Sean 'Diddy' Combs sued by Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard for sexual abuse as federal investigation is ongoing

Taryn Ryder
Sean
Sean "Diddy" Combs has been sued by singer Dawn Richard as more disturbing sexual assault allegations emerge. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) (Frederick M. Brown via Getty Images)

Sean "Diddy" Combs has been sued for sexual abuse by former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard. It's at least the eighth person to sue the music mogul in the last 10 months.

In the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone, Richard accused Diddy of groping her, claimed to have seen him attack ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura on multiple occasions and alleged she was invited to depraved, drug-fueled sex parties.

Ventura sued Diddy in November 2023 for sex trafficking, rape and physical abuse. (It was quickly settled out of court.) Six women and one man have since filed lawsuits against the Bad Boy Records founder and made similar accusations. Diddy has denied all wrongdoing, but after a video leaked in May of him appearing to kick and drag Ventura across a Los Angeles hotel floor, he took "full responsibility" for the assault in an Instagram post and called his behavior "inexcusable."

Here's where things stand with Diddy.

The singer met Diddy on the 2005 reality show Making the Band, and later claimed that he repeatedly insulted many of the young women who auditioned, calling them "fat," "ugly," "bitches" and "hoes." Richard was chosen to be a member of the group Danity Kane on the MTV show, and she and Diddy continued their working relationship after the band broke up in 2009. Richard was part of the trio Diddy-Dirty Money with Kalenna Harper before the group disbanded in 2012.

Diddy began to "test" Richard early on by bringing her to his parties, according to the lawsuit. She alleged women — some of whom appeared to be underage — were passed out as men performed sexual acts on them. "This is a buffet, enjoy yourselves," Combs purportedly said to invited guests. "This is what we do, this is how we party."

Richard also supported Ventura's allegations about Diddy's violent behavior in the lawsuit.

On one occasion at his L.A. home, Richard claimed Diddy threw a scalding hot pan of eggs at his girlfriend before dragging her up the stairs. Ventura apparently didn't cook them the way he liked.

When Diddy approached Richard about what she saw, he allegedly brushed it off as a "lover's argument" and threatened her: "If you say anything, there will be consequences." Richard claimed she encouraged Ventura to leave the relationship, but said Diddy threatened that he makes "n*****s go missing" and "I end people."

In another instance, Richard claimed Diddy punched Cassie in the stomach at dinner in front of Usher, Ne-Yo and Jimmy Iovine, then-CEO of Interscope Records. Diddy supposedly warned Richard to "shut the f*** up" about it.

Richard accused Diddy of attempting to hit her before a bodyguard intervened, allegedly locking her in a freezing car for two hours as punishment and repeatedly threatening her. She's seeking an unspecified amount of restitution, plus compensatory and punitive damages.

A lawyer for Diddy did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment's request for comment.

On Sept. 9, a Michigan judge ordered Diddy to make 10 monthly $10 million installments to inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, who accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a 1997 party in Detroit. A default judgment was triggered as Combs did not appear in court. The producer will appeal the ruling.

"This man [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," attorney Marc Agnifilo told Reuters in a statement. "His résumé 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."

The "I'll Be Missing You" singer put his 10-bedroom, 17,000-square-foot mansion in Holmby Hills up for sale, six months after it was raided by Homeland Security.

A source told People the decision was made because the rapper spends more time in Miami "and always planned to sell the home in L.A. once his daughters grew up and moved out." The father of seven shares daughter, Chance, 18, with ex Sarah Chapman, and 17-year-old twins, D'Lila and Jessie, with the late model Kim Porter.

Rumors have swirled for months that Diddy's homes were raided because he's the target of a federal sex trafficking investigation, but so far, no charges have been filed. Ventura and Diddy's other accusers have reportedly cooperated with authorities.

The investigation is ongoing. TMZ reported on Aug. 31 that feds issued a new grand jury subpoena related to a hotel in Florida.

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