Diddy sued by Danity Kane star Dawn Richard for ‘manipulating and sexually abusing’ her

Diddy sued by Danity Kane star Dawn Richard for ‘manipulating and sexually abusing’ her
Diddy, real name Sean Combs, has been hit with another lawsuit by Danity Kane star Dawn Richard who claimed he manipulated, terrorised and sexually abused her.

Danity Kane star Dawn Richard has filed a lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and claimed he manipulated, terrorised and sexually abused her.

In a new lawsuit, the 41-year-old musician also claimed she witnessed him throw his ex Cassie, full name Cassandra Ventura, against a wall at his Los Angeles home in 2009, with him allegedly ‘choking and dragging her’ up the stairs when he was high on drugs. She also claimed she saw him throw a hot pan of eggs at Cassie. Combs’ attorney released a statement regarding the lawsuit and slammed the ‘series of false claims’.

Richard appeared on Combs’ radar when she joined his 2004 MTV show Making The Band as a participant, which later resulted in the formation of Danity Kane. The group signed with Combs’ Bad Boy Records to release three studio albums until their temporary disbandment in 2009.

She later became part of Combs’ trio Diddy – Dirty Money with Kalenna Harper. She reformed with Danity Kane with three of its five original members to release one more album in 2013. According to new reports, Richard claimed she was ‘manipulated’ by Combs after he promised he would help her music career if she followed his orders.

Dawn Richard and Sean Combs
Dawn Richard has filed a lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ( Image: Getty Images for MTV)
The lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, also alleged that Combs called female contestants in Making The Band a number of belittling names such as ‘fat’, ‘ugly’, ‘b****es’, and also ‘h***.’ She added that the Bad Boy CEO had a specific disdain for her because she was young and excited to be with him as such a famous person.

She went on to claim she was a victim of his abuse and alleged that he forced her to rehearse 48 hours at a time without sleep, which resulted in her dropping a lot of weight, becoming dehydrated and fatigued while suffering bad rashes. According to the documents, the music mogul once demanded she come to his Miami home.

However, it was alleged that he was only wearing underwear but when she asked him to put on clothes, he refused and screamed at her: “This is my f***ing house!” Richard added that his treatment of her allegedly got worse between 2009 and 2011. The documents claimed he once burst into her dressing room at his recording studio while she was fully naked and allegedly inappropriately touched her breasts and butt.

She said he locked her in a car with heavily tinted windows for two hours as she yelled for help, even calling her dad for help. Dawn additionally claimed her dad travelled from Baltimore to New York to free her from the car and confront Combs. She said her dad threatened to report him to the police but Combs told her dad, “Think about your daughter” and “think about your daughter’s career.”

The court documents also claimed she witnessed Combs’ abusive behaviour towards Cassie. It was claimed Richard saw his former partner Kim Porter’s face covered in bruises when she left a music studio in tears. That moment made Richard realise she said that the rapper was capable of violence and her life could be in danger.

She was also present when Combs was first introduced to Cassie a year later. According to the docs, he invaded her personal space in a “predatory way.” She said that, in 2009, she personally witnessed Diddy throw Cassie against a wall, choke her and drag her up a flight of stairs in his LA mansion while he was allegedly on drugs.

Richard also said that Combs threw a scalding pan of eggs at Cassie, yelling: “I’ve been asking you for my s**t; I can’t stand you b****, you never do it right!” She went on to claim there was a point when she and others such as musical artist Kalenna Harper showed Cassie support and urged her to leave Diddy.

When Diddy found out about the conversation, he threatened them by saying: “Y’all b****es don’t get in my relationship,” adding, “Don’t tell my b***h [Cassie] what she need to be doing … Just make money and shut the f*** up … I end artists … I shelve careers … You could be missing … You b**** want to die today.”

Releasing a statement regarding the allegations, Combs’ attorney Erica Wolff said: “Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. 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. If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year.

“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 year, Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day hit out at Combs and the American justice system when he settled a lawsuit with Cassie which accused him of rape and sexual abuse. She also told Cassie in a post: “We are here.”

The Mirror have reached out to his reps for comment.