Musician and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this year that accused him of of sexual assault, illicit drug use and running a “sex-trafficking venture,” arguing the suit is filled with “meaningless allegations and blatant falsehoods.”
Combs filed the motion to dismiss on Monday in response to the suit from music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed in February that accused Combs of throwing house parties where Combs, his son and his employees would recruit women and underage girls to perform sex acts for money “through the means of force, threats of force, fraud, abuse of process and coercion.”
Jones, in the $30 million lawsuit, also alleged that Combs drugged him, sexually harassed him and tried to groom him into having sex with a fellow male producer.
Combs’ attorneys argued there was no evidence Combs sexually assaulted Jones, and that Combs cannot be held liable for any sexual assaults committed at his described parties because he could not have predicted the assaults would take place and can’t control everything on the premises.
Combs’ legal team said the lawsuit contains “countless tall tales” and said Jones has since undergone “a calculated effort to promote his personal brand and profit from the exposure.”
The lawsuit filed by Jones against Combs was one in a series to have been filed in the last year that saw multiple women accuse Combs of rape, sexual assault and other misconduct, and came shortly before Federal Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted raids on the rapper’s homes in Florida and California, which were reportedly connected to a federal sex trafficking investigation.
Tyrone Blackburn, an attorney for Jones, said the motion to dismiss “is nothing more than a billing exercise by Sean Combs’ latest set of lawyers. It is a weak attempt to fill their pockets before he is indicted.”
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Jones’ bombshell lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York in February. The 73-page complaint detailed the parties Combs was alleged to have thrown and accused him of running a “sex-trafficking venture” that was largely ignored by others in the music industry. The lawsuit claimed those who were affiliated with or sponsored Combs’ parties were rewarded with business referrals and connections to Combs’ vast network of artists, athletes, political figures and international dignitaries. The lawsuit was packed with allegations of illicit behavior, from claims Combs would have separate bottles of drugged alcohol for women at his parties to allegations he participated in the sale of illegal guns and drugs. At the time, Combs’ attorney Shawn Holley said Jones was “shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday” and said the allegations in the lawsuit were “pure fiction.”
Jones lawsuit came amid a series of complaints from women accusing Combs of sexual assault, rape and other crimes, led by singer Casandra Ventura, Combs’ ex, who filed suit in November 2023. The $30 million suit said Combs subjected her to a years-long abusive relationship, as well as rape and sex trafficking. It was settled for an undisclosed amount the next day and his attorney, who had accused Ventura of “seeking a payday,” said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.” Months later, CNN published a surveillance video that showed Combs beating Ventura in a hotel hallway, which Combs responded to with an apology video calling his behavior “disgusting.” After Ventura’s, more lawsuits followed. An unnamed plaintiff accused Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of raping her and a friend in the early 1990s; Joie Dickerson-Neal said she was drugged and assaulted in 1991; model Crystal McKinney said she was drugged and assaulted by Combs in 2003; and another lawsuit accused him of participating in a 17-year-old’s gang rape that same year. Combs has denied all allegations.
A Netflix documentary. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in May said a docuseries in the works from his production company about the allegations against Combs had been picked up by the streamer. No title or release date for the project has been confirmed.
