Sean “Diddy” Combs, the iconic music mogul, finds himself embroiled in yet another lawsuit, this time filed by Dawn Richard, a former member of two of his Bad Boy-backed music groups, Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money. Richard’s allegations not only corroborate but also expand upon the shocking claims made by Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, whose explosive lawsuit in November 2023 set off a wave of legal challenges for the beleaguered hip-hop executive.
Dawn Richard, a 41-year-old singer who first gained fame on MTV’s reality show “Making the Band 3” in 2004, filed her lawsuit against Combs on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in New York. In her complaint, Richard accuses her former mentor of a pattern of sexual assault, harassment, and inhumane treatment. She alleges that Combs groped, caressed, and grabbed her without her consent, falsely imprisoned her, and forced her to stay at his residences under harsh conditions, depriving her and her bandmates of basic needs such as food and sleep.
The lawsuit, which The Times obtained on Wednesday, details how Combs “flagrantly exploited” Richard both as a singer and a songwriter. According to the complaint, Combs withheld her earnings, stole her copyrighted works, and subjected her to “years of inhumane working conditions.” Richard asserts that Combs manipulated her by insisting that
“submission to his depraved demands was necessary for career advancement,”
Leading her to believe that such abuse was required for female artists to succeed in the music industry.
“When Ms. Richard resisted Mr. Combs’ advances, he retaliated by denying her singing parts, removing her from songs, refusing to let her perform, and even turning off her microphone during performances,” the complaint states.
“The more Ms. Richard rebuffed his advances, the more Mr. Combs’ retaliatory behavior escalated.”
In her suit, Richard names not only Combs but also several entities associated with him, including Herve Pierre, Remote Productions, Sony Music Publishing, and various Bad Boy and Combs-branded businesses. She is seeking a jury trial and unspecified compensatory damages, including financial restitution for mental anguish, emotional distress, punitive and exemplary damages, as well as the payment of legal fees.
Furthermore, Richard claims to have witnessed Combs physically abusing Cassie Ventura on numerous occasions, describing brutal incidents where he allegedly choked, slapped, and struck Ventura with objects. Richard’s attorneys, Lisa Bloom and Arick Fudali, allege in the complaint that Combs’ notorious temper often led to fits of violence, during which he hurled objects like mobile phones, laptops, food, and studio equipment across rooms or directly at people. On one occasion, Richard alleges she saw Combs throw a scalding hot pan at Ventura. When she attempted to intervene, she claims Combs threatened her life with statements such as, “You want to die today?” and “I end people.”
Richard also recounts a chilling episode when Combs allegedly told her,
“I’m giving you an opportunity; if you want to make it, you’ll shut your mouth… If you say anything, there will be consequences.”
She further describes an incident involving Combs’ late ex-girlfriend, Kim Porter, who was the mother of three of his children. Richard recalls seeing Porter leaving Combs’ studio in tears with visible injuries, including a lacerated lip. She also witnessed Combs and several men engaging in sexual activity with his female assistant at a hotel pool, a scene that left a lasting impression on her.
In another harrowing account, Richard describes how Combs allegedly kept her and the members of Danity Kane awake for days at a time, insisting on recording or rehearsing sessions that lasted between 36 to 48 hours without any breaks. Richard, who is 5-foot-4, said she lost a significant amount of weight due to these “extreme conditions,” weighing only 100 pounds at one point. She also claims that Combs would often intrude while she was changing clothes, grope her, and smack her buttocks without her consent.
One of the most alarming incidents described in the lawsuit took place in December 2010, while Diddy-Dirty Money was preparing for a performance on “Saturday Night Live.” Richard alleges that Combs publicly berated her and her bandmate, Kalenna Harper, and even raised his fist as if to strike her. Though he did not make contact, a bodyguard allegedly seized Richard and escorted her and Harper into a Bentley owned by Bad Boy Records. The car had heavily tinted windows and no interior door handles, effectively trapping them for two hours with no way to escape.
Eventually, Richard managed to call her father using Harper’s cellphone. Her father, Frank Richard — a former singer and drummer with the funk/soul band Chocolate Milk — drove from Baltimore to New York to free his daughter. When he confronted Combs and threatened to report him to the police, Combs allegedly warned him to consider his daughter’s career prospects.
This latest lawsuit adds to the mounting legal troubles facing Sean “Diddy” Combs, as more individuals come forward with their own harrowing stories of abuse, exploitation, and manipulation. While representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the claims made by Dawn Richard have intensified the scrutiny surrounding the music mogul, further complicating his already embattled reputation. As Richard’s lawsuit progresses, it may shine additional light on the darker side of the music industry and the power dynamics at play, especially regarding female artists.
