Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs issued a statement Wednesday following accusations that he raped and trafficked several women.
"Enough is Enough," Combs wrote in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter). "For the last couple weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday."
He went on: "Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."
Combs' statement comes shortly after he was hit with a new lawsuit on Wednesday for allegations that he trafficked and sexually abused a woman identified as Jane Doe. The suit accuses Combs of "gang rape" and sex trafficking.
Over the past several weeks, several lawsuits have been filed against Combs, including one by ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura. In her suit, Ventura called her relationship with Combs "a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking." The suit also alleges that Combs led Ventura into an "ostentatious, fast-paced and drug-fueled lifestyle."
Newsweek reached out to a Combs representative via email for comment.
In a statement to Newsweek earlier this month, Combs attorney Ben Brafman said, "Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations."
He continued: "For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura's persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail."
The lawsuit with Ventura was eventually settled out of court, and Combs issued a statement saying, "We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love."
The lawsuit filed by Jane Doe this week alleges that Combs, along with Harve Pierre, the former president of Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings, "sex trafficked and gang raped," her.
"While at the studio, Mr. Combs and his associates, including Mr. Pierre, plied Ms. Doe with drugs and alcohol," the lawsuit says. "As the night wore on, the 17-year-old Ms. Doe became more and more inebriated, eventually to the point that she could not possibly have consented to having sex with anyone, much less someone twice her age."
Combs was hit with a similar lawsuit this month from a woman identified as Joi Dickerson-Neal, who accused the rapper of sexually assaulting her and filming the attack for "revenge porn" over 30 years ago.
A Combs representative responded to the suit's allegations in a statement to TMZ, saying, "This last-minute lawsuit is an example of how a well-intentioned law can be turned on its head.... [The] 32-year-old story is made up and not credible. Mr. Combs never assaulted her and she implicates companies that did not exist. This is purely a money grab and nothing more."
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About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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