Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sued for Sexual Assault by Former Producer (original) (raw)

After a string of lawsuits from former associates and employees, Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing yet another legal battle as a former male employee has filed a fifth sexual assault suit against the mogul.

Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed the suit against Combs in the Southern District of New York on Monday, alleging that Combs made unwanted sexual advances and forced him to hire sex workers and engage in relations with them.

Jones is seeking $30 million in the case, which lists several other parties he claims did not “adequately monitor, warn or supervise” Combs’ actions. In his filing, Jones names Combs’ son Justin; his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge; former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam; and numerous record labels and Jane and John Does. He refers to all parties as a “RICO enterprise,” suggesting they collectively violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In the suit obtained by Variety, Jones, who produced six songs on the rapper’s Grammy-nominated “The Love Album: Off the Grid” that released in Sept. 2023, outlines an extensive list of accusations. He claims that Combs acquired, used and distributed ecstasy, cocaine and other illicit drugs; displayed illegal firearms; and laced alcoholic beverages provided to minors and sex workers at his various homes, among other allegations. The suit also redacts the names of a rapper and an R&B singer who “[consorted] with underage girls and sex workers.”

Jones claims that he lived with Combs from Sept. 2022 through Nov. 2023, and was repeatedly a victim of sexual harassment from Combs and “subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction.” In the suit, Jones says that he resided with Combs at several of his residences in New York, Los Angeles, Florida and a rented yacht in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

During his time with Combs, Jones says he recorded hours of audio and video footage of him and his staff “engaging in seriously illegal activity.” He states that he was subject to “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus,” and was forced to work in Combs’ bathroom as the mogul showered nude. He says he raised the issues with Khorram, to which she responded, “you know, Sean will be Sean” and that it was his way of “showing that he likes you.”

Among the claims in the suit, Jones states that he believes Combs drugged him on Feb. 2, 2023, and that he woke up naked in bed with Combs and two sex workers. He alleges that Diddy was grooming him for sex, and encouraged him to recruit prostitutes by asking him to wear a Bad Boy baseball cap at a Miami establishment to “signal to any sex worker he approached” that Combs was trying to solicit them.

Elsewhere, Jones says that Combs flaunted guns and spoke of getting away with shooting people, divulging that Combs said he was responsible for a shooting at a New York City nightclub in 1999 with rapper Shyne. Combs was acquitted of gun possession and bribery charges, while Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Jones also states that an altercation between Combs and his son Justin at a Los Angeles recording studio led to one man getting shot in the stomach. Combs allegedly told Jones to lie to the police and instead say that the man was hit in a drive-by shooting.

Jones names other celebrities in the suit, recalling that Combs forced him to watch a video of musician Stevie J engaging in sex with another man. Screenshots of the video are included in the suit. He further alleges that Combs introduced him to actor Cuba Gooding Jr. on his yacht, and that Gooding physically groped and fondled him. Jones also names City Girls’ Yung Miami, Combs’ on-and-off girlfriend, claiming Combs instructed Miami’s cousin to sexually assault him.

Combs’ lawyer, Shawn Holley, shared a statement with Variety refuting Jones’ claims. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 billion lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday,” she said. “His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines. We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”

Representatives and legal counsel for Jones and Gooding did not immediately respond to _Variety_‘s request for comment.

Combs has been a target of numerous sexual assault suits since his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed against him in November. A week later, two other lawsuits were filed against Combs alleging revenge porn and assault. And, in December, a woman filed a suit alleging Combs raped her in 2003. Combs made a public statement that month, writing on social media that “enough is enough” and that he did not do any of the “awful things being alleged.”