Attorney States Singer Was “Absolutely Terrified” of Diddy

According to her attorney, Dawn Richard, who previously belonged to two musical ensembles established by Sean “Diddy” Combs, was “absolutely terrified” of the artist. Ms. Richard initiated a lawsuit against Mr. Combs in September, alleging that he threatened her life and “subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions which included groping, assault, and false imprisonment”. Ms. Richard, who was a member of Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money, is one of over two dozen individuals who have brought legal action against him. Additionally, Mr. Combs is confronting criminal accusations of racketeering and sex trafficking. Mr. Combs refutes these allegations, and his legal representative has characterized Ms. Richard’s claims as “manufactured” and “false”. On Thursday, attorney Lisa Bloom stated during an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight that her client asserted “he groped and grabbed her body parts, sexually assaulted her, that he not only failed to pay her money that was promised to her, but actually prevented her from eating and sleeping during those years – just treated her terribly”. Ms. Bloom further contended that the singer observed “some severe acts of violence” perpetrated by Mr. Combs against his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, and other females. “And when she spoke out, she says she was threatened with more physical violence. She said Sean Combs had a vicious temper and she was absolutely terrified of him.” Ms. Ventura, who is also a vocalist, filed a lawsuit against Mr. Combs a year prior, alleging rape and sex trafficking, before reaching a settlement for the case the following day. Subsequently, a video surfaced depicting him assaulting her in a hotel hallway in 2016. Ms. Richard’s legal complaint stated that she observed him “brutally beat” Ms. Ventura and made multiple attempts to intervene, urging her to end the relationship with him. “Each time, Mr Combs learned of her efforts to help Ms Ventura and became enraged, threatening Ms Richard’s life,” the document said. He purportedly informed her that “there will be consequences” should she disclose anything, and issued a warning that “people go missing”. Ms. Bloom said: “Dawn Richard, my client, says that when she spoke out about it, tried to get Cassie to speak out… When she complained about it, she was also threatened with physical violence. So [it was] just a really violent, tumultuous atmosphere.” Erica Wolff, Mr. Combs’ attorney, stated that the rapper was “shocked and disappointed” by Ms. Richard’s lawsuit and that she had “manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day”. She further added that he was “confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court”. Also on Thursday, Ms. Bloom informed Newsnight that she represents another client who intends to present allegations concerning gatherings hosted by Mr. Combs, which were referred to as “freak-offs”. “But many other people already have come forward with the allegations that people were drugged, that they were forced into sexual activity in order to have business deals with Sean Combs,” she said. Mr. Combs is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday to submit a fresh bail application in his criminal proceedings. Previous bail applications were rejected by judges, who cited a potential risk of witness tampering. Earlier in the week, prosecutors asserted that he had violated correctional facility regulations by communicating with potential witnesses through the phone accounts of other inmates. The New York Times reported that prosecutors have directed their attention to Kalenna Harper, a witness who was the third member of Diddy – Dirty Money, alongside Mr. Combs and Ms. Richard. US media outlets reported that prosecutors claim Mr. Combs engaged in 128 phone communications with Ms. Harper soon after Ms. Richard initiated her lawsuit. Ms. Harper issued a statement asserting that Ms. Richard’s allegations “are not representative of my experiences, and some do not align with my own truth”. During her appearance on Newsnight, Ms. Bloom refrained from identifying Ms. Harper by name, but mentioned a woman who had collaborated with Ms. Richard and “came out publicly and essentially called my client a liar”. She continued: “The strong implication there is that he talked her into making those statements, perhaps gave her money. We don’t know.” “But that would be witness tampering. That’s what the government argued. The judge agreed and he was denied bail as a result, which he should have been.” Nevertheless, Mr. Combs’ legal team has contended that Ms. Harper’s statement constituted “the furthest thing from witness obstruction I can think of”, and merely represented “two witnesses having divergent recollections of similar events”.