Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will be facing more legal trouble as over 100 people came forward saying they’ll be suing the mogul during a press conference on Tuesday
120 people are reportedly planning to sue Sean “Diddy” Combs, as shared in a livestream press conference held by their attorney in Houston, Texas.
25 of those individuals are minors. Attorney Tony Buzbee held the conference Tuesday afternoon to share the news that he is representing these people who allege that the Bad Boy Records founder exploited them and sexually abused them. This comes after Combs was indicted on various charges ranging from sex trafficking to racketeering.
Combs has pled not guilty in court and denied any wrongdoings. The alleged assaults outlined Tuesday range from both men and women and ages 9 to 38 over a twenty-year period in the 2000s and 2010s.
“This is an important matter that we intend to aggressively pursue,” Buzbee said. “We will leave no stone unturned to find all potentially liable parties, to include any individual or entity who participated in or benefited from this egregious behavior.”
( Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Buzbee also mentioned that there are more people who will be named in these upcoming lawsuits, but they wouldn’t be revealed at this moment in time. He added that once the names are revealed, people will be “shocked.”
Those besides Combs who Buzbee will go after include “anyone who of course engaged in the assault” or participated in any way,” Buzbee said. He also noted those who encouraged the assaults, benefited or helped cover it up will be named.
Also “anyone who was in the room and watched it happen but made no effort to stop it.” Buzbee also mentioned “any venue or venue owner who was aware of what was going on,” are at risk of a lawsuit.
“These people who know who they are should come forward,” Buzbee continued, “You can’t hide skeletons in the closet forever.”
Andrew Van Arsdale, a co-counsel of Buzbee, shared that the list includes “household names.” Van Arsdale set up a sexual assault “hotline,” that isn’t associated with police or the government, for people to come forward and stated that the results were “unprecedented.”
“Never ever in a 10 day period have we seen over 3,000 people come forward,” he told the crowd at the press conference about the line.
He encouraged that any person who knows someone who was assaulted or was assaulted themselves should call the hotline at his office at 1-800-200-7474.
Among the accusers, 24 are minors including one as young as nine years old. ““This, individual who was nine years old at the time, was taken to an audition in New York City with Bad Boy Records,” Buzbe stated.
“Other boys were there to audition as well,” he continued, “All of them were trying to land a record deal. All of them were minors. This individual was sexually abused, allegedly, by Sean Combs, and several other people at the studio in the promise to both his parents and to him himself of getting a record deal.”
Another accuser, according to the lawyer, left the music industry because of Combs’ alleged wrongdoings. “I’m gonna give you a quote from a very young man, who told us over the phone about his experience,” Buzbe said.
“All the things that happened to him he says allegedly at the hand of Sean Diddy Combs and his friends in an effort to try to sign a record deal,” he continued, “His quote is, ‘Had he not been in power, I feel like I could’ve been something great. I quit the industry because of what Sean Combs did to me.’“
One woman accusing Combs said that she attended a dinner he was at while she was pregnant. She allegedly wasn’t drinking alcohol because she was pregnant.
She believed “whatever she drank at the table, at least according to her, was laced with something.” The woman allegedly added that she later woke up in Combs’ bed with him.
Buzbe said that another victim allegedly overheard Combs talking to his chief of staff about “sex trafficking” the victim.