Singer Dawn Richard Sues Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs For Alleged Sexual Assault, Sadistic Behavior

Former Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money member Dawn Richard has accused fallen billionaire media mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault, threats to her life, retaliation and not paying her for her work in a new lawsuit.

Richard’s 58-page complaint, filed Tuesday in New York, is at least the eighth lawsuit against Combs since November of last year that accuses the mogul of sexual violence and abuse.

The suit says that Combs “flagrantly exploited Ms. Richard’s musical talent as a singer and writer while withholding her rightful earnings, stealing her copyrighted works, and subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions which included groping, assault, and false imprisonment, among other violations.”

According to the lawsuit, he also frequently used name-calling and hostile rhetoric to demean Richard and other women, frequently held meetings with Richard while he was wearing only underwear, and often forced Richard to strip down to only her underwear. Additionally, Richard said that she and the band members were often denied food and sleep and had been required to “record and rehearse for stretches of 36 to 48 hours without breaks.”

In the lawsuit, Richard claims she saw Combs abuse his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, including in 2009, when she says Combs threw a hot pan with eggs in it at Ventura and shouted: “I’ve been asking you for my shit; I can’t stand you bitch, you never do it right!”

Richard also alleges that she saw Kim Porter, Combs’ former girlfriend and the mother of three of his children, leaving his studio in tears with injuries to her face and lip in or around 2005.

On occasions when Richard stood up for herself, refused his sexual advances, didn’t perform to Combs’ expectations, or encouraged Ventura to leave the relationship, Combs then moved to threaten or punish her, her lawsuit says.

Richard says that Combs frequently threatened to end her life by telling her, “You want to die today,” “I make n***** go missing” and “I end people.”

Richard’s lawsuit alleges that Combs retaliated by “denying her singing parts in songs, removing her from songs, refusing to allow her to sing in performances, and turning her microphone off during 22 performances.”

“The more Ms. Richard rebuffed his advances, the more Mr. Combs’ retaliatory behavior increased,” the lawsuit claims.

Richard’s lawsuit describes an alleged incident in 2010 in which Combs’ bodyguard locked her in a car for over two hours after she stood up to Combs.

She also accuses him of arranging for young women and underage girls to party, drink alcohol and consume drugs with him and other celebrities around the time of the 2009 Soul Train Awards.

“Many of them appeared lethargic or passed out while Mr. Combs and his guests performed sexual acts on them,” the complaint said. “Mr. Combs repeatedly said things like ‘this is a buffet, enjoy yourselves; this is what we do, this is how we party.’”

According to the complaint, Richard had feared for her life and career if she came forward, but in recent months felt inspired by Combs’ other accusers.

After Ventura filed a lawsuit in November accusing Combs of rape, forcing her to have “freak-offs” and abuse, other public accusations followed, hitting the mogul’s business ventures despite his denial of several of the claims in December.

Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in March, reportedly as part of a sex trafficking investigation. And, in May, CNN released a video of Combs physically abusing Ventura in a hotel hallway.

This week, Combs lost a $100 million sexual assault suit in a default judgment that came as a result of his not responding.

Ventura’s lawsuit against Combs was promptly settled, and Danity Kane lead singer Aubrey O’Day echoed her claims in a post online and in a statement to Rolling Stone in November.

O’Day told Rolling Stone that she hoped Ventura’s case would help initiate more discussions about what happens behind the scenes in the music industry.

“There is a lot more to all of our stories!” she added.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.