’s a monster. He’ll do whatever is necessary to get exactly what he wants. He doesn’t take no for an answer,” Jones said of Combs.

Jones said the lawsuit has affected his career and he has found it “very tough” to find work since speaking out.

“Here I am standing up for justice, for what I believe is right for my life, and I’m being punished for that,” Jones said. “I’ve had many nights and weeks and months of suicidal thoughts. It’s the music that has kept me living all my life.”

Jones also said he has received threats and is paranoid whenever he leaves his house. He said he hired security to protect him, but still had a “couple mental breakdowns” while performing a gig with T-Pain in June.

“My anxiety was out the roof,” Jones said of the incident. “I saw different guys backstage I didn’t know and got scared. I wondered where the security was. It made me very uncomfortable. It’s not a good feeling wondering if someone was there to attack me.”

Correction: May 24, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the date that Cassie Ventura spoke out. It was May 23, 2024, not May 23, 2023.