Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with four new lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging sexual assault, all filed under the Gender-Motivated Violence Act with a lookback window closing on March 1.
The suits, filed in New York, all detail similar allegations of sexual assault, with accusers claiming they were drugged and subsequently subjected to sex acts against their will. The GMVA was granted an amendment in 2022 that allowed survivors whose claims were previously time-barred to file a suit against their abuser during the window period of March 1, 2023 and March 1, 2025. With the Act coming to a close, more suits are expected to be filed before week’s end.
The first suit against Combs comes from Aristalia Benitez, who lived in New York City in 1995 at the age of 20. A sophomore at New York University, she was employed by Peppe Jeans, a Tommy Hilfiger sister brand, and was invited by Andy Hilfiger to a party at a restaurant where Combs was present. She was seated next to Combs and was given a non-alcoholic drink, after which Combs allegedly “forcibly groped and fondled [her] breasts, butt, and genital area under her clothes.” She claims to have been rendered unconscious and awoke in the back of a cab hours later with no recollection of how she got there. The fare had been paid, and she noticed her groin area was sore. Upon belief, the suit claims, she was “vaginally penetrated by Defendant Combs” and his associates while unconscious.
Another plaintiff, Justin Gooch, claims that he was 16 years old in 1999 while living with his grandparents in New Jersey. In January, he visited the popular New York City club Tunnel, where he met Combs. Combs allegedly invited Gooch to one of the club bathrooms and once inside a stall, he gave him ketamine, proceeding to anally penetrate him without consent. After the incident, Combs apparently asked, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Leslie Cockrell filed a third suit regarding an incident that occurred in 1999 when she was 24. She ran a scouting business in the music industry, and during that summer she went to one of Combs’ parties in the Hamptons along with the artist Jay Stone, thinking it was a good networking opportunity. At the party, Combs offered her a drink and touched her as he gave her a tour of the house, which was “packed inside and outside with naked people who were engaging in sexual activities together.” After her second drink, she began to feel lightheaded, and was guided to a lie in a room by herself. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she woke up to Combs vaginally penetrating her without consent. When she came to, she was sore and was told not to tell anyone what happened.
A fourth lawsuit was filed against Combs and VH1 by Kendra Haffoney, who worked for a designer showroom in Los Angeles in 2007. She applied to a new VH1 show “I Want to Work for Diddy,” and was selected, moving to New York that year. One night, she was invited to an afterparty where she was invited to a backroom where Combs was with other individuals and took a drink that she believes was laced. She sat down next to Combs, who allegedly “guided her head down to have her perform oral sex on him.” She passed out and awoke to Combs sitting at the foot of the bed, knowing she was drugged and that “her vaginal area felt sore.” She claims that she was later invited to Combs’ L.A. mansion where she was subsequently abused.
Representatives for Combs responded in a request for comment to Variety, “No matter how many lawsuits are filed—especially by individuals who refuse to put their own names behind their claims—it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor. This lawsuit is nothing more than a collection of media headlines, stitched together with fragments from other lawsuits and baseless rumors. With the deadline for New York’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act expiring tomorrow, opportunists are scrambling to file last-minute, meritless claims. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason, but that does not make the claims true. Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court.”
The filings come shortly after a male escort sued Combs over accusations of sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2012. Combs is currently detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he will remain until his criminal trial, slated for May 5.
From Variety US