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After a series of lawsuits from former partners and employees, Sean “Diddy” Combs faces another legal battle as a former employee filed a fifth sexual assault lawsuit against the mogul.
Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed the lawsuit against Combs in the Southern District of New York on Monday, alleging that Combs made unwanted sexual advances and forced him to hire sex workers and enter into relationships with them.
Jones is seeking $30 million in the case, which lists several other parties he claims failed to “adequately monitor, warn or supervise” Combs’ actions. In his introduction, Jones names Combs’ son, Justin; his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram; Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group; former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam; and numerous record labels and Jane and John Does. He refers to all parties as a “RICO enterprise,” suggesting they collectively violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
In the lawsuit obtained by VarietyJones, who produced six songs on the Grammy-nominated rapper’s “The Love Album: Off the Grid” which was released in September 2023, outlines a laundry list of allegations. He claims Combs acquired, used and distributed ecstasy, cocaine and other illicit drugs; he displayed illegal firearms; and mixed alcoholic beverages provided to minors and sex workers in their various homes, among other accusations. The lawsuit also conceals the names of a rapper and an R&B singer who “(associated) with underage girls and sex workers.”
Jones claims that he lived with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, and that he was repeatedly the victim of sexual harassment by Combs and “subject to unwanted advances by Diddy associates under his direction.” In the lawsuit, Jones says he resided with Combs at several of his residences in New York, Los Angeles, Florida and on a chartered yacht in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
During his time with Combs, Jones says he recorded hours of audio and video footage of him and his staff “engaging in seriously illegal activities.” He claims he was subjected to “constant, unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of the anus,” and that he was forced to work in Combs’ bathroom while the mogul showered naked. He says that he raised the issues with Khorram, to which she responded, “you know, Sean will be Sean” and that it was his way of “showing that he likes you.”
Among the lawsuit’s claims, Jones says he believes Combs drugged him on Feb. 2, 2023, and that he woke up naked in bed with Combs and two sex workers. He alleges that Diddy was grooming him for sex and encouraged him to recruit prostitutes by asking him to wear a Bad Boy baseball cap at a Miami establishment to “signal to any sex worker he approached” that Combs was trying to solicit them. .
Elsewhere, Jones says Combs flaunted guns and talked about getting away with shooting people, disclosing that Combs said he was responsible for a shooting at a New York City nightclub in 1999 with rapper Shyne . Combs was acquitted of weapons possession and bribery, while Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Jones also claims that an altercation between Combs and his son Justin at a Los Angeles recording studio led to one man being shot in the stomach. Combs allegedly told Jones to lie to police and instead say the man was wounded in a drive-by shooting.
Jones names other celebrities in the lawsuit and recalls that Combs forced him to watch a video of musician Stevie J having sex with another man. Screenshots of the video are included in the lawsuit. He further alleges that Combs introduced him to actor Cuba Gooding Jr. on his yacht, and that Gooding physically groped and fondled him. Jones also names City Girls’ Yung Miami, Combs’ on-again, off-again girlfriend, alleging that Combs ordered Miami’s cousin to sexually assault him.
Combs’ attorney, Shawn Holley, shared a statement with Variety refuting Jones’ claims. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who brazenly filed a $30 billion lawsuit seeking an undeserved payday,” he said. “Your reckless mention by him 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. Our attempts to share this evidence with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. “We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those making them.”
Representatives and legal counsel for Jones and Gooding did not immediately respond to VarietyRequest for comments.
Combs has been the target of numerous sexual assault lawsuits since his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a lawsuit against him in November. A week later, two more lawsuits were filed against Combs alleging assault and revenge porn. And, in December, a woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Combs raped her in 2003. Combs made a public statement that month, writing on social media that “enough is enough” and that he did not do any of the “horrible things that are alleged.” ”. “