Sean “Diddy” Combs hit with a wave of 120 new sexual assault allegations

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing dozens of new sexual assault allegations in a series of lawsuits set to be filed.

At a news conference Tuesday, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee said he represents 120 accusers with allegations against the entertainment mogul that date back more than 20 years.

“We will expose the enablers who enabled this behavior behind closed doors. We will investigate this matter regardless of who the evidence involves,” Buzbee said during the press conference.

“A lot of powerful people… a lot of dirty secrets,” the lawyer said of the allegations. He added that his team “collected images, videos and texts.”

Buzbee added that the charges will include: “violent sexual assault or rape, facilitating sex with a controlled substance, distribution of video recordings, sexual abuse of a minor.”

“It’s a long list, but because of the nature of this case, we’re going to make damn sure we’re right before we do that,” Buzbee continued. “These names will shock you.”

The attorney said more than 3,000 people have contacted his office with allegations against Combs and he plans to file lawsuits in various states within the next 30 days. He added that the names of the other defendants would be announced at a later date.

Of this new group of prosecutors, Buzbee said, 62% identify as African American and they come from more than 25 states, with the majority from New York, California, Georgia and Florida. Buzbee said 25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, some as early as 1991. The attorney also claimed one of the accusers was only nine years old at the time of their alleged incidents.

“As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every unfounded allegation in what has become a ruthless media circus. However, Mr. Combs strongly and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” the rapper’s attorney, Erica Wolff, said in a statement. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court as lawsuits are filed and served, with the truth determined based on evidence rather than speculation.”

Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation for prostitution in an indictment unsealed last month. Combs pleaded not guilty and his lawyers said he was innocent of all charges.

Combs was denied bail twice, but on Monday his legal team, which now includes attorney Alexandra Shapiro alongside Teny Geragos and Marc Agnifilo, filed the initial paperwork before appealing the release decision.

Buzbee has represented victims in several other high-profile lawsuits, including against BP in 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He also represented people who accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct in 2021. That same year, he filed a $750 million lawsuit against Travis Scott after a deadly stampede occurred at the rapper’s Astroworld Festival.

Combs’ legal troubles have been mounting since his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a explosive civil lawsuit against him last year, accusing him of assault and sex trafficking over the course of their relationship. Combs, who has vehemently denied the allegations, settled with Ventura for an undisclosed amount. A few months later, surveillance video leaked showing Combs brutally beating Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel, and the mogul apologized for his actions.

Since Ventura’s lawsuit, several other lawsuits have been filed against Combs – including one by Dawn Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, who claimed Combs groped her, assaulted her, imprisoned her and threatened her life.

Combs has denied all claims against him, calling them “disgusting accusations” from people looking for “a quick payday.”

Many of the lawsuits against Combs were filed in New York City, which has the Gender-Based Violence Victims Protection Act, which allows people to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse even after the statute of limitations has expired.

CORRECTION (October 1, 2024, 3:27 p.m.): An earlier version of this article misspelled the first name of one of Diddy’s accusers. It’s Casandra Ventura, not Cassandra Ventura.