Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs give closing arguments to jury
Sean “Diddy” Combs and his legal team were back in Manhattan court to plead his case to jurors in the sweeping federal sex-crimes probe.
As jurors began deliberating in the sweeping federal sex-crimes case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music mogul was hit with yet another civil suit.
Combs, who is currently behind bars as he awaits a verdict, was accused in a fresh civil complaint of drugging and raping an Orange County man in 2021, according to the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY June 30.
In 2021, the man, then in his 20s, alleges in the suit that he met a security guard for one of Combs’ parties while stopped at a gas station in Los Angeles. The guard invited him to a party that evening, where he says he drank a glass of champagne on arrival that he later suspected had been drugged.
The suit was filed on June 23 by attorney Tony Buzbee, an oft-foe of Combs, who is representing a large share of the victims accusing the music mogul of decades of alleged abuse.
In a statement to USA TODAY June 30, Combs’ legal team said, “No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor.”
“We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason,” Combs’ legal team continued. “Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth, and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail in court.”
Buzbee said in an email to USA TODAY June 30, “I’m proud to be leading the civil litigation and really look forward to trying these cases in court.”
Drawing on his cache of other suits and the allegations levied in the federal trial, Buzbee called the most recent allegations against Combs “shockingly typical.”
‘You’re about to get that Diddy love’: Lawsuit
In the suit, lawyers for the man also claim that during the party, while he searched for a place to lie down, he passed out and was awoken by someone unbuttoning his pants.
When he asked what was going on, a voice, which the lawsuit claims belonged to Combs, responded, “You’re about to get that Diddy love.”
When the man protested, saying he had a wife and children, Combs allegedly told him he was going to receive a great massage, before he felt himself being undressed, covered in some form of liquid and penetrated anally, per the suit.
When the man protested, Combs allegedly recited his “full name, address, date of birth, and driver’s license number” back to him, “threatening him.”
When, later, the man attempted to confront Combs about the alleged abuse, he claims that security guards stopped and threatened him, presenting him with a nondisclosure agreement, which he signed but did not date.
Lawyers for the man contend that he “has lived with the shame, humiliation, embarrassment, and the emotional and mental pain of that night ever since,” and are requesting both damages and a jury trial.
On Tuesday, July 1, jurors entered their second day of deliberations for Combs’ federal charges. It is unclear when a verdict will be handed down, though one truth seems already clear: The music mogul’s reputation will be forever altered by the trial.
