Entertainment
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs abuse allegations: A timeline of key events
Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been arrested in New York – after 10 months of facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging.
The 54-year-old rapper, formerly known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was detained by officers at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan on Monday, although it is unclear on what charges.
Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), said the arrest was “based on a sealed indictment” – a formal charging document that is not available to the public – and he is expecting to say more when the document is unsealed.
Combs, one of the most influential producers and executives in the history of hip-hop, has faced a wave of civil lawsuits since November last year accusing him of offences including sex trafficking and raping a 17-year-old girl.
Here we take a look at some of the key developments since the allegations against Combs first surfaced.
16 November 2023
The rapper’s ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, says in a lawsuit that she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs, and viciously beaten by Combs on many occasions over the course of 10 years.
Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs’ label in 2005 and the two were on-and-off romantic partners for more than a decade, starting in 2007.
She filed her case under the state of New York’s Adult Survivors Act.
The act gave victims of sexual violence a one-year window from November 2022 to November 2023 to file civil claims regardless of the statute of limitations – a time window in which a person has to bring a legal claim following an alleged incident.
Combs, through his lawyer, “vehemently denies” all the accusations in the lawsuit.
Sean Combs and Cassie in 2017. Pic: PA
17 November 2023
Combs settles the lawsuit with Cassie the day after it is filed, with the terms of the agreement kept confidential.
“We have decided to resolve this matter amicably,” Combs says in a statement.
23 November 2023
Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act.
The lawsuits, filed by Joi Dickerson and another woman who is not named, allege acts of sexual assault, beatings, and forced drugging in the early 1990s by Combs – then a talent director and rising figure in the New York hip-hop scene.
The rapper’s lawyers call the allegations false.
6 December 2023
A woman alleges in another lawsuit that Combs and two other men raped her in 2003 when she was 17.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan says she was living in a Detroit suburb and was flown to a New York studio, where she was given drugs and alcohol that made her incapable of consenting to sex, and the men took turns raping her.
The same day, Combs posts a statement on Instagram broadly denying all the allegations in the mounting series of lawsuits.
“I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” the post says. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs performs during the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2023. Pic: AP
26 February 2024
Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, claims in a lawsuit that Combs pressured him to procure and engage in sexual acts with sex workers between September 2022 and November 2023.
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He also claims he is a victim of unsolicited groping and sexual touching by Combs, and that he witnessed the music mogul giving out drinks laced with drugs to people at parties.
A lawyer for Combs calls the allegations in Jones’ lawsuit “pure fiction”.
25 March 2024
Two properties owned by Combs are searched by federal agents in what officials tell the Associated Press (AP) is part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.
Officials do not say whether the raids, at Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles, are prompted by the civil lawsuits, but the music mogul’s attorneys say they believe they are.
The next day, Combs’ lawyer calls the raids “a gross use of military-level force” and says his client is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.
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From March 2024: Diddy’s homes raided
23 May 2024
April Lampros, now 51, accuses Combs of sexually assaulting her more than 20 years ago when she was a fashion student in New York City, Sky News US partner network NBC News reports at the time.
She claims the musician sexually assaulted her on four occasions between 1995 and the early 2000s, including once when she was forced to take ecstasy and have sex with Combs’ former girlfriend Kim Porter.
Combs denies the allegations and also files a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
4 April 2024
A lawsuit alleges that Combs’ son Christian “King” Combs sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.
Combs is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, which claims he created the circumstances that led to the assault and paid to cover it up afterwards.
An attorney for the two men calls the allegations “outrageous”.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his son Christian ‘King’ Combs. Pic: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
26 April 2024
Combs and his legal team file a motion to dismiss several elements of Dickerson’s November 2023 lawsuit on the grounds they were not illegal in 1991 when the alleged incidents occurred.
While the legal objections are procedural, the filing also slams the “numerous false, offensive, and salacious accusations” in the lawsuit.
10 May 2024
Combs asks a federal judge to dismiss the 6 December 2023 lawsuit alleging he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl from Michigan in a New York recording studio.
Again, the objections are procedural – alleging the lawsuit was filed too late under the law – but the court document calls the claims “false and hideous”.
A still from a video that showed a man appearing to be Combs attacking Cassie. Pic: CNN via AP
17 May 2024
CNN publishes video showing Combs attacking Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016.
The video closely mirrors an assault described in her lawsuit, which claimed Combs had already punched her that night, and she was trying to leave the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles when he woke and came after her.
Combs’ representatives give no immediate comment.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office says it cannot prosecute Combs for the attack shown in the video due to the statute of limitation, noting that no case had been presented to prosecutors.
19 May 2024
Combs posts a video on Instagram and Facebook apologising for the assault on Cassie.
He describes it as “inexcusable” and says he is “disgusted”.
“I was f***** up – I mean I hit rock bottom – but l make no excuses. My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he says.
A still from a video that showed a man appearing to be Combs attacking Cassie. Pic: CNN via AP
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26 August 2024
As part of a multi-faceted pushback against the lawsuits filed against him, Combs asks a federal judge to throw out
the February 2024 lawsuit from music producer Jones.
Combs’ lawyers say the suit is overrun with “tall tales,” “lurid theatrics,” “legally meaningless allegations” and “blatant falsehoods” with the only intent to “generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement”.
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‘Diddy’ apologises after assault video
11 September 2024
Combs is sued by singer Dawn Richard in a case describing years of psychological and physical abuse, including groping, that she says she suffered as he helped launch her career.
Combs’ representatives accuse Richard of making “an attempt to rewrite history” by manufacturing “a series of false claims, all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day – conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour”.
16 September 2024
Combs is arrested in New York after a grand jury indictment.
No details on the charges are made public, but federal officials say they will ask a judge to unseal the indictment the next day.
Combs’ attorney calls it an unjust prosecution of an “imperfect person” who is “not a criminal”.