P Diddy faces sexual misconduct claims from 120 new accusers, lawyer says
Rapper and music mogul Sean Combs is facing allegations of sexual misconduct from 120 new accusers – including one who claims he was abused aged nine.
Tony Buzbee, a lawyer from Houston representing the claimants, said he expected lawsuits to be filed within the next month.
He said there were 60 male and 60 female accusers, and that 25 of them were children at the time of the alleged offences.
The allegations against Combs cover a period from 1991 to this year.
“This type of sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation should never happen in the United States or anywhere else,” Mr Buzbee said at a news conference.
“This should have never been allowed to go on for so long. This conduct has created a mass of individuals who are injured, scared and scarred.”
Most of the lawsuits are expected to be filed in New York and Los Angeles, Mr Buzbee said. Further to the 120 accusers, other cases are still being reviewed, he added.
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Combs – also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In response to the latest claims, his lawyer said he “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus”.
“That said, Mr Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” Erica Wolff added in a statement.
“He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court if and when claims are filed and served, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”
The majority of the individuals represented by Mr Buzbee’s firm are from California, New York, Georgia and Florida, with accusers from more than 25 states in total.
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Combs faces multiple other lawsuits filed in the last year, and the latest claims also follow a video that emerged in May showing him attacking his ex-girlfriend, Cassie.
He apologised at the time for what he called his “inexcusable” behaviour in the video, saying he was “disgusted” by what he did.
Combs has been imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, since he pleaded not guilty on 17 September to charges that he used his “power and prestige” to induce women into drugged-up sexual performances with male sex workers. These were allegedly dubbed “Freak Offs”.
He has also pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking and vowed to fight to clear his name.
Combs’s lawyers offered a $50m (£37.8m) bail package in exchange for him to be placed under house arrest at his Florida mansion with GPS monitoring and strict limits on visitors. So far though, his legal team’s applications for bail have been denied.
Combs, who has won three Grammys, founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 and is one of the best-known music executives and performers in hip-hop.
Irish-language rap group Kneecap have announced a surprise London show, hours after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O Hannaidh, was charged with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, at a concert in London last November, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Just hours later, Kneecap announced on their Instagram account that “we’re back”, adding that they would perform at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, London, on Thursday night.
The post also included a quote by former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon, who told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the rap trio “maybe (…) need a bloody good kneecapping” after footage of the band allegedly calling for the deaths of MPs emerged.
Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs last month, but said footage of the incident at their concert had been “exploited and weaponised”, adding that they “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah.
The rappers had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged and politicians pushed for Kneecap to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calling for Kneecap to be banned.
The group from Belfast in Northern Ireland is still set to headline Wide Awake Festival in south London on Friday.
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In response to O’Hanna being charged, Kneecap said that they “deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves” and branded it “political policing” in a bid to “silence voices of compassion”.
The charge came after counter-terror police assessed a video said to be from a Kneecap concert.
In the footage, O’Hanna is allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, on 21 November last year.
Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware of a video circulating online on 22 April and an investigation led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorising the charge, the force said.
O’Hanna – who performs under the stage name Mo Chara – is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.
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