A prominent Sean "Diddy" Combs collaborator is now reportedly suing the embattled music mogul for physical and sexual abuse.
Dawn Richard, formerly of the Bad Boy Records girl group Danity Kane and trio Diddy Dirty Money, is suing him on 21 counts of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and copyright infringement, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Wednesday.
Richard also names former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre, Interscope Records and Bad Boy Records, among others, in the 55-page suit, filed Tuesday.
Richard, 41, claims the producer stole her work, withheld payment and subjected her to "inhumane" working conditions, which included assault, groping and false imprisonment, over the course of nearly a decade.
In a statement shared with USA TODAY Wednesday, Combs' attorney, Erica Wolff, said, "Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"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," Wolff continued. "If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with 'Making the Band' and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the 'Making the Band' reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on 'The Love Album' 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.”
The singer also recalled run-ins with Diddy's exes, Kim Porter and Cassie Ventura.
The singer claims to have seen Porter's face battered while she cried leaving a music studio in 2005. "Realizing that Mr. Combs was capable of committing acts of violence against women caused Ms. Richard to feel deep apprehension and fear that Mr. Combs could one day physically harm her," according to the lawsuit.
She also details multiple instances where she claims to have seen Diddy assault Cassie. In one, she said a "high on drugs" Diddy, 54, slammed Cassie, 38, against a wall, choked her and dragged her up the stairs in his home in Los Angeles during the recording of Diddy Dirty Money's album "Last Train to Paris" in 2009. The following day, she and fellow Diddy Dirty Money singer Kalenna Harper were locked in a room for over 20 minutes as Diddy threatened them and told them not to speak of the incident.
She "wanted to intervene and help Ms. Ventura, but Ms. Harper adamantly refused to interfere in Mr. Combs' relationship, and physically led Ms. Richard out of the residence," she claims in the lawsuit.
On occasions when Richard or Harper did intervene by encouraging Cassie to leave, she claims Diddy threatened them with statements like, "You want to die today" and "I end people."
Richard said in the lawsuit that Cassie's "bravery" in suing Diddy empowered her to come forward. She "realized her own personal suffering was tied to the many years of abuse by Mr. Combs that had become normalized for her," she said.
In the lawsuit, Richard claims to have witnessed Diddy bring in young women and what appeared to be underage girls to attend parties at his homes in New York and Miami.
Richard recalls seeing girls who "appeared lethargic or passed out" while Diddy and his guests "performed sexual acts on them."
At the days-long "drug-fueled" parties, Richard said guests were often required to surrender their phones and doors were locked by security. The singer alleges Diddy hired police to attend his parties, "sending a clear message to guests that his influence extended to law enforcement."
Among other incidents, Richard recalled rehearsals in New York for Diddy Dirty Money's "Saturday Night Live" performance in 2010, during which she and Harper were denied food and rest.
Enraged and screaming at the pair for being late, Richard claims Diddy nearly hit her before she was escorted away by a bodyguard. When Harper ran after her, both were locked inside a car without door handles, she claims. Richard used Harper's phone to call her father. Harper was later removed, leaving Richard locked alone in the car for two hours. It was only after her father arrived from Baltimore that she was released.
Richard also accused the rapper of making promises to advance her career in exchange for favors on set of the third season of MTV's series "Making the Band" in 2005, where Danity Kate was formed. According to Richard, Diddy belittled and harassed the female contestants during filming. Once the group was assembled, Richard said the label founder regularly deprived them of sleep, meals, referred to them derogatorily and "denigrated their physical appearances," telling Richard in particular she was "too skinny and needed to 'do something about (her face).'"
After "Making the Band," Danity Kane, featuring Richard, Aubrey O'Day, Aundrea Fimbres, D. Woods and, later, Shannon Bex, went on to make the hit single "Damaged." Richard, O'Day and Woods, later voiced support for Cassie amid her November lawsuit.
At the time, Richard tweeted she was praying for "peace and healing" for Cassie.
In June, O'Day said she did not feel "vindication" amid her former record label boss' legal trouble.
"There's no vindication when you're a victim of someone. … Anyone being exposed, or any truths being told, don't change the reality of what you experienced," O'Day told People. In a December 2022 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, O'Day also alleged that Combs fired her because she wouldn't do things he requested "in other areas" besides music.
Diddyordered to pay $100M in default judgment for alleged sexual assault
In September, the rapper and music mogul, who founded Bad Boy Records in the '90s, agreed to give the label’s publishing rights back to all artists and writers who worked with the company. Bad Boy artists such as Faith Evans, Mase, The Lox, 112 and the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. signed agreements to receive their publishing rights.
O'Day alleged on the "Only Stans" podcast that month that she did not agree to the terms of the music rights return because it required a nondisclosure agreement that she would never "disparage" the rapper or Bad Boy.
Contributing: Naledi Ushe
