Dawn Richard Sues Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
Dawn Richard, a former Bad Boy Records singer has filed a lawsuit against Combs, alleging sexual assault, battery, sex trafficking, and gender discrimination.
Richard initiated legal proceedings in New York and is also suing Harve Pierre, the former CEO of Bad Boy Records.
The singer met Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2004 during her audition for “Making the Band”, during which she claims he began showing inappropriate behavior. She was a member of the girl group Danity Kane as well as the R&B trio Diddy Dirty Money, alongside Combs and Kalenna Harper.
In the lawsuit, Richard claims that Combs engaged in inappropriate touching, physical aggression, and threatened her life while trapping her in a car.
The lawsuit further claims that she witnessed Combs mistreat his former girlfriend, R&B artist Cassandra Ventura, who reached a settlement with Combs last year regarding allegations of abuse and rape.
Erica Wolff, the attorney representing Combs, issued a statement that the rapper is prepared to demonstrate in court that Richard’s allegations are untrue. Wolff further said that Dawn Richard has fabricated a number of false accusations and that the timing of these claims aligns suspiciously with her album launch and promotional activities.
Richard’s lawsuit came one day following a Michigan inmate’s victory in securing $100 million from Combs for an alleged assault that occurred nearly30 years ago.
Derrick Lee Smith won the multimillion-dollar judgment on Monday, as Combs did not attend the virtual hearing.