NEW YORK, USA: American rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing new sexual assault allegations in a lawsuit filed Thursday, just days after settling a suit with R&B singer and former partner Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
Sean Love Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, record executive and actor. Days after he settled a suit with Cassie, the American rapper is being sued by a woman who says he drugged and sexually assaulted her back in 1991. In the lawsuit seen by the BBC, the plaintiff said the assault took place during a date with the rapper.
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 Thursday.
In the lawsuit, Joi Dickerson-Neal said 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 alleged that during that time she was drugged by the singer “resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk”. The rap later drove her to the place he was staying, where he sexually assaulted her, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff further said that she later learned he secretly filmed the encounter and showed it to a number of other people. The lawsuit described how after the alleged assault, the plaintiff’s 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 one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Jonathan Goldhirsch 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 Combs this month.
