Everything We Know About The Diddy Allegations

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Entrepreneur and rapper Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, is used to making headlines, both positive and negative. Things seemed quiet for the Bad Boy Records executive for a while, until November 2023. The headlines that surfaced were beyond damning. Multiple women came forward and made incredibly heinous allegations of sex trafficking, assault, gang rape, and revenge porn (and that's the short list).

This led Diddy to post on X, denying everything. "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."

Even so, the allegations began to mount, which began with his ex, Cassie Ventura. While Diddy has been involved in various past scandals (the Jake Robles 1995 Atlanta shooting, threatening his son's UCLA football coach, a 1999 weapons charge for an NYC club shooting, and a 2013 fight with fellow rapper J.Cole, to name a few). As disgusting and disturbing as the allegations are, Diddy is still innocent until proven guilty, so we'll be breaking down the allegations against the music mogul.

Cassie Ventura's lawsuit was released to the public on November 17, 2023. By November 18, Diddy's team decided to settle with Ventura out of court. Could that be an admission of guilt? Diddy's lawyer, Ben Brafman, says no. "Just so we're clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing. 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," he stated (via NPR). However, Brafman went on to claim that Ventura was demanding $30 million and threatening to write a book on their relationship if he didn't pay up.

Ventura also made a statement, saying, "I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control. I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support." It was assumed that Ventura was awarded the requested $30 million given the fast settlement, though its terms have not been disclosed to the public. Additionally, Ventura was previously offered an "eight-figure payout" from Diddy (so a number between $10 million and $99.9 million) to dissuade her from filing the civil suit in the first place. Diddy added that he wishes Cassie "all the best."

If Diddy wasn't shaken by the first three allegations of sexual assault against him, he was about to be by another. This one allegedly occurred when the survivor was a minor. In December 2023, a third Jane Doe came forward and accused Diddy, his longtime Bad Boy CEO Harve Pierre, and an unnamed male friend, of gang rape in 2003 when she was only 17. To be clear, this is not the lawsuit brought forth against Pierre and Diddy by a former Bad Boy Records assistant (which alleged grooming and harassment), and technically was the fourth lawsuit filed within five days of Cassie Ventura's. 

The details in the court documents for Jane Doe No. 3 are vile and agonizing to read and included photos to back up their claims. Jane Doe No. 3 claimed she met Pierre at a lounge in Detroit, where he boasted about being best friends with Diddy. Doe alleges that Pierre convinced her to get on a private jet and travel to Bad Boy's Daddy's House Recording Studio in Manhattan. The lawsuit claims that prior to boarding the flight, Pierre smoked crack and forced her to perform oral sex. Doe then goes into troubling details about how she was given drugs and alcohol and was sexually assaulted by Diddy, Pierre, and their friend. She remembered saying "stop." Heartbreaking.

On February 27, 2024, Diddy made another shocking headline when a male producer came forward and filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault and misconduct. The male producer accused Diddy of forcing him to engage in sexual acts with sex workers and participating in sexual assaults. Diddy's attorney, Shawn Holley, stated in the lawsuit (via The Associated Press), "We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them." The accuser was revealed to be Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, who had worked with Diddy on an album.

The lawsuit filed claimed that Jones traveled and even lived with Diddy from 2022 to 2023. Grooming was alleged, and per his lawyers, he "recalls waking up naked, dizzy, and confused." They added he woke up in bed with two male prostitutes and Diddy. He shockingly also named Diddy's son in the allegations, Justin Combs, who claimed that Jones is just looking for a payday (Jones is asking for $30 million). Jones also named Universal Music Group in the suit, alleging they should have stepped in and stopped the illegal and nefarious activities, of which they were allegedly fully aware. It has also been reported that the filing included photos of underage girls  and sex workers and the illegal drugs that were given to them.

Amid all of the damning allegations, multiple famous women, like songwriter Tiffany Red and designer Kimora Lee Simmons, spoke out against Diddy and on behalf of the survivors. Red wrote an open letter (via Rolling Stone) that included contentious details about the night of Cassie's 29th birthday. The letter was titled "Sean Combs Traumatized Me" and detailed Diddy's verbal abuse of both women that night, calling Red an "emotional singing b****." Red also wrote: "She later told me you made her have a 'Freak Off' — which Cassie described in her lawsuit as an arrangement where you would make her perform sexual acts with male sex workers — that night. ... I am disturbed to my core by this."

Additionally, Simmons was famously best friends with the mother of three of Diddy's children, Kim Porter. Porter sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 47 after a bout of pneumonia. On November 17, 2023, Simmons posted on her Instagram story (via Atlanta Black Star): "As you sow, so shall you reap." She posted this the same day Cassie filed her lawsuit; many viewed this as Simmons throwing shade at Diddy. On December 2, 2023, Simmons' house tragically caught fire while she and her children were inside. They all made it out safely, thank goodness. The internet pointed fingers at Diddy, although of course, there was no proof or evidence connecting him to the fire.

Following the very public and serious Homeland Security raid of his homes, Diddy remained tight-lipped. Many were surprised when he emerged in public just days later, on March 28, 2024, in Miami with his twin teen daughters, Jessie and D'Lila Combs. The trio was seen leaving Topgolf for an evening golf outing, and paparazzi caught Diddy throwing up a peace sign while his daughters were all smiles. No signs of worry or stress for the artist formerly known as Puffy.

On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, less than a week after the incident, Diddy took to his Instagram to post a series of pictures of his adorable baby daughter, Love, who was born in October 2022. There was no mention of the global headline that stunned the world or anything about his very public demise. "HAPPY EASTER from Baby Love," was the Instagram caption. The toddler was certainly a distraction from the negative press, but Diddy still wisely limited the comments section.

A week later, the Bad Boy Records founder posted yet another picture of Love, this time on a mini-trampoline. The caption for this post read, "BABY LOVE," in all caps. He still had the ability to comment on his post turned off — very telling.

A woman named Grace O'Marcaigh filed a civil suit against Diddy's son, Christian Combs, in April 2024. The lawsuit alleged that in 2022, Combs forced O'Marcaigh to drink shots of tequila, before assaulting her. O'Marcaigh worked as a bartender and crew member on a yacht leased by Diddy (where the alleged assault took place), according to the court documents. The young woman also claimed that she obtained an audio recording of Christian Combs forcing her to take the tequila shots, even asking him "if he was drugging her," to which he replied, "Take the shot." The lawsuit also named Diddy and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as partygoers on the yacht, as well as various sex workers.

If five civil suits weren't enough for Diddy, in May 2024, a sixth accuser came forward. Crystal McKinney, a former model, filed a lawsuit claiming that in 2003, she was drugged and assaulted by the disgraced music mogul. McKinney alleged that she met Diddy in New York City at a Men's Fashion Event, where he promised to help her with her career. She claimed he pressured her to drink alcohol and smoke something that she came to believe was laced. When she became disoriented, the former model alleged that Diddy forced her to perform sex acts but later passed out and woke up in a taxi, then realizing she had been assaulted. She believes Diddy had her "blackballed" from the modeling industry.

Many wondered how Diddy could possibly come back after the hotel security footage of his vicious assault on Cassie Ventura. His past social media posts like the "time tells truth" quote, or the statement claiming that he "sat silently while people attempted to assassinate his character," appeared to age poorly after the leak of the assault. Diddy took to his Instagram to issue an apology with the caption, "I'm truly sorry."

"It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that," he began. "I was f***ed up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. Had to go into therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry."

The public was unimpressed, claiming that he only apologized because he was caught. Peter Hyatt, a forensic deception statement analyst, tells Nicki Swift exclusively, "His use of the word 'you' and 'your' in his apology is distancing language." Hyatt also noted Diddy's phrasing that "he had" to ask God for his mercy — he didn't want to, he "had" to. One could argue that this was a disingenuous apology.

Sadly and not shockingly, a seventh woman came forward in May 2024 with another lawsuit against the music mogul. She alleged that when she was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she was drugged and assaulted by Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The woman, April Lampros, stated in her lawsuit that Diddy wanted to "mentor" her in the fashion industry after meeting him in 1995. In one of the more graphic and disturbing lawsuits, Lampros claimed that she met Diddy at a bar in SoHo where he over-served her and brought her back to his hotel where she was unable to fight him off. She woke up "nude, sore, and confused," and she didn't hear from the fallen rapper for months. When he reached back out months later, Lampros described herself as "naïve" and gave him another chance, with him promising her "access to music industry events." She alleged that while walking to his parking garage, he forced her to perform oral sex. A parking attendant allegedly witnessed the assault, but did nothing to help her.

After Lampros refused to see him again, she compared his behavior to a "mobster's." He would allegedly threaten her career if she did not comply with his demands, forcing Lampros to have relations with his then-girlfriend Kim Porter, and he eventually assaulted her again. Lampros also detailed how Diddy and Porter had her fired from the restaurant she worked at after they cut ties.