Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is being sued by a woman who says he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991.
In a lawsuit seen by the BBC, the plaintiff says the assault took place during a date with the rapper. Mr Combs recently settled a sexual assault suit brought by R&B singer and former partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
A representative for the rapper called the latest allegations “made up and not credible”.
“This is purely a money grab and nothing more,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC on Thursday. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Joi Dickerson-Neal, says that she knew Mr Combs – who also goes by the stage name Puff Daddy and P Diddy – through acquaintances. She had also appeared in one of his music videos.
According to the complaint, on 3 January 1991, she “reluctantly” agreed to meet Mr Combs at a Harlem restaurant where she worked, and he “pushed [her] to keep him company as he attended to a few things in the city”.
She says that during that time she was drugged by the rapper “resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk”. He later drove her to the place he was staying, where he sexually assaulted her, according to the lawsuit.
She says she later learned he secretly filmed the encounter and showed it to a number of other people. The lawsuit describes how after the alleged assault her life went into a “tailspin” – she struggled with her mental health and soon dropped out of college.
The legal action came hours before the New York Adult Survivors Act – which allows alleged victims of sex crimes to sue after the statute of limitations has lapsed – ends on 24 November.
“Our client has not been able to escape the continuing impact of the harm Combs caused her many years ago,” said Jonathan Goldhirsch, one of the plaintiff's lawyers, in a statement.
“Through the Adult Survivors Act, she can avail herself to the courts to finally seek justice.” A representative for Mr Combs said: “This last-minute lawsuit is an example of how a well-intentioned law can be turned on its head. Ms Dickerson's 32-year-old story is made up and not credible.”
This is the second sexual assault lawsuit brought against Mr Combs this month. Ms Ventura accused the music mogul of rape and sex trafficking in a federal lawsuit filed last week. She alleged that the rap producer raped and beat her over 10 years starting when she was 19 and he was 37.
The two reached a settlement a day after the suit was filed. Mr Combs had denied Ms Ventura's claims and his lawyer said the decision to settle was not an admission of wrongdoing.
— CutC by bbc.com
