Sean “Diddy” Combs must pay $130 million in sexual assault lawsuit, Entertainment News

A Michigan inmate who accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a party nearly 30 years ago has been awarded US$100 million (S$130 million) in compensation against the rapper and record producer.

Derrick Lee Smith, 51, won the multimillion-dollar default judgment in Lenawee County Circuit Court during a virtual hearing Monday after Combs, 54, failed to appear.

A lawyer for Combs said the rapper would file a motion to overturn the verdict.

“This man (Smith) is a convicted felon and sex offender who has been convicted of 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the past 26 years,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement.

“His resume now includes a prison court fraud conviction, as Mr. Combs has never heard from him, let alone been served with a lawsuit. Mr. Combs hopes for a swift overturning of this conviction,” the statement continued.

Smith, who was sentenced to 75 years in prison for sexual abuse and kidnapping, filed lawsuits against Combs in June and August. He obtained a temporary restraining order against Combs, who still has several sexual assault cases pending.

Combs, founder of the groundbreaking label Bad Boy Records, is one of the most influential producers and managers in hip-hop, a hugely successful artist and impresario of his own clothing line Sean John.

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