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Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss a music producer’s lawsuit accusing the music mogul of widespread sexual assault and other misconduct.
According to the motion to dismiss filed in federal court in New York, the lawsuit filed in February by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones — one of many filed against Combs over the past year — is filled with “wild tales,” “sensational drama,” “legally meaningless allegations” and “outright lies” designed only to “generate media hype and leverage it to obtain a settlement.”
According to the motion, the case failed to prove Jones had standing to sue, did not include necessary details such as the time and location of the events described, and “failed to set forth any viable claim.”
When Jones filed his lawsuit in February, there were already multiple lawsuits against Combs alleging sexual and other abuse, but things have gotten more serious for the hip-hop star since then.
In March, simultaneous raids on Combs’ homes in Florida and California revealed that he was the subject of a federal criminal sex trafficking investigation, which is still ongoing.
In May, CNN aired hotel surveillance footage from 2016 that showed him beating, kicking and dragging R&B singer Cassie, then his protégé and longtime girlfriend. The incident closely matched her account in a lawsuit she filed in November, which was settled the next day but drew scrutiny of Combs.
Days after the video aired, Combs posted an apology video on social media, saying he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable.”
Jones’s wide-ranging lawsuit, which also names Combs’ son and several of his business partners as defendants, describes a year Jones spent in Los Angeles and Miami in 2022 and 2023 while making the album.
Jones said he witnessed hundreds of hours of illegal drug use and sex by Combs and those around him, many of which were caught on tape. Combs’ motion Monday said the motion is “riddled with far-fetched tales of misconduct” but contains “few allegations against Jones other than Combs’ failure to pay the producer.”
Combs said in the filing that the lawsuit seeks to turn the business dispute into a broad criminal conspiracy orchestrated by Combs, but does not provide any significant evidence.
Jones also claimed Combs tried to entice him into sex, molested him, had him solicit prostitutes and forced him to have sex with them.
But the motion from Combs’ attorneys said “Jones failed to state the most basic facts, such as where and when the alleged assault occurred, or what allegedly occurred,” and failed to provide evidence that Jones was coerced into becoming a victim.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Jones and Casey have.
Combs has denied virtually all of the allegations in the lawsuit against him, except for what was captured on hotel surveillance video about Cassie’s actions.
“Let me be clear. I have not done any of the horrible things I have been accused of,” he said in a December post.
Source: AP
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