What Are The Lawsuits & Allegations Diddy Is Facing?

Content warning: This article contains explicit descriptions of sexual assault and rape.

For the better part of three weeks, troubling allegations have swirled around Diddy. Earlier today, December 6, Page Six reported that Diddy is named in a new lawsuit alleging he gang-raped and sex-trafficked a then-17-year-old girl.

Diddy responded with a statement provided to Page Six, reading, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

Below is what you need to know about the allegations and lawsuits aimed at Diddy.

Cassie Files A Lengthy Lawsuit

November 16: The New York Times (among other reputed outlets) reported that Cassie Ventura had filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Federal District Court.

The suit is extremely nuanced and graphically detailed, but the varied allegations said to have happened between 2005 (when Cassie was 19 and signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy label) and 2018, span, per The New York Times, “a pattern of control and abuse that included plying her with drugs, beating her, and forcing her to have sex with a succession of male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters.” There was also one rape allegation from 2018, before their romantic relationship ended.

In the aftermath, several people have publicly corroborated aspects of Cassie’s allegations, including an open letter written by singer-songwriter Tiffany Red for Rolling Stone, or offered their support, like former Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day.

Diddy Settles With Cassie

November 17: Despite vehemently denying all the allegations in Cassie’s lawsuit, Diddy reached a settlement with her the day after its filing. The terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed, but Cassie and Diddy each released statements sharing that they “decided to resolve this matter amicably.”

On November 18, Benjamin Brafman, Diddy’s attorney, released a statement to clarify, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that the settlement was in “no way an admission of wrongdoing,” and “Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”

Two More Women Allege Sexual Assault And Rape

November 23: On Thanksgiving, New York’s Adult Survivors Act expired. The act, as explained by Billboard, “created a one-year window for alleged survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would typically be barred under the statute of limitations.” Two more women filed lawsuits against Diddy before its expiration, and Diddy denied them via a statement from an unnamed spokesperson calling them “fabricated claims […] filed at the last minute. This is nothing but a money grab.”

The Hollywood Reporter reported another lawsuit filed against Diddy for allegedly “drugging sexually assaulting [Joi Dickerson-Neal] when she was a college student at Syracuse University in 1991.”

Later that day, as first reported by Rolling Stone, a woman identified publicly as Jane Doe “alleges [Diddy] and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping” her and her friend in 1990 or 1991. The lawsuit alleges violence as well.

Diddy Steps Down From Revolt

November 28: Revolt announced that Diddy, who co-founded the media company, had “stepped down from his position as Chairman of Revolt.”

50 Cent Chimes In

December 1: Page Six reported that 50 Cent, noted Diddy disliker, is “in early development on a TV doc about rival Diddy and allegations of abuse by his longtime partner Cassie and others.” It would be done by his G-Unit Films and Television.

50 Cent acknowledged the report on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing, “RAPPER [eyeballs emoji] I thought Diddy was a Billionaire music mogul, If he’s smart he will file bankruptcy now. Anyone with real money knows why I’m saying this. Im the best producer for the job guys. here come the receipts.”

Diddy’s Former Employees Speak Out

December 5: On Tuesday, Rolling Stone‘s Andre Gee wrote a piece examining the men who have publicly corroborated Cassie’s lawsuit or made new troubling allegations of drugging or violence from their time either being around or working for Diddy. They include Bad Boy rapper Mark Curry and former bodyguards Gene Deal and Roger Bonds.

Yet Another Rape Allegation and Diddy Denial

December 6: And we’re back to where we started. Earlier today, publications such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone reported the latest lawsuit filed against Diddy. This one was filed in Manhattan’s Federal District Court by an unnamed woman, alleging thatDiddy “and two other men gang-raped her in a New York recording studio 20 years ago, when she was 17 years old.”

The New York Times summarized the suit’s allegations:

“The woman says in the complaint that she met two associates of Mr. Combs at a lounge in the Detroit area, and they took her on a private plane to New York. There, the suit says, the three men gave the woman copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, and took turns raping her in the studio’s bathroom as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

“When they were done, the suit says, the woman fell into a fetal position in a bathroom, lying on the floor in pain, and she was soon driven to an airport and put on a plane back to Michigan.”

Diddy’s first direct public statement immediately followed, as written above.