Sean 'Diddy' Combs abuse allegations: A timeline of key events
Newly launched video seems to indicate Sean “Diddy” Combs beating his former singing protege and girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles resort in 2016.
The video was aired by CNN Friday six months after the R&B singer filed a lawsuit that set off a wave of comparable instances and public allegations in opposition to probably the most influential music moguls of the previous three a long time.
Here’s a take a look at the important thing occasions which have unfolded since late final yr.
NOVEMBER 16, 2023
Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, together with beatings and rape. Cassie, whose authorized identify is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs’ label in 2005, and the 2 have been on-again-off-again romantic companions for greater than a decade beginning in 2007. The go well with filed in federal court docket says Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and subjected her to “savage” beatings. It says he plied her with medication, pressured her to have intercourse with different males, and raped her in her residence as she was attempting to finish the connection in 2018. Combs, by his lawyer, “vehemently denies” the accusations.
NOVEMBER 17, 2023
With staggering pace, Ventura’s lawsuit is settled the day after it’s filed. The phrases of the settlement are stored confidential. “We have decided to resolve this matter amicably,” Combs says in an announcement. “I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
NOVEMBER 23, 2023
Two extra ladies accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York legislation allowing victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to file civil motion whatever the statute of limitations. The fits, filed by Joi Dickerson and one other lady who was not named, allege acts of sexual assault, beatings and compelled drugging within the early Nineteen Nineties by Combs, then a expertise director, social gathering promoter and rising determine in New York City’s hip-hop group. Combs’ attorneys referred to as the allegations false.
NOVEMBER 28, 2023
Combs briefly steps down as chairman of his cable tv community, Revolt, due to the wave of sexual abuse allegations. It can be one in every of a number of business setbacks for Combs introduced on by the lawsuits.
DECEMBER 6, 2023
A girl alleges in one other lawsuit that in 2003 when she was 17, Combs and two different males raped her. The go well with filed in federal court docket in Manhattan says she was residing in a Detroit suburb and was flown to a New York studio, the place she was given medication and alcohol that made her incapable of consenting to intercourse, and the lads took turns raping her. Combs says in an announcement that “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
FEBRUARY 26, 2024
A music producer recordsdata a lawsuit alleging Combs sexually assaulted him and compelled him to have intercourse with prostitutes. The go well with provides an extended listing of probably unlawful actions coping with medication and intercourse that the producer says he witnessed. A lawyer for Combs calls the allegations “pure fiction.”
March 25, 2024
Homeland Security Investigations serves search warrants in early morning raids on Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami in what officers inform The Associated Press is a sex-trafficking investigation. Combs was at one in every of his properties in Miami on the time. His two sons, at his residence in Los Angeles, have been handcuffed through the search, Combs’ attorneys mentioned. Officials didn’t say whether or not the raids have been prompted by the civil lawsuits, however Combs’ attorneys mentioned they believed they have been.
MARCH 26, 2024
Combs’ lawyer calls the raids “a gross use of military-level force” and says Combs is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his identify. The lawyer, Aaron Dyer, says there’s “no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”
APRIL 4, 2024
A lawsuit that names Combs as a co-defendant alleges that his son Christian “King” Combs sexually assaulted a lady engaged on a yacht chartered by his father. The go well with filed in Los Angeles Superior Court says Sean Combs created the circumstances that led to the assault and paid to cowl it up afterward. An lawyer for the 2 males calls the allegations “outrageous.”
APRIL 26, 2024
In the primary main piece of authorized pushback from Combs and his group, they file a movement to dismiss a number of parts of Dickerson’s lawsuit as a result of they weren’t unlawful in 1991 when the alleged incidents occurred. While the authorized objections are procedural, the submitting additionally slams the “numerous false, offensive, and salacious accusations” within the lawsuit.
MAY 10, 2024
Combs asks a federal choose to dismiss the Dec. 6 lawsuit that alleged he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old woman from Michigan in a New York recording studio. Again, the objections are procedural — alleging the go well with was filed too late below the legislation — however the court docket doc calls its claims “false and hideous.”
May 17, 2024
CNN airs video that seems to indicate Combs attacking Ventura in resort hallway in 2016. The video intently mirrors an assault described in her lawsuit, which mentioned Combs had already punched her that night time, and he or she was attempting to depart the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles when he woke and got here after her. In the footage, a person who seems to be Diddy, sporting solely a towel, punches Ventura, kicks her, and throws her on to the ground. The lawsuit alleges Combs paid $50,000 to remove the video on the time. Combs’ representatives had no speedy remark.
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The Associated Press doesn’t sometimes identify individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused except they arrive ahead publicly, as these named right here have.
The Associated Press
