More than a hundred people accuse Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexual abuse and exploitation

A Texas-based attorney said he is representing more than 100 plaintiffs in a series of new civil lawsuits he will file against Diddy.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing dozens of new sexual assault allegations in a series of civil lawsuits set to be filed.

At a news conference held Tuesday, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee said he is representing 120 plaintiffs with allegations against the entertainment mogul that have occurred over two decades.

“We will expose the factors that enabled this behavior behind closed doors. We will pursue this case regardless of who the evidence relates to,” Buzbee said during the press conference.

“A lot of powerful people … a lot of dirty secrets,” the lawyer said of the charges. He added that his team has “collected photos, videos and texts.”

Buzbee added that the charges will include “forcible sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, distribution of video recordings, sexual abuse of minors.”

“It’s already a long list, but because of the nature of this case, we’re going to make damn sure we’re right before we do that,” Buzbee continued. “These names will shock you.”

The attorney said more than 3,000 people have come to his office with allegations against Combs and that he plans to file lawsuits in several states within the next 30 days. He added that they will name the other suspects at a later date.

Among this new group of plaintiffs, Buzbee said, 62% identify as African American, and they come from more than 25 states, with the majority from New York, California, Georgia and Florida. Buzbee said 25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the incidents, dating back to 1991. Buzbee claimed that one of the accusers was only nine years old at the time of their alleged incident.

NBC News has reached out to Combs’ legal team for comment.

Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in an indictment unsealed last month. Combs has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys have said he is innocent of all charges.

Combs was twice denied bail, but on Monday his legal team, which now includes attorney Alexandra Shapiro in addition to Teny Geragos and Marc Agnifilo, filed initial paperwork ahead of an appeal of the bail decision.

Buzbee has represented victims in several other high-profile lawsuits, including against BP in 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He also represented individuals who accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct in 2021. That same year, he filed a $750 million lawsuit against Travis Scott following a deadly crowd at the rapper’s Astroworld Festival.

Combs’ legal troubles have increased since his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, filed an explosive civil suit against him last year, accusing him of sexual assault and sex trafficking during their relationship. Combs, who has vehemently denied the allegations, has settled with Ventura for an undisclosed amount. Several months later, surveillance video was leaked showing Combs brutally beating Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel, and the mogul apologized for his actions.

Since Ventura’s lawsuit, several other civil lawsuits have been filed against Combs — most recently one from Dawn Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, who alleged that Combs groped, assaulted, imprisoned and threatened her life.

Combs has denied all claims against him, calling them “sickening accusations” from people looking for “a quick payday.”

Many of the lawsuits against Combs were filed in New York City, which has a Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which allows people to file lawsuits for sexual abuse even after the statute of limitations has expired.

via: NBC News