Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Legal Troubles, Explained: From ‘Freak-Offs’ to Sex Trafficking Charges to Million Dollar Lawsuits
Sean Combs, long known by rap aliases as Diddy and Puffy, is facing an avalanche of lawsuits and legal trouble. The list of lawsuits against Combs has only gotten longer as the deadline for the Gender-Motivated Violence Act approaches on March 1.
A $60 million lawsuit filed Friday by Sara Rivers, a former member of Da Band (signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records between 2002-2004), accuses the music mogul of verbal abuse and sexual harassment. It also lists Universal Music, MTV, and numerous Bad Boy executives as defendants.
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Rivers, formerly known as Sara Stokes, claims that during the filming of Combs’ 2002 competition series, “Making the Band 2,” Combs poked at her eating disorder and hurled many “inhumane” comments at her, amongst other claims.
Representatives for Universal Music, the parent company of Bad Boy Records between 2003 and 2005, did not immediately return Variety’s request for comment.
The lawsuit, helmed by Rivers’ attorney Ariel E. Mitchell, cites an episode of the series in which Combs made Rivers and the rest of her bandmates walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back to bring him a cheesecake. She also recalls a non-consensual encounter in which she claims Combs approached her, and pressured her into a corner where he touched her breasts.
Rivers recently appeared on Peacock’s 90-minute documentary, “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” which has since become the center of a lawsuit filed by Combs against NBCUniversal, Peacock TV and Ample Entertainment for “falsely, recklessly, and maliciously” accusing Combs of serial murder and sex trafficking, among other claims.
In the documentary, Rivers describes Combs’ behavior at the time of the “Making the Band” series as explosive – “When he got angry with one of my band members, he said, ‘You make me so mad I want to eat your flesh.’ And then he said to another one of my band members, he said, ‘You’re rolling your eyes, I could go get a crackhead and pay them $20 to smack the shit out of you.’ Who says that? That’s crazy.”
In the lawsuit filed Friday, Rivers also accuses Combs of foiling her career in the music industry. She claims she was never paid for her time on the show and was only paid $5,000 in cash for tour performances.
Combs’ mother, Janice Combs, is also accused by Rivers of allegedly coordinating with her son to get her to sign a publishing agreement with a company owned by Janice Combs (Rivers claims she received a one-time payment of $25,000 in exchange for signing). Rivers says Combs “interfered” with the record label that offered to sign her, long after Combs made the decision to terminate the band. She claims one of those deals was presented to her by Capitol Records.
An attorney for Combs said in a statement, “This is yet another example of false claims being filed against Mr. Combs. No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason. With the deadline for New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act expiring tomorrow, it’s clear that opportunists are rushing to file last-minute, meritless claims. Mr. Combs remains confident he will prevail in court.”
Below is an overview of the accusations that have been leveled against Combs, as well as the answers to frequently asked questions about his cases.
Why is Combs in jail?
Combs is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. He was arrested on Sept. 16, 2024 in Manhattan by Homeland Security on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment. He was denied bail by two separate judges, and is set to remain behind bars until his May 5, 2025 trial. Combs could face life in prison if found guilty of the racketeering charge.
Evidence of the charges was sought on March 25, when the Department of Homeland Security raided the rapper’s homes in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Electronics including computers were seized due to containing potential evidence.
What are “freak-offs?”
The federal criminal indictment describes Diddy’s wild sex parties filled with illegal activity, known as “freak-offs,” in great detail. They would frequently involve group sex, exhibitionism, sex workers, copious amounts of drugs and baby oil, and could be filmed and last for days.
How did Cassie Ventura’s allegations start a wave of investigation into Combs’ behavior?
Combs’ high-profile ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a lengthy lawsuit against Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, accusing him of physical abuse, rape and sex trafficking. This included Ventura’s accusation that she participated in numerous “freak-offs,” where, as detailed in her lawsuit, Combs “treated the forced encounter as a personal art project, adjusting the candles he used for lighting to frame the videos he took.”
The lawsuit was settled privately the next day with undisclosed terms. On May 17, 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating Ventura in Los Angeles in 2016, which led to Combs issuing a public apology — the sole time he acknowledged wrongdoing since this saga began.
What lawsuits and allegations came after Cassie filed?
Ventura’s headline-making lawsuit action was just the beginning of a wave of legal action against Combs from women and men he allegedly assaulted. His attorney, Erica Wolff, issued a statement on Oct. 1 denying his culpability in the upcoming wave of suits. “Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” said Wolff. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”
Nov. 23, 2023: Joi Dickerson-Neal accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1991. In a separate lawsuit filed that day, Liza Gardner sued Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall for sexually assaulting her and a friend in 1990.
Dec. 6, 2023: A Jane Doe claimed that Combs, then-Bad Boy Records’ president Harve Pierre and another man raped her in New York City while she was a teenager.
Feb. 26, 2024: Producer Rodney Jones alleges Combs sexually assaulted him while he was an employee from Sept. 2022 to Nov. 2023.
Apr. 4, 2024: Combs is named as a co-defendant in a suit that claims his son Christian “King” Combs sexually assaulted a woman on a yacht. The suit, filed in Los Angeles, alleges that Combs paid to cover up the assault.
May 21, 2024: Crystal McKinney, a model, accused Combs of sexual assault in 2003.
May 24, 2024: April Lampros sued Combs for sexual assault and battery for a series of incidents from 1994 into the 2000s.
June 10, 2024: Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith filed a lawsuit saying he was sexually assaulted by Combs at a 1997 party.
Sept. 10, 2024: “Making the Band” star Dawn Richard sued Combs, alleging sexual battery, sex trafficking, sexual assault and more.
Sept. 24, 2024: Thalia Graves sued Combs, saying he drugged and raped her in 2001.
September 27, 2024: Jane Doe, a Florida model, sued Combs, alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
October 14, 2024: Six lawsuits, two from women and four from men, were filed against Combs in Manhattan. One man claimed that Combs assaulted him when he was 16 years old in 1998.
October 20, 2024: Combs was hit with an additional six lawsuits, with one claiming that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
October 28, 2024: A John Doe filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging that the mogul drugged and raped him when he was 10 years old. Another filed a similar suit claiming that he was sexually assaulted when he was 17 years old while auditioning for “Making the Band” in 2008.
November 19, 2024: Five additional suits were filed against Combs by three men and two women who make similar allegations of being drugged and assaulted. One of the women was 17 at the time described in the incident.
December 8, 2024: Jay-Z was added as a defendant in a refiled case, which prompted the rapper to issue a swift, fiery rebuttal claiming that the allegations were untrue.
December 12, 2024: Three men filed suits against Combs, alleging similar accusations of sexual assault. One claimed that he was offered $2,500 after an encounter where he claimed that Combs raped him while others filmed the incident.
December 20, 2024: Two women filed lawsuits stating that they were drugged and sexually assaulted during separate incidents in 1991 and 2006.
January 13, 2025: A Jane Doe claimed that Combs and two of his male employees drugged and raped her when she was 16 years old.
February 3, 2025: An aspiring male musician stated that Combs drugged and groped him during an afterparty in New York City.
February 4, 2025: Three new lawsuits were filed, two by Jane Does alleging drugging and assault in the 1990s and another by a John Doe who was hired by Combs as an adult entertainer in 2007.
February 6, 2025: A man accused Combs of drugging and raping him at a New York nightclub in 2012 when he was 17 years old.
February 10, 2025: A musician claimed that Combs orally and anally assaulted him after he was drugged at a party in 2022.
February 14, 2025: A Jane Doe accused Combs of drugging her and forcing himself upon her during an incident in 1999.
February 27, 2025: As the deadline for the Gender-Motivated Violence Act approaches, several new lawsuits against Combs are filed in the span of two days. Among them is a complaint from an anonymous male escort that claims Combs sexually assaulted him and then threatened him to keep quiet by allegedly saying, “If I can get Pac [Tupac] hit, what the fuck do you think can happen to you?”
What further lawsuits is Combs expected to face?
On Oct. 1, 2024, attorney Tony Buzbee said 120 more lawsuits are expected from alleged victims he is working with, which include assaults that took place in the 2000s and 2010s.
In a statement shared with Variety, Combs’ attorneys said, “The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity. Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone—adult or minor, man or woman.”
The first batch of six lawsuits, filed on Oct. 14, lays out allegations from several men and women, including a then-16-year-old boy.
What lawsuits has Combs faced in the past?
Prior to Ventura’s allegations, Combs was sued by Cindy Rueda in 2017 for sexual harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit was settled in February 2019.
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