Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing another sexual abuse lawsuit, this time by former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard.
Richard, 41, filed the bombshell civil lawsuit on Tuesday, Sept. 10 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The singer is accusing the music mogul of verbal abuse, assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, stealing her copyrighted work, and withholding her earnings.
In the 55-page federal complaint, Richard says she felt “empowered” to come forward after several other accusers filed lawsuits against Combs, including his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known to fans by her stage name of Cassie.
Danity Kane
Richard was selected to participate on the MTV reality series Making the Band during its third season, which aired in 2005.
As a finalist, Richard became part of the newly-formed music group Danity Kane, along with bandmates — Wanita “D. Woods” Woodgett, Aundrea Fimbres, Aubrey O’Day, and Shannon Bex.
Combs signed the group to Bad Boy Records. The complaint says the women were belittled and “regularly deprived of food and sleep.”
“Mr. Combs would regularly be awake for prolonged periods of time because he was high on drugs. During these periods, Mr. Combs demanded continuous access to Ms. Richard and her Danity Kane bandmates, often forcing them to record and rehearse for stretches of 36 to 48 hours without breaks,” the complaint says.
When the women complained, the lawsuit says Combs told the singers, “You bi–es don’t want this” and “y’all are not hungry enough.”
The suit describes the rapper and music producer as “a hot-tempered abuser who would routinely engage in physical violence.”
Diddy – Dirty Money
After Danity Kane disbanded, Richard joined the trio Diddy — Dirty Money in 2009, alongside Combs and Kalenna Harper.
Richard alleges she was trafficked while a member of Diddy-Dirty Money, and was forced to engage in “commercial sex acts.”
The complaint goes on to allege “Mr. Combs used fraud and force to coerce and entice Ms. Richard into commercial sex acts. Mr. Combs did so by making threats of career derailment and promises of career advancement in exchange for Ms. Richard’s acquiescence to Mr. Combs’ sexual batteries and assaults.”
Witness to Alleged Abuse
Richard, who voiced support for the mogul’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura when she sued him for alleged sexual assault in November 2023, says she witnessed Diddy abusing Cassie.
In one of several instances, she says she saw him attack Cassie and the next day, he warned Richard there would be “consequences” if she told anyone.
In another incident, the lawsuit says Richard was at a dinner party at a West Hollywood, California restaurant, when Combs “hissed” at Cassie, then allegedly “punched her in the stomach causing her to double over in visible pain, crying.” The complaint says several other industry insiders were at the dinner and witnessed the incident, including Usher, Ne-Yo, and Jimmy Iovine, then-CEO of Interscope Records.
The complaint says Richard tried to intervene over the years, by offering Cassie “support and encouragement to leave Mr. Combs,” but the mogul “learned of her efforts to help Ms. Ventura and became enraged, threatening Ms. Richard’s life with statements such as ‘you want to die today,’ ‘I make n—as go missing.'”
The lawsuit additionally claims Richard saw Combs’ late former girlfriend Kim Porter exit his recording studio with a “lacerated lip.”
“On one occasion in or around 2005, during the first season of Making The Band 3, Ms. Richard observed Mr. Combs’ ex-partner and the mother of three of his children, Kim Porter, leaving Mr. Combs’ recording studio in tears with visible facial injuries including a lacerated lip,” the lawsuit says.
Richard says from that point on, she felt “deep apprehension and fear that Mr. Combs could one day physically harm her.”
Financial Hardship
Once Danity Kane broke up, Richard said she felt she had no choice but to keep working with Diddy since she was “financially destitute.”
It also didn’t help, according to her claims, that she was never paid for Danity Kane’s first two albums.
However, when she worked with Combs in his new group, she claims he never paid her either.
Richard says she and Harper were locked in the studio and “deprived of sleep and food.”
Due to deteriorating health and weight loss, Richard found herself hospitalized in 2010, but she claims Diddy didn’t care and wanted her back in the studio as soon as possible.
Damages
The lawsuit also names as defendants — music executive Harve Pierre, Universal Music Group, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Daddy’s House Recording Studio, Bad Boy Entertainment LLC, Bad Boy Productions Holdings Inc., Love Records Inc., Epic Records, The Sean Comb Music Inc., Janice Combs Publishing Inc., Diageo Americas Supply, and the production companies behind Making the Band.
Overall, Richard is suing for 21 causes of action and is demanding “judgments for compensation, mental pain, restitution, and more.”
She is seeking a jury trial and compensation for compensatory damages, lost wages, royalties, publishing, touring and promotional income, with interest.
Diddy’s Response
Combs denied the allegations in the lawsuit through his attorney Erica Wolff.
“Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour,” Wolff said in a statement Wednesday to TMZ.
The mogul has been sued by multiple women and male music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, with all of them alleging sexual abuse. Diddy has denied the allegations.
Anita Bennett contributed to this report.
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