A woman who claimed that she was flown as a 17-year-old on a private plane to meet Sean “Diddy” Combs and was gang raped at his recording studio in 2003, must use her real name in her lawsuit against the mogul, a judge has ruled.
The Jane Doe sued Combs, former Bad Boy CEO Harve Pierre and a third unknown associate for sexual assault in December 2023 — one month after Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed her own bombshell sexual abuse and sex trafficking lawsuit against Combs. (Combs denied Ventura’s claims and a settlement was reached the next day.)
But beyond the initial filing — which included photos of the Detroit-area high-schooler sitting on Combs’ lap — the case has largely been at a standstill while the woman waited to see if her case could continue after Combs’ team challenged the New York City-specific statue that she was filing under.
Combs’ attorneys argued that Doe’s case should be tossed because the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law (VGMVPL) was “pre-empted” by the expiration of other statewide lookback laws, specifically the Child Victims Act that expired in August 2021.
In her opinion published on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke ruled that the case could continue under the VGMVPL statute and directed Doe to comply with a previous order to unveil her name. And in a second slight win for Combs’ team, Judge Clarke also ruled that corporate defendants Daddy’s House, the name of Combs’ Manhattan recording studio, and Bad Boy could be dismissed from the case.
While Doe will have to come forward publicly if she wishes to continue with the lawsuit, it’s still largely a favorable outcome. It also bodes well for other survivors whose alleged assaults took place after 2000 and have sued under the same provision.
Still, the decision could cause a ripple effect in how other judges will handle the 20 other anonymous cases against Combs. Last month, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ordered accuser Candice McCrary to use her name after McCrary sued Combs for allegedly forcing himself on her after meeting him at a photo shoot in 2004. Other cases are still in limbo as different judges weigh their own decisions if the accuser can proceed anonymously.
It’s a toss-up on predicting which way the various judges presiding over these cases will go, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh tells Rolling Stone. “There is no real binding precedent that is set for this kind of situation,” he explains. “Different judges will just keep reaching different results, as it appears to be the case in this particular state of litigation.”
It might not help that some accusers, such as Ventura, Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard and several others, have already filed similar lawsuits using their names, setting a precedent that might lead to anonymous plaintiffs needing to show why they are an exception. On the flip side, a judge could take into account the sensitivity of the claims and some accusers being minors at the time of the alleged assaults.
Although Judge Clarke and Judge Vyskocil have ruled one way, “several other judges seem to be sympathetic to the claim of pseudonymity,” Volokh points out. “I would guess that it’ll probably end up being split.”
Reps for Combs’ and Doe’s attorney Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Doe filed her graphic lawsuit in December 2023, alleging that she was a high school junior when Pierre approached her at a Detroit-area lounge, boasting of his friendship with Combs and claiming the music executive would “love” to meet her. That same night, Doe claims she flew on a private jet with Pierre and an unknown man to Teterboro, NJ, before arriving at Daddy’s House recording studio in Manhattan.
Upon arriving in the studio, the woman alleges the men began giving her “copious amounts of drugs and alcohol.” Things allegedly took a turn when she began to slip in and out of consciousness. Doe claims the three men allegedly took turns raping her in the bathroom while she pleaded for them to stop. Eventually, she alleges that she blacked out, later waking up on the floor in the fetal position and experiencing vaginal pain. Once she “regained her bearings,” she was taken back to an airport and flown to Detroit.
Combs vehemently denied Doe’s allegations in a statement issued shortly after her lawsuit was filed. “Enough is enough,” he said in a statement. “For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
The 55-year-old is currently being held without bail after his arrest in September on federal criminal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Pleading not guilty to the charges, he faces up to life in prison if convicted.
