US
P Diddy: Sean Combs accused of drugging and sexually assaulting 10-year-old boy in new lawsuit
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a new lawsuit.
The rapper, 54, allegedly assaulted the boy in a New York City hotel room in 2005.
A second new lawsuit accuses the jailed hip-hop mogul of assaulting a 17-year-old would-be contestant on the reality television series Making the Band in 2008.
They are the latest in a wave of lawsuits in which accusers allege they were sexually assaulted by Combs at parties and meetings over the last two decades.
Combs’ lawyers denied the two new claims and accused the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Anthony Buzbee, of seeking publicity. Mr Buzbee says he is representing more than 150 of the rapper’s alleged victims, and has filed at least 17 lawsuits.
“Mr Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process,” an emailed statement said. “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”
Combs is currently in a New York City jail after pleading not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges contained in an indictment unsealed after his arrest on 16 September.
He is accused of coercing and abusing women, as well as silencing victims through blackmail and violence.
The 10-year-old boy, who was not identified in the lawsuit, was an aspiring actor and rapper who had travelled with his parents from California for meetings with music industry executives.
He was given a drug-laced soft drink by an associate of Combs during what was supposed to be an audition.
Read more: What is Sean Combs charged with and when is his trial?
Combs pushed him down, and forced him to perform oral sex before he lost consciousness, the lawsuit says.
The rapper threatened to badly hurt the child’s parents if he told anyone what happened, the suit said.
The 17-year-old unidentified male said Combs forced him to perform oral sex with the music mogul and a bodyguard during a three-day audition for the Making the Band television show, which Combs produced.
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What is P Diddy accused of?
Combs framed the latter as a “test” of how much the teenager wanted to succeed in the music industry.
When he expressed concerns, the 17-year-old was eliminated from the competition and unable to return to the music industry for seven years, according to the filing.
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Both lawsuits were brought under New York City’s Victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act, which allows survivors to bring lawsuits even if the statute of limitations has passed.
Combs’ criminal trial is scheduled for 5 May, 2025.