It is an event that has shocked the entertainment world.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to a federal indictment unsealed in September that reads like a laundry list of criminal behavior including kidnapping, forced labor, bribery and other crimes. He faces even more allegations of sexual misconduct, after a Texas-based attorney revealed he is representing 120 accusers who allege misconduct against Combs over the course of two decades.
In the past two years, Combs has hit the headlines in various ways that meant the mystique surrounding one of the biggest names in American music and popular culture was already deeply tarnished.
Here is a timeline of events:
16 November 2023
Casandra Ventura files a lawsuit alleging horrific attacks and abuse
Casandra Ventura, a singer and model known as Cassie who dated Combs for more than a decade, files a lawsuit against him, alleging incidents of rape and physical assault between 2007 and 2018. She describes “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” after being lured into an “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” allegedly designed to keep her compliant – including engaging in sex acts with others against her will. The lawsuit also alleges that Combs destroyed the car of another successful US rapper, Kid Cudi – real name Scott Mescudi – to deter him from seeing Ventura. Combs denies the allegations.
The severity of Ventura’s allegations are the most serious Combs faces. He was charged with assault in 1998 and sentenced to an anger management class; in 1999, he was acquitted of gun charges following a nightclub shooting. In 2019, an ex-girlfriend, Gina Huynh, spoke to a blogger alleging emotional and physical abuse during her relationship with Combs, but no legal case was filed.
17 November 2023
Ventura settles lawsuit
Ventura and Combs announce their lawsuit has been settled with undisclosed terms. Ventura says in a statement: “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control.”
24 November 2023
Two new lawsuits filed over sexual attacks
Combs is accused of sexual assault dating back to 1991 in two new lawsuits: one anonymously by a woman who claims Combs and another man coerced her into sex; the other by Joi Dickerson-Neal, who alleges Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her, as well as filming the incident and showing it to others. Later, on 26 April 2024, Combs’s lawyers file a motion to dismiss elements of Dickerson-Neal’s lawsuit.
These lawsuits, and some of the other subsequent ones filed against Combs, are made possible by New York state laws such as the Adult Survivors Act and the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act that allow for lawsuits alleging sexual assault to be made even if the statute of limitations – the window of time for allegations to be made – has expired.
29 November 2023
Combs steps down as chair of Revolt
Combs steps down as chair of the TV network he founded, Revolt. The following week, Hulu scraps plans for a reality show, produced by James Corden’s company Fulwell 73, that was to focus on Combs and his family.
6 December 2023
Combs denies all allegations
Combs denies all allegations made against him in the preceding weeks, including in a new lawsuit filed by another anonymous woman who alleges Combs participated in a gang rape against her and sex-trafficked her when she was 17. “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” Combs says.
26 February 2024
Combs sued by Rodney Jones
Combs is sued by the music producer Rodney Jones, who alleges Combs groped him and attempted to “groom him into accepting a homosexual relationship”, during sessions for Combs’s 2023 release The Love Album: Off the Grid. A lawyer for Combs describes the allegation as “pure fiction”, and later, on 26 August, Combs calls on a judge to throw out the case.
25 March 2024
Raids at Combs’s properties in Los Angeles and Miami
According to unnamed law enforcement sources, US federal agents raid Combs’s properties in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. No charges are made against Combs at this stage.
17 May 2024
CNN publishes shocking footage of Combs assaulting Ventura
CNN publishes surveillance footage of Combs assaulting Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The following day, Combs apologises, saying: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
22 May 2024
Crystal McKinney files a lawsuit
The model Crystal McKinney files a lawsuit against Combs, alleging that he drugged her and forced her to perform oral sex in a 2003 incident. Later that week, another woman, April Lampros, files her own lawsuit alleging four instances of sexual assault between 1995 and about 2000, as well as the allegation that Combs filmed one of the incidents and showed it to others.
7 June 2024
Howard University revokes honorary degree
Howard University in Washington DC announces that it is revoking an honorary degree it awarded Combs, returning a $1m donation and ending a scholarship program in his name. The following week, Combs is ordered to return the ceremonial key to New York City by Mayor Eric Adams, who writes that he is “deeply disturbed” by the video footage of Combs assaulting Ventura.
4 July 2024
Combs says he is innocent as he faces eighth lawsuit
Via his lawyers, Combs again proclaims his innocence as he faces his eighth lawsuit alleging sexual assault. Adria English claims she was “groomed into sex trafficking over time” at events between 2004 and 2009 at Combs’s famous, star-studded “white parties”. “No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won’t change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex-trafficked anyone,” the lawyer Jonathan Davis says.
10 September 2024
Combs a no-show at a hearing
Combs does not appear at a virtual hearing for a lawsuit filed against him by Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, who alleges he was drugged and sexually assaulted by Combs at a party in Detroit in 1997. The no-show leads to a default judgement against Combs of $100m to be paid to Cardello-Smith, who is currently incarcerated following an unrelated case. Combs’s lawyers say they hope to have the case dismissed, claiming Combs has never heard of Cardello-Smith; on 13 September, emergency motions are filed by Combs’s legal team to try to overturn the ruling.
11 September 2024
Lawsuit filed by Dawn Richard
Following Ventura, another high-profile musician files her own lawsuit against Combs. Dawn Richard, who was part of the Combs-signed girl group Danity Kane and later a trio with him called Diddy – Dirty Money, alleges that Combs sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions by touching her body, as well as verbally abusing and overworking her. She also alleges seeing him physically assault Ventura on numerous occasions.
16 September 2024
Combs is arrested and charged in New York
Combs is arrested in New York and charged with three counts of sex trafficking and racketeering, in a federal indictment that describes “a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice”.
17 September 2024
Combs denied bail in sex-trafficking and racketeering case
Combs is denied bail and ordered to jail as he faces charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. He appears in court in New York and pleads not guilty. His lawyers try unsuccessfully to keep him out of jail, requesting his release to home detention, travel restrictions and a $50m bond in Manhattan court. Prosecutors argue that Combs is “a serious flight risk” and has “the money, manpower and tools” to flee without detection.
24 September 2024
Thalia Graves files lawsuit against Combs
Thalia Graves alleges in a new lawsuit that Combs and his bodyguard sexually assaulted her some two decades earlier and distributed video of their attack.
1 October 2024
Combs faces sexual misconduct allegations from 120 accusers
Tony Buzbee, a Texas-based attorney, reveals at a press conference that he is representing 120 accusers who allege misconduct against Combs over the course of two decades.
Andrew Van Arsdale, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, tells the Washington Post that there will be 120 individual lawsuits filed in New York, Los Angeles and Miami in the coming weeks. He says that more than 3,000 individuals have come forward to his office with accusations against Combs.
Buzbee says that the new civil claims against Combs will include “violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings, sexual abuse of minors”.
10 October 2024
Combs sex-trafficking trial to start in May 2025, judge decides
Combs’s sex-trafficking trial is scheduled to start on 5 May 2025.
During an appearance in Manhattan, prosecutors reveal that authorities seized 96 electronic devices in raids of Combs’s Miami and Los Angeles homes, as well as a private airport in south Florida.
Prosecutors say Combs might face more charges, something they have floated during prior court proceedings.
Combs’s lawyers have pushed unsuccessfully to get him freed on bail since his 16 September arrest.
14 October 2024
Combs hit with six new lawsuits alleging rape and sexual assault
Combs is hit with six new lawsuits that accuse the rap impresario of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuits, filed anonymously in federal court under New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act, are identified only as two women – Jane Does – and four men, John Does.
The accusers are part of what their attorney says is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of suing Combs in the wake of his arrest in September.
In a statement, attorneys for Combs say a new tip line and the new filings are “clear attempts to garner publicity”. The statement maintains that “Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone – adult or minor, man or woman.”
15 October 2024
Combs wants prosecutors to disclose the names of his accusers
Combs wants prosecutors in his sex-trafficking case to disclose the names of his accusers, Manhattan federal court documents show.
The music executive needs to know the identities of his accusers to prepare for the 5 May trial, his legal team argues in a Tuesday letter to Judge Arun Subramanian.
21 October 2024
Five new federal civil lawsuits filed
A wave of new sexual assault and rape accusations are made against Combs, including an accusation of rape from a then 13-year-old.
Among the plaintiffs, two are men and three are women. All of the alleged incidents reportedly occurred at parties hosted by the music mogul.
In one lawsuit, Jane Doe claims that in 2000, when she was 13 years old, Combs invited her to attend his MTV Video Music awards afterparty, where she was allegedly drugged and raped.
All five lawsuits are filed in the southern district of New York by the Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee.
“We expect to be filing cases weekly naming Mr Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings,” Buzbee says in a statement to NBC News.
16 November 2024
Combs accused of reaching out to prospective witnesses from jail
Combs has tried to reach out to prospective witnesses and influence public opinion from jail in a bid to affect potential jurors for his upcoming sex-trafficking trial, prosecutors claim in a court filing that is part of a bail request.
28 November 2024
Combs denied bail for the third time
Combs is denied bail for the third time by a judge in New York City who describes him as a “serious risk” for witness tampering.
2 December 2024
Combs could have settled Ventura’s suit privately but didn’t
Combs had the opportunity to settle Ventura’s accusations of rape and other physical abuse before she went public – but he refused, according to the forthcoming podcast The Rise and Fall of Diddy.
“She came to him before she filed [any] lawsuit and said: ‘I believed I was wronged by you,’” attorney and legal commentator Donte Mills says on the podcast from Law & Crime, a preview of which was provided to the Guardian. “And she gave him an opportunity to settle the case before she brought [a] lawsuit.”
9 December 2024
Combs and Jay-Z accused of rape in lawsuit
An amended lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Combs and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl during a party in 2000.
Jay-Z denies the allegations on social media and lambastes the lawsuit, calling it part of a “blackmail attempt” by the plaintiff’s lawyer.
12 December 2024
Combs accused of drugging and raping three men in lawsuits
Three more accusers file sexual assault lawsuits against Combs, alleging that they were drugged via spiked drinks and then raped in incidents as recently as 2022. The plaintiffs are all male and identified in court documents only as John Doe, according to NBC News.
Combs has denied all the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
