Sept 11 (Askume) – Former Bad Boy Records singer Dawn Richards has sued music mogul and label founder Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, sex discrimination and fraud, court documents show.
Richard, who also sued former Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Harvey Pierre, filed the suit Tuesday in the Southern District of New York.
Richard’s legal action comes a day after a Michigan prison inmate fined the rapper $100 million , and Combs’ attorney said he would try to overturn the decision. The inmate, Derrick Lee Smith, accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a party nearly 30 years ago.
Richard joined the girl group Danity Kane and the R&B trio Diddy Dirty Money, which featured Combs and singer Kelenna Harper. These groups are part of Bad Boy Records.
Combs’ attorney, Erica Wolfe, said in a statement Tuesday that Combs looks forward to proving Richard’s claims wrong in court.
“Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now made a series of false claims so she can obtain payment — which conveniently occurred at the time of the release of his album and before and after his press conference.
He further stated, “If Ms. Richard had such negative experiences on ‘Making the Band’ and ‘Danity Kane,’ she would not have continued to work directly with Mr. Combs on ‘Dirty Money,’ nor would she have returned to the Making the Band reboot in 2020″ or would have agreed to appear on The Love Album last year.”
Richard alleged in the suit that during her time working with Combs, the rapper repeatedly groped her, physically assaulted her, locked her in his car, and threatened to kill her.
Richard met Combs in 2004 during auditions for the MTV series “Making the Band,” where Combs claimed he began behaving inappropriately.
“(Combs) seduced her by telling her that she needed to comply with his petty demands in order to advance her career, and he instilled in her the belief that in order to succeed in the music industry, she must become a woman,” the suit alleges, adding that this abuse and exploitation was necessary for the artist.
Richard also said in the lawsuit that she witnessed Combs abuse his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassandra Ventura. Last year, Combs settled a lawsuit filed by Ventura that accused him of physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape.
Combs is one of hip-hop’s most influential producers and executives, as well as a highly successful artist and operator of his own Sean John clothing line.
