Sean “Diddy” Combs is stepping away from his role as chairman of music-oriented cable network, Revolt, following a string of lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse.
The network made the announcement Tuesday in a statement on its social media channels.
“Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as chairman of Revolt,” the statement read. “While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora.”
Related Story: Diddy Settles Sex Abuse Lawsuit With Cassie After One Day
— REVOLT (@revolttv) November 28, 2023
Combs, 54, co-founded Revolt in October 2013.
The network features programming dedicated to urban contemporary music, as well as shows on social justice issues important to the African-American community.
Over the past two weeks, Combs has been besieged by media coverage detailing allegations in sexual assault lawsuits filed by multiple women.
R&B singer Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan’s Federal District Court on Thursday, Nov. 16.
The suit said Ventura met the Bad Boy Records founder in 2005, when she was 19. He signed her to his label and the two dated off-and-on for 11 years.
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The lawsuit said Ventura, 37, was allegedly victimized by Combs who “often punched, beat, kicked and stomped on Ms. Ventura, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding.”
The 35-page complaint alleged Combs blew up rapper Kid Cudi’s car after learning that he was romantically interested in Ventura. It also claimed Combs forced Ventura to engage in sex acts with male prostitutes while he masturbated and filmed the encounters he called “freak offs;” and allegedly introduced Ventura “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse.”
The suit additionally alleged Combs raped Ventura in her own home after she tried to leave him.
Combs denied the allegations, which his attorney called “offensive and outrageous.”
Still, the music mogul settled the suit “amicably” with Ventura for an undisclosed amount of money after one day.
The complaint was filed under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, which took effect in 2022 and eliminated the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases for one year. The law expired at midnight on Nov. 24.
Two more lawsuits from separate accusers followed Ventura’s complaint, before the window closed on the Adult Survivors Act.
A woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Combs on Thursday, Nov. 23, in Manhattan Supreme Court alleging he raped her in 1991, when she was a student at Syracuse University.
Dickerson-Neal claimed in the lawsuit that Combs allegedly drugged her, assaulted her, videotaped the encounter, and threatened to use it against her if she talked about what happened.
The complaint said Combs pursued her for “a romantic or sexual relationship” after the two appeared in a music video together. Dickerson-Neal said she finally agreed to go on a dinner date with him, and was allegedly drugged and raped that night.
The suit additionally claimed Combs videotaped the encounter, passed the tape around to others in the music industry, and allegedly threatened her with “revenge porn.”
Combs denied the allegations.
“Ms. Dickerson’s 32-year-old story is made up and not credible,” a spokesperson for the music mogul said. “Mr. Combs never assaulted her and she implicates companies that did not exist. This is purely a money grab and nothing more.”
In a separate lawsuit, also filed on Nov. 23, a woman identified only as Jane Doe, alleged Combs and R&B singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of the group Guy, “took turns” raping her three decades ago.
The complaint said Jane Doe and a female friend met Diddy and Hall at an MCA Records event in New York City in 1990 or 1991.
According to the suit, the group then went to an afterparty at Hall’s apartment, where Jane Doe was allegedly “coerced into having sex with Combs.”
After the alleged assault, the lawsuit stated that “Jane Doe laid in bed, shocked and traumatized. As she was in the process of getting dressed, Hall barged into the room, pinned her down and forced Jane Doe to have sex with him.”
Doe claimed she later learned that her friend was allegedly coerced into sex with both men in a separate room.
The lawsuit said two days later, Diddy went to the home where the two women were staying and allegedly warned them not to discuss the encounters. The suit alleged a furious Combs choked Doe until she passed out.
The hip-hop star denied the allegations through a spokesperson.
“These are fabricated claims falsely alleging misconduct from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute. This is nothing but a money grab,” the spokesperson said.
Hall did not respond to Urban Hollywood 411‘s request for comment.
In a resurfaced interview that went viral over the past few days, Hall bragged that he liked to get intimate with women while his celebrity friends, including Combs, watched the encounters.
