Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allegations are ‘tip of the iceberg’, says lawyer for alleged victim Dawn Richard

Published

8 months ago

December 17, 2024

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A lawyer representing an alleged victim of Sean “Diddy” Combs has told Sky News she believes the criminal case against him is “just the tip of the iceberg” and there are “hundreds” more who may be “too afraid to come forward”.

Lisa Bloom is representing singer Dawn Richard, a former member of two groups formed by the rapper, who has filed a civil lawsuit against him.

Richard is one of dozens of people suing Combs following his arrest in September. The 55-year-old is currently in jail in New York awaiting trial over criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which he has strenuously denied.

Warning – this story includes details some may find upsetting

“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg, what we’re seeing right now,” said Bloom. “I think we’re going to see a lot more accusers come forward.”

The lawyer said she had “no doubt there are hundreds more people” who have allegations of “sexual assault, physical violence, threats, sex trafficking” against Combs, as well as “people associated with him”.

However, she says many alleged victims may feel scared or unable to speak out, or “think they have no rights” after signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

The criminal case against Combs claims that, with the help of some employees, he coerced and abused individuals for years, and used blackmail and violence to silence alleged victims.

On top of the criminal charges, the hip-hop mogul also faces a mounting number of civil suits, with more than 20 filed so far.

‘She alleges she was groped and grabbed’

Richard appeared on the TV show Making The Band, for which Combs was an executive producer, in the early 2000s.

She was a member of Danity Kane, a girl group formed on the show who signed to his label, and later performed alongside the rapper in the trio, Diddy – Dirty Money.

She accuses him of subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions, and threatening her life.

“She alleges that during the show, she and the others were subjected to horrendous conditions,” Bloom said. “They weren’t allowed to eat, they weren’t allowed to sleep, they were locked in places and not allowed to leave.

“They were subjected to all kinds of gender comments… calling them names, insulting them.

“She alleges that she was groped and grabbed by Sean Combs, that she witnessed him physically assaulting other women, that he restrained her, locked her into cars and other places, falsely imprisoned her, and it was just a really terrifying experience for her.”

When Richard tried to speak out on behalf of other women Combs was allegedly abusing in her presence, she was threatened and felt “very fearful”, Bloom said.

Combs’s lawyers say Richard’s allegations are “an attempt to rewrite history”. They say they are false claims manufactured by a singer who has an album out and who’s “trying to get a pay day”.

They also say that if she had such “a negative experience” working with the rapper and producer while in Danity Kane, she would not have returned to work with him a second time in Diddy – Dirty Money.

‘People turned a blind eye’

Richard has spoken with the officers from the US Department of Justice, Bloom said. She believes there will be “more criminal charges to come” against Combs, as well as more civil lawsuits.

“She’s sat and answered questions,” Bloom said. “I assume other people probably have as well. So [criminal charges] could very well be forthcoming… I think there will be more civil suits as well.

“Sean Combs is the top of the pyramid, he was the one orchestrating everything, but those who helped him also need to be brought to justice.

“We want to hold accountable anybody who’s complicit, because to victimise people on this scale where we’re probably talking about hundreds of people, you can’t do that alone, you have to have helpers… people who actually saw incidents of abuse turned a blind eye to it and continued funding these events where things happened. They should be held accountable, and we intend to do that in our case.”

Bloom said she also expects other famous names to be brought up.

“People used to brag about going to Diddy parties, a lot of people were there, maybe some of them didn’t know what was happening but surely many of them did,” she said. “Being a celebrity does not mean that you’re above the law, as I think some of them think.”

For now, the civil cases against Combs are running concurrently to the criminal case against him.

The rapper has not asked for a stay, “which would essentially freeze” the civil cases, Bloom said, so she is “aggressively moving ahead” with Richard’s claim.

From behind bars the rapper, through his lawyers, has said he is “confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court”.

“I look forward to taking Sean Combs’s deposition in prison,” Bloom said. “For one thing, he can’t say he’s unavailable and out of town.”

US

Ukrainians are appalled at Trump’s naive and cack-handed diplomacy

Published

16 hours ago

August 15, 2025

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Ukrainians are appalled at Trump's naive and cack-handed diplomacy

For Ukrainians, the spectacle of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Alaska will be repugnant.

The man behind an unprovoked invasion of their country is being honoured with a return to the world stage by the leader of a country that was meant to be their ally.

And they feel let down.

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President Trump had threatened severe sanctions on Russia within 50 days if Russia didn’t agree to a deal. He had seemed close to imposing them before letting Putin wriggle off the hook yet again.

But they are not surprised. At every stage, Trump has either sided with Russia or at least given them the benefit of the doubt.

It is clear that Putin has some kind of hold over this American president, in their minds and many others.

Ukraine wants three things out of these talks. A ceasefire, security guarantees and reparations. It is not clear at this stage that they will get any of them.

Ukrainians and their European allies are appalled at the naive and cack-handed diplomacy that has preceded this meeting.

Vladimir Putin is sending a team of foreign affairs heavyweights, adept at getting the better of opponents in negotiations.

There are, the Financial Times reported this week, no Russia specialists left at the Trump White House.

Instead, Trump is relying on Steve Witkoff, a real estate lawyer and foreign policy novice, who has demonstrated a haphazard mastery of his brief and breathtaking credulity with the Russians.

Former British spy chief Sir Alex Younger described him today as totally out of his depth. Trump, he says, is being played like a fiddle by Putin.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the conflict at the heart of the Trump administration’s handling of it. Witkoff and the president see it in terms of real estate. But it has never been about territory.

Vladimir Putin has made it abundantly clear that Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign democratic entity cannot be tolerated. He has made no pretence that his views on that have changed.

Ukrainians know that and fear any deal cooked up in Alaska will be used by Putin on the path towards that ultimate goal

US

Melania Trump threatens to sue Hunter Biden for $1bn over Epstein comments

Published

1 day ago

August 14, 2025

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Melania Trump threatens to sue Hunter Biden for bn over Epstein comments

Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden for more than $1bn (£736.5m) in damages if he does not retract comments linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Biden, who is the son of former US president Joe Biden, alleged in an interview this month that sex trafficker Epstein introduced the first lady to President Donald Trump.

“Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” he claimed.

Ms Trump’s lawyer labelled the comments false, defamatory and “extremely salacious” in a letter to Mr Biden.

Her lawyer wrote that the first lady suffered “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” as the claims were widely discussed on social media and reported by media around the world.

The president and first lady previously said they were introduced by modelling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.

Mr Biden attributed the claim that Epstein introduced the couple to author Michael Wolff, who was accused by Mr Trump of making up stories to sell books in June and was dubbed a “third-rate reporter” by the president.

The former president’s son doubled down on his remarks in a follow-up interview with the same YouTube outlet, Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, entitled “Hunter Biden Apology”.

Asked if he would apologise to the first lady, Mr Biden responded: “F*** that – that’s not going to happen.”

He added: “I don’t think these threats of lawsuits add up to anything other than designed distraction.”

Ms Trump’s threat to sue Mr Biden echoes a strategy employed by her husband, who has aggressively used legal action to go after critics.

Public figures like the Trumps must meet a high bar to succeed in a defamation suit like the one that could be brought by the first lady if she follows through with her threat.

In his initial interview, Mr Biden also hit out at “elites” and others in the Democratic Party, who he claims undermined his father before he dropped out of last year’s race for president.

The letter threatening legal action against Mr Biden is dated 6 August and was first reported by Fox News Digital.

It was addressed to Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Mr Biden in his criminal cases. Mr Lowell has not yet commented on the letter.

This comes as pressure on the White House to release the Epstein files has been mounting for weeks, after he made a complete U-turn on his administration’s promise to release more information publicly.

The US Justice Department, which confirmed in July that it would not be releasing the files, said a review of the Epstein case had found “no incriminating ‘client list'” and “no credible evidence” the jailed financier – who killed himself in prison in 2019 – had blackmailed famous men.

US

Trump’s pride vs Putin’s legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

Published

1 day ago

August 14, 2025

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Trump's pride vs Putin's legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet for the first time in six years on Friday, with a possible deal to end the Ukraine war on the agenda.

Mr Trump has threatened “very severe consequences” if his Russian counterpart doesn’t agree to a ceasefire at the summit, being hosted at a remote US army base in snowy Anchorage, Alaska.

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But there are fears they will discuss a deal robbing Ukraine of the land currently occupied by Russia – something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won’t accept.

Here’s what three of our correspondents think ahead of the much-anticipated face-to-face.

Putin’s legacy is at stake – he’ll want territory and more
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent, in Alaska

Putin doesn’t just want victory. He needs it.

Three and a half years after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, this war has to end in a visible win for the Russian president. It can’t have been for nothing. His legacy is at stake.

So the only deal I think he’ll be willing to accept at Friday’s summit is one that secures Moscow’s goals.

These include territory (full control of the four Ukrainian regions which Russia has already claimed), permanent neutrality for Kyiv and limits on its armed forces.

I expect he’ll be trying to convince Trump that such a deal is the quickest path to peace. The only alternative, in Russia’s eyes, is an outright triumph on the battlefield.

I think Putin‘s hope is that the American president agrees with this view and then gives Ukraine a choice: accept our terms or go it alone without US support.

A deal like that might not be possible this week, but it may be in the future if Putin can give Trump something in return.

That’s why there’s been lots of talk from Moscow this week about all the lucrative business deals that can come from better US-Russia relations.

The Kremlin will want to use this opportunity to remind the White House of what else it can offer, apart from an end to the fighting.

Ukraine would rather this summit not be happening
By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor, in Ukraine

Ukraine would far rather this meeting wasn’t happening.

Trump seemed to have lost patience with Putin and was about to hit Russia with more severe sanctions until he was distracted by the Russian leader’s suggestion that they meet.

Ukrainians say the Alaska summit rewards Putin by putting him back on the world stage.

But the meeting is happening, and they have to be realistic.

Most of all, they want a ceasefire before any negotiations can happen. Then they want the promise of security guarantees.

That is because they know that Putin may well come back for more even if peace does break out. They need to be able to defend themselves should that happen.

And they want the promise of reparations to rebuild their country, devastated by Putin’s wanton, unprovoked act of aggression.

There are billions of Russian roubles and assets frozen across the West. They want them released and sent their way.

What they fear is Trump being hoodwinked by Putin with the lure of profit from US-Russian relations being restored, regardless of Ukraine’s fate.

That would allow Russia to regain its strength, rearm and prepare for another round of fighting in a few years’ time.

Trump and his golf buddy-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff appear to believe Putin might be satisfied with keeping some of the land he has taken by force.

Putin says he wants much more than that. He wants Ukraine to cease to exist as a country separate from Russia.

Any agreement short of that is only likely to be temporary.

Trump’s pride on the line – he has a reputation to restore
By Martha Kelner, US correspondent, in Alaska

As with anything Donald Trump does, he already has a picture in his mind.

The image of Trump shaking hands with the ultimate strongman leader, Vladimir Putin, on US soil calls to his vanity and love of an attention-grabbing moment.

There is also pride at stake.

Trump campaigned saying he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office, so there is an element of him wanting to follow through on that promise to voters, even though it’s taken him 200-plus days in office and all he’s got so far is this meeting, without apparently any concessions on Putin’s end.

In Trump’s mind – and in the minds of many of his supporters – he is the master negotiator, the chief dealmaker, and he wants to bolster that reputation.

He is keen to further the notion that he negotiates in a different, more straightforward way than his predecessors and that it is paying dividends.