Abuse allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs: A chronology of the most important events

LOS ANGELES – LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs has apologized after a recently released video showed him beating his former protégé and singer girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

The video aired on CNN on Friday, six months after the R&B singer filed a lawsuit that sparked a wave of similar cases and public accusations against one of the most influential music moguls of the past three decades.

Here’s a look at the most important events that have occurred since the end of last year.

16 NOVEMBER 2023

Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs abused her for years, including beatings and rape. Cassie, whose real name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs’ label in 2005, and the two were an on-again, off-again couple for more than a decade starting in 2007. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, says Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and subjected her to “brutal” beatings. It says he drugged her, forced her to have sex with other men and raped her in her home in 2018 when she tried to end the relationship. Combs “vehemently” denies the allegations through his attorney.

17 NOVEMBER 2023

With breathtaking speed, Ventura’s lawsuit is settled the day after it is filed. The terms of the agreement are confidential. “We have decided to settle this matter amicably,” Combs says in a statement. “I wish Cassie and her family the best. Love.”

23 NOVEMBER 2023

Two other women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that gives victims of sexual abuse one year to file civil suits regardless of the statute of limitations. The lawsuits, filed by Joi Dickerson and another woman who was not named, accuse Combs of sexual assault, beating and forcible drugging in the early 1990s. Combs was then a talent director, party promoter and rising figure in New York City’s hip-hop scene. Combs’ lawyers called the allegations false.

28 NOVEMBER 2023

Combs is temporarily stepping down as chairman of his cable television network Revolt because of the wave of sexual abuse allegations. This would be one of several business setbacks for Combs that the lawsuits bring.

6 DECEMBER 2023

In another lawsuit, a woman claims she was raped by Combs and two other men in 2003, when she was 17. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, says she lived in a Detroit suburb and was flown to a New York studio, where she was given drugs and alcohol that made her unable to have sex, and the men took turns raping her.

On the same day, Combs posted a statement on Instagram in which he largely denied all allegations in the growing series of lawsuits. “I did not do any of the horrible things I am accused of,” the post said. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

26 FEBRUARY 2024

A music producer files a lawsuit claiming Combs sexually harassed him and forced him to have sex with prostitutes. The lawsuit details a long list of potentially illegal drug- and sex-related activities that the producer says he witnessed. A lawyer for Combs calls the allegations “pure fiction.”

March 25, 2024

Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants during the morning raids on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Officials told the Associated Press that the raids were part of a sex trafficking investigation. Combs was in one of his Miami homes at the time. His two sons in his Los Angeles home were handcuffed during the search, Combs’ lawyers said. Officials did not say whether the raids were prompted by the civil lawsuits, but Combs’ lawyers said they believed so.

26 MARCH 2024

Combs’ attorney calls the raids “a gross use of military force” and says Combs is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name. The attorney, Aaron Dyer, says there is “no excuse for the excessive use of force and hostility by authorities or the way his children and associates were treated.”

4 APRIL 2024

A lawsuit that names Combs as a co-defendant alleges that his son, Christian “King” Combs, sexually assaulted a woman who worked on a yacht chartered by his father. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, says Sean Combs created the circumstances that led to the assault and then paid to cover it up. A lawyer for both men calls the allegations “outrageous.”

26 APRIL 2024

In the first major legal counterattack by Combs and his team, they file a motion to dismiss several elements of Dickerson’s lawsuit because they were not illegal in 1991, when the alleged incidents occurred. While the legal objections are procedural in nature, the motion also criticizes the “numerous false, offensive and offensive allegations” in the lawsuit.

10 MAY 2024

Combs is asking a federal judge to dismiss the Dec. 6 lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old Michigan girl in a New York recording studio. Again, the objections are procedural — the lawsuit was filed too late under current law — but the court document calls the allegations “false and abhorrent.”

17 May 2024

CNN airs a video showing Combs attacking Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016. The video closely resembles an attack she describes in her lawsuit, which says Combs had already beaten her that night and she was trying to leave the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles when he woke up and came after her. In the footage, a man who appears to be Diddy, wearing only a towel, punches Ventura, kicks her and throws her to the ground. The lawsuit claims Combs paid $50,000 at the time to have the video removed. Combs’ representatives had no immediate comment.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said it has not received a case related to the attack depicted in the video. And even if law enforcement did present a case to prosecutors, the statute of limitations would apply and they would not be able to charge Combs, the district attorney’s office said in a statement on social media.

May 19, 2024

Combs posted a video on Instagram and Facebook apologizing for the attack on Ventura, his first real admission of wrongdoing since the recent spate of allegations began.

“My behavior in that video is inexcusable,” Combs says. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted when I did it. I still am today. I sought professional help. I started therapy, went to rehab. I had to ask God for his grace and mercy. I am so sorry.”

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The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they speak out publicly, as the people named here have done.