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Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy, has been involved in controversies over the years, culminating in his arrest and indictment for racketeering, s*x trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, which he has vehemently denied.
If found guilty, the 54-year-old music mogul faces at least 15 years in prison. Before his arrest in September 2024, P. Diddy held sway over the entertainment industry with a record label empire having stakes in media, fashion, and liquor, amongst others.
The once-celebrated artist-turned-business-mogul has become the object of intense allegations, prompting netizens and the media to go down a history of scandals dating as far back as 1991.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to sexual abuse, violence, assault, and substance abuse. Reader’s discretion is advised.
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Cassandra Ventura’s civil suit, J Cole’s alleged assault, and other major controversies P. Diddy’s been involved in
1) Alleged assault of Liza Gardner in the early 1990s by P. Diddy and Aaron Hall
In a lawsuit filed in November 2023, Liza Gardner, who was initially identified as Jane Doe, alleged that Sean Combs and Aaron Hall assaulted her and her friend sometime between 1990 and 1991.
In the suit, Gardner claimed that she and her friend, who was not named, attended an MCA Records event where they met Combs and Hall, who were “very flirtatious and handsy” with them.
After the party, Combs and Hall allegedly convinced Gardner and her friend to go with them to Hall’s apartment, where they allegedly r*ped Gardner and assaulted her friend. The suit also alleged that Combs tracked Gardner down days later and choked her till the point where she passed out.
2) December 1999 arrest alongside then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez for criminal possession of a weapon
During their relationship, P. Diddy and Jennifer Lopez found themselves on the wrong side of the law after they were reportedly apprehended following a shooting incident in an NYC nightclub.
The police reportedly pursued the couple as they fled the scene and recovered a stolen firearm in their vehicle. They were charged with criminal possession of stolen property, although Jlo’s charges were dropped that night, and P. Diddy was subsequently acquitted.
In an interview with British Elle in 2000, Jennifer Lopez described the incident as a "complete nightmare."
"I had absolutely no idea what was going on. No-one did," she said.
3) Crystal McKinney’s alleged assault in 2003
In May 2024, former model Crystal McKinney filed a suit against P. Diddy for alleged s*xual assault in his recording studio in New York City in 2003. McKinney alleged she met Combs during a fashion week event in 2003 at the Cipriani restaurant in New York. She claimed that Combs plied her with alcohol and invited her to follow him to his studio.
The former model continued in her suit that upon arriving at Combs’ studio, she was given more alcohol and marijuana, after which Combs led her to the bathroom and forced her to perform oral s*x on him.
4) Cassandra Ventura’s civil suit based on allegations of abuse from Combs (2005 to 2018)
Ventura’s case against P Diddy, instituted in November 2023, is widely regarded as the catalyst of the federal charges against the mogul. Ventura alleged in her suit that Combs had kept her in a cycle of abuse from 2005 to 2018.
She made allegations of trafficking, r*pe, and nonconsensual pornography. The civil suit was reportedly settled hours after it was officially filed for an undisclosed amount.
Ventura’s suit prompted a raid on Combs’ residence in March 2024. In May 2024, CNN released footage of P Diddy assaulting Ventura. Combs issued an apology in May 2024 following the leak and termed his actions as "inexcusable."
5) The incident with J. Cole in 2013
After rumors of an altercation between P. Diddy and J. Cole at an afterparty for the 2013 VMAs began swirling, the internet was faced with varying accounts of what went down that night. In the track Let Go My Hand, J. Cole referred to the incident with the lyrics:
"My last scrap was with Puff Daddy, who would've thought it?"
In an episode of R&B Money Podcast in September 2024, Terrence Henderson who claims to have been present during the incident, alleged that P. Diddy threatened to harm J. Cole who had gotten into an argument with him over Kendrick Lamar’s verse in the Control track.
6) Gina Huynh’s allegations of assault in 2019
In June 2019, Sean Combs’ former girlfriend, Gina Huynh, appeared on a YouTube episode of Tasha K’s blog. The 32-year-old claimed that during her five-year relationship with the business mogul, he had assaulted her.
"He stomped on my stomach really hard — like, took the wind out of my breath. I couldn’t breathe. He kept hitting me. I was pleading to him, ‘Can you just stop? I can’t breathe,'” she told Tasha K.
Huynh also alleged that Combs would always compare her to his ex, Cassandra Ventura, and had urged her to get an abortion once.
7) Alleged assault of Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones from 2022 to 2023
Rodney Jones, a music producer, sued Sean Combs in February 2024 for s*xual assault and forcing him to hire prostitutes and participate in s*xual acts with them.
The 38-year-old producer alleged in his suit that while he worked on Combs’ Love album from 2022 to 2023, the All About The Benjamins hitmaker would grab his privates without his consent and tried to lure him to having intercourse with another man.
He alleged that Combs told him “it was a normal practice in the music industry.”
P. Diddy is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention center in Brooklyn, New York. His lawyers' applications for bail have been denied multiple times with the judge reportedly citing him as a "flight risk" and a "danger to the community."
