Dawn Richard sues Sean “Diddy” Combs for sexual and physical abuse

She also claimed that Combs promised to advance her singing career if she gave in to his alleged demands and showed particular disdain toward her on set due to her young age. In 2005, she allegedly saw his former partner, the late Kim Porter, leaving a music studio visibly distraught and with obvious wounds to her face.

According to the lawsuit, in 2009 Richard also witnessed Combs, while high on drugs, physically attack his ex-girlfriend Cassie, throwing her against a wall, choking her and dragging her up a staircase in his Los Angeles home.

In another alleged case of abuse, Richard said the mogul hurled a scalding hot pan of eggs at Cassie, who was 17 years his junior, while screaming: “I asked you for my shit. I can't stand you, bitch. You never do it right!”

Richard claims to have seen Combs also punch Cassie, an R&B singer and his protégé, in the face and attempt to strangle her.

Richard claims in the documents that she and others, including her bandmate Kalenna Harper, once tried to intervene by advising Cassie to end the relationship.

Combs, who later learned of the conversation, allegedly threatened to “end” Richard and Harper's careers, yelling, “You bitches don't interfere in my relationship… Don't tell my bitch.” [Cassie] what she should do… Just make money and shut up… I'm destroying artists… I'm putting careers on hold… You could be missed… You bitches wanna die today.”

As for his treatment of Richard, the singer claimed she was forced to rehearse for 48 hours straight without sleep, which had a significant impact on her physical health. In another instance, she asked the producer to get dressed when he greeted her at his Miami home wearing only his underwear; he refused, screaming, “This is my damn house!”

Between 2009 and 2011, Richard says, Combs inappropriately touched her breasts and butt after she burst into her dressing room naked. She says Combs locked her in a car for two hours, with the heavily tinted windows obscuring her, while she screamed for help.

In a statement to TMZ, Combs' attorney Erica Wolff said the rapper was “shocked and disappointed” by the lawsuit.

“In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now constructed a series of false claims, all in the hope of raising money – conveniently timed to coincide with the release of her album and press tour,” Wolff said.

“If Mrs Richard has had such a negative experience with The founding of the band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have been The founding of the band Restart in 2020 or agreed to be presented on The Love Album last year.

“It is unfortunate that Ms. Richard has given up their 20-year friendship to try to get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confident in his truth and looks forward to proving it in court.”

The The founding of the band The restart planned for 2020 was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic and has not yet taken place.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Combs had lost another legal battle, with a judge ruling on Monday that the mogul must pay US$100 million ($162 million) to a 51-year-old Michigan man's sexual assault lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted Derrick Cardello-Smith during a party in Detroit in 1997.

Lenawee County District Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone ruled in favor of Cardello-Smith, and Combs – who did not appear at the virtual hearing on Sept. 9 – was ordered in a default judgment to pay $US10 million ($16.3 million) per month starting Oct. 1.

In May, Combs admitted to punching his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released footage of the attack. In a video apology, the rapper said he was “sincerely sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable.”

“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I am disgusted now,” Combs said in the statement posted on Instagram and Facebook.

The video showed Combs, wearing only a white towel, hitting, kicking, shoving, dragging Cassie and throwing a vase in her direction.

Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, sued Combs in November 2023 for years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The lawsuit was settled the next day, but sparked an intense investigation into Combs. Several more lawsuits were filed in the months that followed, along with a federal sex trafficking investigation that led to authorities raiding Combs's mansions in LA and Miami.

“It's so hard to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you have to do it,” Diddy said in the May video.

“I sought professional help. I started therapy, went to rehab. I had to ask God for his grace and mercy.

“I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to being a better person every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm really sorry.”

Surveillance camera footage of the March 5, 2016, attack closely resembled the description of an incident at an InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles' Century City neighborhood described in Ventura's lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 ($81.5 million) for the surveillance video immediately after the incident. Neither he nor his representatives addressed that claim.