Former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard has filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging verbal abuse, assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit, filed yesterday in the Southern District of New York, describes a pattern of abuse and intimidation against Richard since she became a member of Danity Kane on MTV’s “Making the Band.” In addition to detailing her own experiences with Combs, the complaint provides harrowing accounts of his abuse towards his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who set off a chain of lawsuits against Combs in Nov. 2023.
The complaint portrays Combs as a hot-tempered abuser who would routinely engage in physical violence. Over the course of a decade, Richard claims that Combs manipulated her by suggesting that the only way for her career to advance would be by heeding his demands. The suit states that it wasn’t until Ventura came forward that Richard realized that her own suffering had become normalized and was tied to Combs’ abuse.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Richard begins the complaint by describing her time on “Making the Band,” and how Combs would disparage female contestants by calling them “fat” and “ugly.” Once selected for Danity Kane, she and her bandmates were regularly deprived of food and sleep and when they complained, Combs told them “you bitches don’t want this” and “y’all are not hungry enough.” She states she lost weight from anxiety and overworking and on one instance became so dehydrated that she vomited.
After the group broke up in 2009, she was financially destitute and felt no other choice but to continue working at Diddy’s studio without pay and on the promise of license fees and royalties that never materialized. She soon joined Combs’ new group Diddy – Dirty Money with Combs and Kalenna Harper. On the first day of recording, the women arrived at Combs’ home where Ventura was frying eggs for Combs. Appearing to be high on drugs, he approached Ventura and screamed, “I’ve been asking you for my shit; I can’t stand you bitch, you never do it right!” Soon after, he allegedly choked her and threw the hot pan of eggs at her. The next day, Combs told Richard and Harper that “if you say anything, there will be consequences” and that “people end up missing.”
During her time in Diddy – Dirty Money, Richard says she regularly witnessed Combs and guests violating incapacitated young women at parties. While in New York for a festival, she saw Combs grab Ventura’s neck inside a car, pull her out onto the grass and choke her while yelling, “You gonna get fucked up today.” In early 2010, Combs punched Ventura in the face at a Los Angeles party, and soon after Richard and Harper tried to intervene to help Ventura to escape the relationship. Upon finding out about the discussion, Combs allegedly screamed at the women, “Y’all bitches don’t get in my relationship” and that “you could be missing” and “you bitches want to die today.” His abuse against Ventura continued, as he punched her in the stomach during a dinner attended by Interscope then-CEO Jimmy Iovine, Ne-Yo and Usher.
Richard states that Combs would keep Harper and Richard hostage in the studio and deprive them of food and sleep. This led to dehydration and chronic stomach cramping, which Combs dismissed as her being lazy. Richard was hospitalized in 2010 and diagnosed with arthralgia, anemia and low white blood cells. When she put her medical records in front of Combs, he ordered her to come to the studio the next day.
In addition to his demanding work ethic, Combs also held meetings wearing only underwear. On numerous occasions between 2009 and 2011, he would come into Richard’s dressing room and grope her. When she rebuffed his advances, he retaliated by denying her parts in songs, removing her from songs and turning off her microphone during performances. She details one incident where Combs raised his arm to hit her but was saved by Combs’ bodyguard before the strike could land.
Richard states that she was unpaid for Danity Kane’s first album, which sold over four million copies, and that her salary is estimated at $1 million. She also claims that she was unpaid for the group’s second album, “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” and is owed $500,000. For her work on Diddy – Dirty Money’s “Last Train to Paris,” she claims she’s owed $1.2 million and estimates she should receive $350,000 for touring dates.
In 2021, Combs and Bad Boy assigned rights of Richard’s songs to Sony Songs, with Richard receiving royalties for her work. But she was never compensated as part of the deal, and she states that Combs subsequently infringed on her copyright by using a song she helped write for his 2023 release “The Love Album: Off the Grid.”
Richard is suing for 21 causes of action, and is demanding judgments for compensation, mental pain, restitution and more. This is just the latest in a string of lawsuits against Combs, who has been sued by former associates and women making similar claims. Earlier this week, Combs was ordered to pay $100 million in a sexual assault judgment after failing to appear for a virtual hearing.
