Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard Sues Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for Sexual and Physical Abuse

A new lawsuit has been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Dawn Richard, a former member of Diddy’s girl group Danity Kane and his musical trio Diddy-Dirty Money, has accused Combs of verbal abuse, sexual assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Variety reported.

Richard alleges that Combs “manipulated her with mantras that submission to his perverse demands was necessary for career advancement, and instilled in her the belief that such abuse and exploitation were necessary for female artists to succeed in the music industry.”

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, also names Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Harve Pierre. Rolling Stone reports that Pierre is currently facing two sexual abuse lawsuits tied to Combs.

Richard met Combs in 2004 when she was a contestant on his reality show, “Making the Band,” which led to her being cast as Danity Kane. In the lawsuit, she alleged that during the reality series, Combs allegedly called contestants “fat,” “ugly,” “b—hes” and “h–s,” Complex reported.

The singer claims that in 2005 she saw Combs’ former girlfriend and mother of his four children, Kim Porter, leaving the recording studio in tears with visible injuries to her face.

After the band split in 2009, Richard said she joined Diddy-Dirty Money, along with Combs and Kalenna Harper. She claimed she did so for financial reasons.

Richard said Combs forced her and Harper to work without food or sleep. She alleged he made her rehearse for 48 hours straight, leading to dehydration, chronic stomach cramps and fatigue.

Between 2009 and 2011, Richard recounted incidents in which relations between her and Combs became increasingly abusive. The lawsuit alleged that Combs stormed into her dressing room and groped her “bare buttocks” and “attempted to touch her breasts.”

Documents also stated that the “Show Stopper” singer witnessed the music executive assault his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Richard claimed she witnessed Combs throw Ventura against a wall, choke her, throw a hot pan of eggs at her and drag her up the stairs of his Los Angeles home.

Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” at the Writers Guild of America, West on June 21, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Richard claimed that when she and Harper had conversations with Ventura and advised her to leave, Combs found out and told them, “You b—es don’t mess with my relationship. … Don’t tell my b—h what to do. … Just make money and keep your f–k mouth shut.”

She claimed that Diddy threatened their careers, saying they “may be missing” and that “you motherfuckers want to die today.”

Richard then went on to recount more abuse from Diddy, claiming he locked her in a car for two hours and was only freed by her father, who was traveling from Baltimore to New York.

“Think about your daughter and think about your daughter’s career,” Richard said Combs told her father, according to Complex.

Richards’ lawsuit is the eighth person to accuse Combs of sexual abuse. It comes months after Homeland Security officials searched Combs’ homes in LA and Miami. The searches were tied to a sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.

In 2023, Ventura filed a shocking lawsuit accusing Combs of years of rape and abuse. The lawsuit was settled the next day, with Combs denying the allegations. In May, CNN released surveillance footage from 2016 that appears to show Combs physically assaulting Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City. Following the video, the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer admitted to hitting his ex-girlfriend. In an apology video, he said he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable.”