Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been sued by a male producer who worked on his most recent album, with accusations of sexual assault and harassment.
The suit was filed in federal court in New York on Monday (February 26), and accuses Combs of forcing him to have sex with prostitutes, in addition to claims that the hip-hop mogul drugged and threatened him for over a year.
The producer, named as Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, says in the lawsuit that he lived and travelled with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, and produced nine songs on Combs’ recent record ‘The Love Album: Off The Grid’.
Among the claims is that Combs made him solicit prostitutes and pressured him to engage in sex acts with them. He also claimed that Combs gave laced alcoholic drinks to people at his house.
The lawsuit includes claims of screenshots from gatherings at Combs’ homes where underage girls and sex workers were present, some of whom he said were provided with laced drinks. Jones also says in the lawsuit that in February 2023 he woke up in bed with two sex workers and suspected he had been drugged.
The former employee added that he was asked to work in Combs’ bathroom when the artist “walked around naked and showered in a clear glass enclosure”.
Jones is seeking $30million (£23.7m).
An attorney for Combs said Jones’ “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines”.
“We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls,” the attorney, Shawn Holley, said in a statement. “We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Jones’ attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, told PEOPLE: “Litigation should never be the first option for a dispute. We filed because of the refusal to negotiate on the other side.”
The claim is the latest in a series of sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs in recent months.
In November of 2023, he was accused of rape and physical abuse in a lawsuit by his former partner Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura.
Combs denied Cassie’s allegations at the time, however, the lawsuit was quickly dropped as Combs and Ventura settled the suit the following day to “mutual satisfaction” the day after it was filed.
A week after Cassie’s lawsuit, two new allegations by two different women also came out with one claiming that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her and the other alleging that Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping the plaintiff and her friend in 1990 or 1991 – with Diddy allegedly turning violent days later.
He denied those allegations in December, sharing in a statement: “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
In December, he was also accused of the “gang rape” of 17-year-old girl, which he denies. Hall did not immediately comment on the allegations.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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