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Sean Combs was sued Monday by a music producer who accused the hip-hop mogul of engaging in unwanted sexual contact and forcing him to hire prostitutes and engage in sexual acts with them.
The latest misconduct allegation against Combs was filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan by Rodney Jones Jr., also known as Lil Rod. In 2022 and 2023, Jones says in his lawsuit, he worked on what became “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” the final album by Combs, the hip-hop and R&B impresario known as Puff. . Dad and P. Diddy. Jones says he worked as a producer on nine of the album’s tracks and lived with Combs for months.
While working on “The Love Album,” Mr. Jones says in his complaint that Mr. Combs grabbed his genitals without consent and also tried to “groom” Mr. Jones to have sex with another man, telling him which was “normal practice in the music industry.”
In a statement, Shawn Holley, attorney for Mr. Combs, said: “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who brazenly filed a $30 million lawsuit seeking an undeserved payday. His reckless mention of events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to grab headlines. “We have overwhelming and indisputable evidence that his claims are complete lies.”
When the lawsuit was filed, the court system originally said Mr. Jones’ claim was $30 billion. His attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, said this was a mistake and would be corrected to reflect a $30 million lawsuit. Ms. Holley’s statement originally reflected a response of $30 billion.
According to Jones’ complaint, at a July 2023 listening party at Combs’ California home, he was forced to drink tequila shots laced with drugs, although legal documents do not specify who offered him the shots or how it was done. forced. In the lawsuit, Mr. Jones says that after drinking the drink, he passed out and woke up “at 4 a.m. the next morning naked with a sex worker sleeping next to him.”
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Combs also forced Mr. Jones to “hire sex workers and perform sexual acts for Mr. Combs’ pleasure.” To induce him, Jones says, Combs offered him money and also threatened him with violence.
The 73-page lawsuit is filled with graphic details and photographs, and in addition to Mr. Combs, it names as defendants Universal Music Group, the giant music company that Mr. Combs associate with before releasing “The Love Album”, as well as some of its main executives. The lawsuit said Combs maintained control over Jones by promising him praise and access to high-level record executives.
A representative for Universal Music had no immediate comment.
In his lawsuit, Jones says he was not paid properly for his work as a producer on “The Love Album,” and earlier this month he began a crowdfunding campaign online with a statement saying, “Help me sue Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.” (As of Monday, he had raised less than $1,500 of a set goal of $50,000.)
Jones’ lawsuit is the latest in a series of explosive allegations against Combs, one of the leading figures who transformed hip-hop into a major global pop movement in the 1990s, working with stars including Mary J. Blige and the Extraordinary big
In November, Casandra Ventura, who was Combs’ longtime girlfriend and signed to his Bad Boy label under the name Cassie, accused him of rape and years of physical and sexual abuse in a detailed lawsuit that made headlines around the country. world. That lawsuit was settled in just one day, with both sides saying it had been resolved “amicably” and a lawyer for Mr. Combs saying he denied the allegations.
Three other cases followed in quick succession, each alleging sexual assault. Mr Combs has denied this, saying: “Disgusting allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the horrible things that are alleged. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Combs’ attorneys have been fighting the remaining lawsuits in court, arguing in a filing last week that a claim by a woman who says Combs gang-raped her in 2003, when she was 17, is too old to be brought. . court despite the plaintiff’s argument that it was revived by an amendment to a New York City law that established a window for filing overdue claims. Lawyers said the claim “irreparably damaged” Mr. Combs’ reputation based on “sincere and uncorroborated allegations.”