Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces new sex assault allegations in woman's lawsuit

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces new sex assault allegations in woman's lawsuit

2024-09-28 03:38 Last Updated At：03:51

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with new sexual assault allegations Friday as a woman filed a lawsuit in New York saying she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul's homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.

It's the latest of several similar lawsuits by women against Combs, who also was arrested last week on a federal sex trafficking indictment.

The lawsuit was filed against Combs, his companies and several associates and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harms. A lawyer for Combs, his company and one of his representatives did not immediately return emails seeking comment Friday.

The woman in the latest lawsuit, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, accuses Combs of sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious from drugs, and it alleges Combs and his acquaintances recorded sexual encounters without her permission. She says that she met Combs overseas in fall 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through July this year.

Doe says she often was coerced and harassed into traveling to Combs' homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, including monthly in 2021 and 2022.

“At every visit, (Combs) would make her ‘perform a show’ for him and would ply her with alcohol and substances until she passed out — she would wake up with bruising and injuries but with no recollection of how she sustained her injuries,” the lawsuit says.

In a July 2022 encounter with Combs at his Los Angeles home, the woman alleges in the lawsuit, she was forced to ingest drugs she believes included ketamine and blacked out. She later took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive, she says. A Combs associate repeatedly demanded she get an abortion, and she had a miscarriage, she asserts.

This past July, Doe says, Combs “commanded” her to go to his home in Miami, where she alleges Combs shoved two pills in her mouth. She says that the next morning, she felt ill and confused and could not remember what had happened the night before, and that the bedroom was in disarray.

Doe, being represented by attorneys Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations. She says Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.

“Powerful figures in the entertainment industry have long exploited aspiring artists and fans," Napoli said in a statement. "Recent high-profile lawsuits aim to hold these celebrities accountable, potentially transforming industry practices and providing justice for victims. No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse.”

On Tuesday, another woman sued Combs, alleging that the music mogul and his head of security raped her and recorded it on video at his New York recording studio in 2001.

Combs remains jailed without bail in New York on the federal charges alleging he ran a vast network that facilitated sexual crimes and committed shocking acts of violence, using blackmail and other tactics to protect Combs and those close to him.

He pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

Earlier this month, Combs admitted that he beat his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 and apologized after CNN released video of the attack.

Combs, 54, is one of the best-known music executives, producers and performers across hip-hop, having won three Grammys and worked with artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112. He founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, the influential fashion line Sean John, a vodka brand and the Revolt TV network. He sold off his stake in the latter company in June of this year.

Israel's military mobilizes additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon

2024-09-28 15:45 Last Updated At：15:50

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel maintained a heavy barrage of airstrikes against Hezbollah on Saturday, as Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israel.

The Israeli military said it was mobilizing additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon. The military said Saturday morning it was activating three battalions of reserve soldiers, after earlier sending two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion.

Rumors swirled after Israel claimed it struck Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the strikes, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, including one United States official.

On Saturday morning, the Israeli military carried out several strikes in southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles across northern and central Israel and the Israel-occupied West Bank.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, smoke rose and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes. Shelters set up in the city center for displaced people were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.

At least six people were killed and 91 were wounded in the strikes against the Hezbollah on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said. It was the biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year and appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-fledged war. At least 720 people have been killed in Lebanon during the week, according to the Health Ministry.

The death toll is likely to rise significantly as teams comb through the rubble of six buildings. Israel launched a series of strikes on other areas of the southern suburbs following the initial blast.