Six new sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against music mogul Sean Combs in New York.
Among the allegations is a claim from a man who accused Mr. Combs of groping his genitals at the age of 16.
These lawsuits, filed anonymously on Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, add to the growing list of accusations against Mr. Combs, known to many as Diddy or Puff Daddy.
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The lawsuits accuse Mr. Combs of a range of sexual assaults, including raping two men and two women and forcing another man to perform oral sex. The allegations span from 1995 to 2021.
Mr. Combs, currently awaiting trial on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, has pleaded not guilty to all accusations. His legal team remains steadfast, stating, “Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
Houston-based personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee, who has taken on the case, is known for securing settlements for victims of high-profile figures.
Mr. Buzbee has actively sought out other potential plaintiffs through social media and a news conference, where he displayed a hotline number for claims against Mr. Combs. At the conference, he remarked, “After the indictment of Sean Combs and the announcement that we were pursuing these claims, the floodgates opened.”
One lawsuit recounts a 1998 incident at Mr. Combs’s renowned White Party in the Hamptons. According to the suit, a 16-year-old aspiring star approached Mr. Combs, who allegedly instructed him to drop his pants before groping him. The claims are part of a controversial legal strategy using a New York City provision, the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, to revive cases that fall outside the statute of limitations.
Among the new allegations, one woman accuses Mr. Combs of raping her in 1995 during a party for a Notorious B.I.G. music video. Another suit includes a man who alleges he was drugged and raped by Mr. Combs at a 2006 event. These suits highlight a pattern of alleged abuse spanning decades and involving both men and women.
Mr. Combs’s team describes Mr. Buzbee’s media outreach as a “reckless media circus,” accusing him of using the situation for publicity. In response to the lawsuits, Mr. Combs’s lawyers stated, “The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity.”
Legal experts note that Mr. Buzbee’s strategy is unusual, with his public announcements potentially serving as a tactic to attract more plaintiffs or pressure settlements. Stephen Gillers, a legal scholar, commented that this approach could be a warning to other defendants.
Mr. Buzbee, defending his methods, stated that his goal was to communicate directly with victims and witnesses. “I want people who have been scarred to know they are not alone,” he shared in an email.
Co-counsel Andrew Van Arsdale has also been instrumental in the outreach, which has resulted in a deluge of calls and claims.