Dawn Richard has accused Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexual abuse in a new lawsuit.
The singer participated in the third series of MTV’s Making the Band in 2005, and along with Aubrey O’Day, Aundrea Fimbres, D. Woods, and Shannon Bex, formed Danity Kane – a girl group that was eventually signed by Combs’s Bad Boy Records.
Richard was also part of Combs’s Diddy – Dirty Money trio, which formed in 2009.
On Tuesday, Richard filed a lawsuit against the hip-hop mogul in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her numerous times between 2009 and 2011.
In legal documents obtained by Page Six, the artist claimed Combs touched her breasts and bottom when she was in a changing room.
“Mr. Combs frequently smacked Ms. Richard’s bare buttocks and often commented on her body, noting that although she was ‘too skinny,’ she had an ‘a*s,'” the lawsuit reads.
She also alleged Combs subjected her to verbal abuse and inhumane treatment while they were filming Making the Band and called participants names such as “fat”, “ugly”, “b**ches” and “h**s” and that he once made her rehearse for two days without rest.
Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Richard alleged she saw Combs be physically abusive to his ex-partner Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura on multiple occasions.
In her statement, the 41-year-old claimed she and Dirty Money bandmate Kalenna Harper attempted to help Ventura but Combs allegedly told her, “Just make money and shut the f**k up” and “You b**ches want to die today?”
As part of the lawsuit, Richard is seeking damages and for him to cover her legal fees.
In response to the filing, Combs’ attorney, Erica Wolff, denied all allegations.
“In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day – conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour,” she commented to Page Six. “It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”
Last November, Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in which she accused him of physical and sexual abuse during their relationship. The pair quickly reached an out-of-court settlement and the lawsuit was dismissed. However, a surveillance video emerged months later showing him beating her in a hotel corridor in 2016, prompting the rapper to apologise for his “inexcusable behaviour”.
Combs has since been hit with several other lawsuits and allegations of sexual misconduct, with the complaints still pending.
