A timeline of allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Homepage News
Kaitlyn Huamani March 26, 2024
A string of recent sexual assault allegations against Sean Diddy Combs, the
rap
billionaire
music mogul
and entrepreneur, have damaged the legacy of the man once revered as
a
hip-hop
legend royalty
.
Four women, including Combs longtime girlfriend
Casandra Cassie Ventura
, filed explosive lawsuits against Combs in November and December, accusing the artist of sexually and physically abusing them. In February, producer Rodney Lil Rod Jones filed a similar suit, alleging Combs sexually assaulted and harassed him and that several people in his circle engaged in illicit behavior.
On Monday evening, federal agents from Homeland Security raided Combs Los Angeles and Miami homes as
a
part of a sweeping sex trafficking inquiry.
Combs has denied all the recent allegations and his lawyer, Aa
a
ron Dyer, slammed the execution of the Homeland Security investigation as an excessive show of force in a statement to The Times.
“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences
,” Dyer said.
“There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated. Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”
“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” Dyer’s statement added. “This unprecedented ambush paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits. There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
Combs
storied career
working in a
hip-hop
as an
artist,
a
producer
,
and
record
label executive
, taking on lucrative brand partnerships with liquor company Diageo and others, and engaging in several other business ventures who built fashion and liquor empires
is
underscored by decades of facing a dramatic downfall in light of allegations of
violence and abuse. Here is a timeline of the allegations against Combs
: .
1990:
In a November 2023 lawsuit, Liza Gardner
alleged Combs and R&B singer
Aaron Hall
sexually assaulted her and her friend in 1990.
in a November 2023 lawsuit.
1991: In a
nother
November 2023 lawsuit,
plaintiff
Joi Dickerson
-Neal
alleged that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her when she was 19. Combs also allegedly recorded and shared a video of the assault.
1993: Combs founded Bad Boy Records and began discovering and developing hip-hop artists and producing work for musicians
like T including t
he Notorious B.I.G.
April 1999: Combs was arrested
on felony assault chargesfor on suspicion of
an
Interscope Records executive
Steve Stoute
and pleaded guilty to harassment.
December 1999: Combs was charged with criminal possession of a weapon after police found a gun in his car following a shooting at a
dance
club in New York City. He and
his
then-girlfriend
Jennifer Lopez
were both arrested.
2003: According to a December 2023 lawsuit, Combs, former Bad Boy president
Harve Pierre
and a third unidentified person allegedly drugged and gang-raped a then
–
17-year-old girl, only identified in the complaint as Jane Doe. The alleged assault took place at a New York City recording studio after Pierre and the unidentified man flew in with the victim from Detroit.
2005: Combs
, then 37 in his mid-30s ,
met
19-year-oldCasandra Cassie
Ventura
when she is 19 and he is 37,
and
he
expresse
ds
interest in signing her to Bad Boy Records.
2006: Ventura sign
eds
a
ten 10
-album deal with Combs label, and
per alleged in
a November 2023 lawsuit
she filed, that
he used this time to set the groundwork for his manipulative and coercive romantic and sexual relationship with Ventura.
October 2007: Combs sign
eds
a multiyear deal with Diageo, a British beverage company, to develop
the
Ciroc vodka
brand
for a 50
– /
50 share in profits.
2007: Combs and Ventura
are were
romantically linked for the first time. In a November 2023 lawsuit, Ventura alleged that Combs took advantage of his position as the head of
the her
record label
she was signed to
and convinced her to take illegal drugs before having sex with her for the first time.
She also alleged that over their nearly decade-long relationship, Combs physically and sexually abused her, often with witnesses present. The complaint detail
eds
one incident in which Combs allegedly beat Ventura and repeatedly kicked and stomped her face, only stopping when she vomited.
With each instance of physical violence
Ventura
said in the suitendured, she came to believe
that Combs tremendously loyal network who witnessed her repeated assaults were not willing to do anything meaningful to stop the violence.
2012: At a point when Combs and Ventura were broken up, Ventura
was
briefly
dating dated
musician
Kid Cudi
. According to the November 2023 lawsuit, Combs told Ventura that he was going to blow up Kid Cudis car and that he wanted to ensure that Kid Cudi was home with his friends when it happened. Around this time, the lawsuit says, the musicians car exploded in his driveway. A representative for Kid Cudi confirmed the explosion to the New York Times.
2013: Combs launche
s d
media company RevoltTV as a co-founder.
2014: Combs expand
s ed
his deal with Diageo to acquire high-end tequila brand DeLeon.
June 2015: Combs was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon at a UCLA athletic complex
for following
an altercation with a coach
in during
which police said Combs used a kettlebell. Combs son played football at UCLA at the time of the altercation.
August 2015:
Throughout their relationship,
Ventura alleged in the November 2023 lawsuit that
throughout her relationship with Combs,Combs he
forced her to perform sexual acts on male sex workers
to satisfy his voyeurism fantasy
. He
called these encounters freak offs, and would
allegedly force
d
Ventura and the hired sex workers to take illegal drugs, as was the case in a 2015 meeting described in the complaint. Combs also allegedly recorded the encounters and
would
threaten
ed
violence if Ventura refused to participate
, the suit said.
2018: Ventura
had
repeatedly tried to sever ties with Combs and met
with
him for dinner in September 2018, per the November 2023 lawsuit. Combs allegedly forced himself into Venturas home after the dinner and raped her while she repeatedly said no and tried to push him away. Following this alleged assault, Ventura took further steps to completely separate herself from Combs.
July 2022: Combs accepted a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards.
2022-2023: Music producer
Rodney Lil Rod
Jones alleged that Combs sexually assaulted him over a yearlong period when Jones was living
at on
Combs properties and working on the production of The Love Album: Off the Grid. Jones also alleged in the February lawsuit that Combs tried to groom him into engaging in sex with producer
Steven Aaron Jordan
, also known as
Stevie J
.
Other allegations from the explosive federal complaint, which was originally filed in February but amended Monday, include Jones claim that Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually harassed and assaulted him and that Combs forced
him Jones
to take illegal drugs and solicit sex workers, some of whom were allegedly underage.
June 2023: Combs sued beverage company Diageo for allegedly treating the brands he co-owned, DeLeon
t
equila and Ciroc
v
odka, as inferior Black brands or ethnic brands, per the racial discrimination lawsuit his company filed. Diageo denied allegations of racism in previous statements to The Times.
September 2023: Combs returned publishing rights to some of the artists and songwriters signed to Bad Boy Entertainment. The surprise move restored the publishing rights back to artists including
Mase
,
112
,
the Lox
,
the Notorious B.I.G.
and his widow
Faith Evans
.
November 2023: Ventura filed a sex trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against Combs alleging a years-long period of physical and sexual abuse. The complaint says Ventura hoped to confront her abuser, and to hold him and those who enabled his abuse accountable for their actions. Through his lawyers, Combs denied the allegations and settled the suit 24 hours after Ventura filed.
Following the news of Venturas filing,
Joi
Dickerson-Neal and
Liza
Gardner also filed lawsuits alleging Combs sexually abused them.
November 2023: Combs steps ped down from his position as chairman at Revolt TV.
December 2023: A fourth lawsuit accusing Combs and former Bad Boy label president
Harve
Pierre of gang-rape and sex trafficking
is was
filed on behalf of a victim who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged assault. Pierre said in a statement the allegations were disgusting, false and a desperate attempt for financial gain.
January 2024: Combs withdrew his racial discrimination lawsuit against Diageo. In a joint statement to The Times, Combs and Diegeo said the former partners had no ongoing business relationship, either with respect to Ciroc vodka or DeLeon tequila, which Diageo now solely owns.
February 2024: Jones became the fifth person to file a lawsuit against Combs alleging that he sexually assaulted them. Jones suit names several notable entertainment industry figures, including Combs son
Justin Dior Combs
, Universal Music Group CEO
Lucian Grainge
,
Stevie J
,
Yung Miami,
and others.
March 25, 2024: Homeland Security agents searched Combs L.A. and Miami mansions as part of a federal inquiry into sex trafficking allegations against him
. Homeland Security Investigations agents reportedly searched the home as part of an investigation being run conducted
by the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The investigation is ongoing.
March 26, 2024: TMZ reported that Combs recently sold off all of his shares in Revolt TV, the company he co-founded in 2013, for an undisclosed amount.
