American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing a new lawsuit alleging abuse and exploitation from a former contestant of his MTV show, Making the Band.
Singer Dawn Richard filed a complaint on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York against Combs and others associated with him.
The complaint alleges Combs mistreated women, was physically abusive and withheld Richard’s earnings.
Combs’ lawyer Erica Wolff said the rapper was “shocked and disappointed” by the lawsuit and called Richard’s claims “manufactured” and “false”.
She said her client was “confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court”.
Richard was a member of the all-female group Danity Kane, which Combs formed through the reality show Making the Band.
The show focused on contestants who competed to win a spot in his new group.
She later became a member of Combs’ band, Diddy – Dirty Money.
The new lawsuit accuses Combs of mistreating women and claims that Richard witnessed the rapper beating his former girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura.
According to the complaint, Richard saw Combs physically abuse his ex-girlfriend on several occasions, including accounts of choking and strangling her.
The lawsuit lists multiple incidents of Richard allegedly witnessing Combs assaulting Ventura – often in public or in front of representatives from record labels who allegedly still agreed to make deals with Combs.
When she encouraged Ventura to leave the relationship, Richard said she was met with threats and verbal abuse from Combs, according to the complaint.
Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs in 2023 accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. Combs paid Ventura an undisclosed sum of money, which settled the matter outside of court.
Richard’s lawsuit also accuses Combs of exploiting her talent as a singer, withholding her earnings, stealing her copyrighted works and subjecting her to “inhumane working conditions”, which included groping, assault and false imprisonment.
The lawsuit alleges Combs manipulated Richard by saying her submission to these circumstances was necessary for career enhancement and telling her exploitation was required of female artists to succeed in the music industry.
During the filming of the show Making the Band, Richard felt threatened and intimidated by Combs when he displayed aggressive behaviour toward her and her bandmates, according to the complaint.
She accuses Combs of denying her and her bandmates basic needs like adequate food and sleep, and for demanding rehearsal schedules that went on for 36 – 48 hours straight without breaks.
The lawsuit describes an afterparty in November 2009 after the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta, where, it claims, there were illegal drugs and dozens of young women and girls – some who allegedly appeared underage – seeming lethargic or passed out.
These events had security personnel and law enforcement officers posted at the doors, according to the complaint, which made Richard feel trapped and as if she couldn’t leave without Combs being alerted.
The lawsuit also accuses Combs of not paying Richard for appearances that were required as part of a tour agreement.
According to the complaint, there were several instances of Combs making unwanted sexual advancements toward Richard.
Between 2009 and 2011, when rehearsing for Diddy – Dirty Money’s, Combs ordered Richard to strip down to her underwear and called her degrading names in front of others, according to the complaint.
In the complaint, Richard accuses Combs of groping her while she was changing in her dressing room.
When she refused his advancements, it alleges, he would remove her from songs, deny her parts of singing in songs, and turn off her microphone during performances in retaliation.
The lawsuit is among a string of sexual assault allegations that have been recently made against Combs, one of the most successful moguls in the history of rap music.
Combs has denied previous allegations against him, but apologized after a video surfaced of him assaulting Ventura.
Richard credits Ventura’s bravery for coming forward.
“Dawn had the option of filing as a Jane Doe but bravely chose to file in her true name.
We will not rest until we achieve full and complete justice for Dawn in this case,” Richard’s attorney said in a statement.
