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Dawn Richard, a former bandmate of producer and artist Sean “Diddy” Combs, accused the music mogul of carrying out years of physical and sexual abuse against her and others while the two worked together, according to a new lawsuit.
The suit, filed Tuesday in New York federal court, accuses Combs of a litany of violent, illegal, and depraved behavior dating as far back as 2009.
The allegations include withholding payment for work on albums, throwing household items at Richard, hosting parties where inebriated young girls were sexually violated, withholding food and other basic necessities during recording, and making death threats when Richard tried to intervene in alleged abuse against Combs’s longtime girlfriend, the singer Cassie.
The suit credits a since-settled legal action brought last year by Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, with inspiring Richard to come forward.
“For nearly a decade, Mr. Combs manipulated Ms. Richard with mantras that submission to his depraved demands was necessary for career advancement, instilling in her the belief that such abuse and exploitation were required for female artists to succeed in the music industry,” the complaint reads. “It was not until Ms. Ventura’s bravery in coming forward that Ms. Richard realized her own personal suffering was tied to the many years of abuse by Mr. Combs that had become normalized for her.”
Erica Wolff, an attorney for Combs, told The Independent the claims in the suit are false.
“Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit,” Wolff said via email. “In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.”
The attorney questioned why Richard remained working with Combs across various music and TV projects, including an album that came out last year.
“It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court,” Wolff added.
Richard rose to prominence on MTV’s Making the Band reality show, in which Combs sought to put together new music groups.
Richard eventually became a member of multiple Combs efforts, including the bands Danity Kane and Dirty Money.
The suit alleges that during recording on Danity Kane records, “Combs deprived Ms. Richard and her Danity Kane bandmates of basic needs such as adequate food and sleep” and made derogatory comments about the women in the group if they complained.
The alleged abuse continued during Richard’s time in Dirty Money, where Combs allegedly ordered Richard to strip to her underwear and “frequently referred to her as a ‘b****’ or ‘whore’ and made demeaning remarks about her body, alternatingly calling her lazy, fat, ugly, and skinny, particularly in front of his friends, producers, and bodyguards,” according to the complaint.
During this period, Combs also allegedly groped Richard in her dressing room, denied her singing parts when she rejected his sexual advances, and claimed he wanted to gift her breast augmentation surgery for Christmas. The music producer also allegedly insisted on taking meetings in his underwear.
The complaint also describes shocking instances of alleged abuse by Combs against Ventura, including an alleged 2009 incident in which Combs “looking high on drugs” berated Ventura, pushed her against a wall, choked her, threw a scalding pan of eggs at her, then dragged her up a set of stairs.
Richard tried to encourage Ventura to leave her relationship with Combs, prompting the music producer to threaten her, according to the suit.
“Each time, Mr. Combs learned of her efforts to help Ms. Ventura and became enraged, threatening Ms. Richard’s life with statements such as ‘you want to die today,’ ‘I make n***** go missing’ and ‘I end people,’” the complaint alleges.
Late last year, Ventura sued Combs, alleging the music mogul was “prone to uncontrollable rage,” gave her drugs and forced her to have sex with other men.
The suit was settled in November.
In May, CNN obtained footage showing a 2016 incident in which Combs repeatedly assaulted Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway, which he apologized for.
The suit from Richard is the eighth sexual misconduct lawsuit against the music mogul since Ventura sued, according to The New York Times.
Earlier this week, a Michigan man won a $100m default judgment against Combs, after the music mogul failed to appear in court to contest a civil suit accusing him of a 1997 sexual assault.
A lawyer for Combs called the suit a “fraud” and said they would seek to get it dismissed.
Federal agents also raided homes in Miami and Los Angeles belonging to Combs earlier this year in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation.
