The legal proceedings against Sean Combs aka P.Diddy are coming to light today, but the actions he is accused of began decades ago, when the singer was still called Puff Daddy and s ‘displayed hand in hand with Jennifer Lopez.
What are the accusations from Cassie, singer and ex-partner of P. Diddy?
It all started in mid-November 2023 when his ex-partner, R&B singer Cassie, filed a civil complaint for rape and physical violence against the rapper. A case closed “amicably” two days later, thanks to an agreement the details of which were not disclosed.
The singer’s complaint accused the rap star of having engaged in “violent behavior” and “deviant demands” for “more than a decade.” According to a Guardian articleshe denounced a system of coercive control, abuse, drugs and sexual violence perpetrated against her by P. Diddy throughout their relationship which began in 2005, when Cassie was 19 and had just signed a contract with the rapper’s label, and ended in 2019.
The complaint states that the rapper had Cassie use drugs, such as ecstasy and ketamine; that he beat her, including in Los Angeles in 2009, after P. Diddy saw Cassie talking to another sales agent; that he raped her several times. She even describes a filmed gang rape. In 2018, he allegedly broke into her house and assaulted her after she tried to end the relationship.
Still according to the complaint, he controlled almost every aspect of her life: her career, which he allegedly exploited to silence her, but also access to her own medical information and when she was allowed to see her family. Cassie also alleges that after becoming romantically involved with another man, P. Diddy threatened to blow up the man’s car. A vehicle belonging to the rival exploded in a driveway shortly after.
What other accusations have been made against the rapper?
Since the secret agreement reached between Cassie and P. Diddy, two other women have filed complaints.
In a subpoena filed in late November in New York, Joi Dickerson-Neal claimed she was “drugged, sexually assaulted and abused” in 1992 by the rapper, known at the time as Puff Daddy, according to the magazine specialized American.
She also assures that he had filmed the scene and broadcast the video as “revenge porn”, a practice aimed at revealing to the public sexual images generally not consensual to take revenge on a person.
Another woman, who has remained anonymous, accuses Sean Combs and his collaborator Aaron Hall of raping her at a party in the 1990s.
In December, P. Diddy was also the subject of a civil complaint in New York accusing him of gang rape of a 17-year-old minor in 2003. “There was no finding of criminal or civil liability regarding these accusations,” emphasized the rapper’s lawyer.
Why were P. Diddy’s houses searched?
Federal agents searched the rapper’s luxurious villas in Los Angeles and Miami, weapons in hand, under the eye of some American media who captured images of these operations from the air. His searches take place at a time when the rapper is the target of several rape accusations. During the searches carried out in Los Angeles on Monday, the rapper’s sons, Justin and King Combs, were handcuffed, according to images published by several American media.
P. Diddy’s private jet landed Monday evening on the Caribbean island of Antigua, several media also claimed, a few hours after the searches, without the rapper being on board. Flight tracking data shows the plane, named LoveAir, took off from an airport in Southern California.
What does the Defense say about P. Diddy?
The searches carried out in the residences of American rapper Sean Combs, alias “P. Diddy”, are the product of a “witch hunt based on unfounded accusations”, his lawyer reacted on Tuesday. Aaron Dyer, who defends the musician suspected of multiple rapes, denounced in a press release a “blatant excessive use of armed force” during the operations carried out Monday under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security. “This unprecedented ambush – coupled with a coordinated media presence – leads to premature judgment of Mr. Combs,” the lawyer added. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every day to clear his name.” »