A Texas-based lawyer has said he is now representing 120 people who intend to sue Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs over allegations of sexual assault. Attorney Tony Buzbee says he plans to file lawsuits in multiple states over the next month which will also target Combs’ “enablers”, with allegations set to be made against “many powerful people”.
The lawsuits will accuse Combs and his associates of “violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings and sexual abuse of minors”, Buzbee said at a press conference yesterday.
The attorney also revealed that 3000 people have approached his office with allegations against Combs, some providing picture, video and text message evidence. Of those planning to sue, 25 were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, one was just nine years old.
“We will expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors”, Buzbee added. “We will pursue this matter no matter who the evidence implicates”.
He went on, “the biggest secret in the entertainment industry has finally been revealed to the world - the wall of silence has now been broken”, before teasing some of the allegations that may as yet emerge by stating, “these names will shock you”.
As the allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against Combs have built over the last year - via the twelve lawsuits that have already been filed and last month’s criminal indictment - there has been much speculation as to who else within Combs’ business empire, and the music industry more generally, might be accused of facilitating the musician. Or, at very least, of turning a blind eye to credible rumours of misconduct.
One of the previous lawsuits, filed by producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, initially listed Universal Music, its CEO Lucian Grainge and former Motown chief Ethiopia Habtemariam as defendants, Motown having partnered with Combs on the release of his 2023 record ‘The Love Album’.
The lawsuit said that Universal execs “knew or should have known” that Combs was drugging women who attended parties the major allegedly sponsored. However, the allegations against Universal and its employees were subsequently removed after Jones’ lawyer admitted there was “no legal basis” for including them in the original court filing.
It remains to be seen if further allegations are made against any of the music companies that collaborated with Combs and his Bad Boy Entertainment business.
Combs, who is currently in jail after being charged with sex trafficking and racketeering last month, continues to deny all the allegations that have been made against him.
Responding to Buzbee’s announcement, a legal rep for the musician said her client “emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors”.
The attorney added that Combs “looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court if and when claims are filed and served, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation”.