Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs hit with fresh lawsuit alleging sexual assault, sex trafficking
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal woes are far from over.
The embattled rap mogul and alcohol entrepreneur faces fresh accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint marks the ninth sexual assault lawsuit filed against the rapper since last November, when his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit in which she described being abused by Combs.
Adria English, an adult-film actor who says she worked for Combs from 2004 to 2009, accuses the rapper of conducting and participating in a RICO enterprise, sexual assault, sexual harassment and sex trafficking, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times. The 114-page complaint raises more than 30 allegations against Combs, several of his business ventures, celebrity jeweler Jacob “Jacob the Jeweler” Arabo, a woman who allegedly facilitated the rapper’s sex trafficking and two media companies, in addition to unnamed individuals.
“No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone,” Jonathan Davis, an attorney for Combs, told The Times in a statement. “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.”
Hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur Diddy has been accused of physical and sexual violence dating back to 1990. Here’s a timeline of the allegations.
In the lawsuit, English details her account of working at Combs’ various high-profile “white parties” at his residences in New York and Florida, where she alleges she was “demanded” to engage in sexual intercourse with guests, including Arabo. English accuses Combs of forcing her to have sexual intercourse with Arabo in 2007, noting in the lawsuit that refusing the hip-hop star’s “demands was not an option.”
A representative for Arabo did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
English accuses Combs of threatening to “blackball [her] from the entertainment industry” and her then-boyfriend from the modeling industry if she did not engage in sex work at the parties. In 2009, English left New York and returned to California, where she currently resides. The lawsuit says that was English’s “only way to escape” Combs.
Surveillance video of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs confirms singer Cassie’s allegations that he brutally assaulted her as she tried to leave a hotel in Los Angeles.
English filed her complaint months after U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents conducted searches of Combs’ Holmby Hills and Miami mansions in March as part of a federal inquiry into sex trafficking allegations involving Combs. It’s unclear whether English’s allegations are related to that inquiry. TMZ reported Wednesday that Combs is seeking to sell that Holmby Hills mansion for $70 million.
In addition to Combs and the companies and individuals who allegedly participated and facilitated his white parties, English is suing music magazine Vibe and its owner, Penske Media Corp. She alleges the media companies provided Combs the resources to throw his parties, inflicted emotional distress connected to the alleged sex trafficking and publicized her likeness in a November 2006 magazine issue about the parties.
English is asking for damages including Vibe and PMC‘s profits from the November 2006 magazine, legal fees, losses and “further legal and equitable relief as deemed proper.” She wants a trial by jury.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
