Author: business

Stefon Diggs & Cardi B, Kylie & Timothee have Knicks game date night

Rapper Cardi B and NFL player (and rumored beau) Stefon Diggs took their love courtside this week as the New York Knicks earned a hard-fought win against the Boston Celtics.

Cardi, who has publicly teased a new relationship, shared several tender moments with Diggs throughout the game, seemingly confirming their attachment. Throughout the game, they whispered in one another’s ears, shared kisses on the cheek, and they walked into the game hand in hand.

Previously married to rapper Offset, with whom she shares three children, Cardi has been open about their separation and impending divorce, accusing the Migos member of infidelity.

Diggs, on the other hand, was recently signed to the New England Patriots and previously played for the Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills.

Biggest moments from the 2025 Met Gala: Stefon Diggs found his Met Gala look on Pinterest

The Knicks pulled off a home-court win, the first of the series, beating the Celtics 121 to 113. Their performance in the series has shocked even some die-hard fans as they pulled off two come-from-behind, buzzer-beating wins in the first two games, then suffered a blowout in the third, only to fight their way back to a 3-1 score for the series as a whole.

As the two teams look toward Game 4, Celtics fans are fretting over what appears to be a serious injury suffered by their star player, Jayson Tatum.

Kylie Jenner, Timothee Chalamet step out for Knicks game

Diggs and Cardi B weren’t the only couple using the Knicks game for date night. Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner were also in attendance to support Chalamet’s beloved Knicks.

Chalamet, a native of the city, is a renowned fan of the blue and orange and notably stayed home to watch the first game of the series while Jenner flew solo at the Met Gala.

This time the match was a couple’s (and family) affair with Jenner seated next to a sometimes rowdy Chalamet and her older sister Kendall Jenner in tow.

Jenner and Chalamet’s attendance comes just a week after the couple made their red carpet debut at the David di Donatello Awards in Rome. The appearance was the pair’s first formal joint press event since they started dating in 2023.

While they have remained fairly mum about the relationship, photos often catch the two in PDA-filled outings from the US Open to the Coachella music festival.

The Knicks game also reunited Jenner with ex-BFF Jordyn Woods, who is dating Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns. The two fell out over a scandal involving older sister Khloe Kardashian’s ex-partner (and another NBA player), Tristan Thompson.

They weren’t the only stars at the May 12 game, though. The match brought out a who’s who of famous Knicks fans from Penn Badgley and Michael J. Fox to Ben Stiller and Tracy Morgan.

Game 5 is set for Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET.

May 13, 2025
Doors ‘Anthology’ finds guitarist Robby Krieger in a reflective mood

If you joined a band when you were 19, would you still be talking about it 60 years later?

Most people would not. But this is Robby Krieger we’re talking about, guitarist for the groundbreaking Los Angeles band The Doors. So you better believe that at 79, he remains chock full of epic memories of the five years his quartet ruled the airwaves and rocked the culture.

“I think the combination of the poetry (of lead singer Jim Morrison) and the music was so different than anything else at the time, before, or maybe even now,” says Krieger, who cowrote “Light My Fire,” arguably the band’s most iconic song. “So many people come up to me at say, ‘You changed my life.’”

Those people will delight in “Night Divides the Day: The Doors Anthology” (out now from Genesis Publications, $75), a beefy new book that chronologically recounts the Doors’ rise and too-soon end after Morrison’s 1971 death in Paris at age 27.

The hardcover tome is filled with archival photos of the band and its memorabilia, along with quotes from current musicians ranging from Slash to Van Morrison as well as the group’s other members: drummer John Densmore, 80, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek (who died in 2013 at age 74).

Call it a literary time machine. One spread is a black and white photo of the band in early 1967, standing in front of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The musicians are riding high just days after the release of their hit-packed eponymous debut album. Morrison, a magnetic if troubled front man, holds a massive stick while the rest smile at some joke.

Nearby, the caption features part of a review of the band’s show at the famous Fillmore Auditorium, where they played on a bill with the Young Rascals (“Good Lovin’”). The reviewer makes plain that The Doors were from a planet unfamiliar to that city’s flower child set.

“The Doors are a weird group,” it reads. “They start off without much and gradually get into something which is not exactly the Frisco sound but some kind of Eastern-oriented improvisation.”

The Doors magic mix? Blues, flamenco, jazz and a wild-eyed poet

For Krieger, the band made its indelible mark precisely because of its wildly different personnel. Densmore was a jazz drummer, Manzarek was steeped in Chicago blues, Morrison was a poet with a compelling set of pipes, and Krieger was a flamenco guitarist.

What could have added up to a sonic mess became solid gold, with songs such as “The End” (featured prominently in the movie “Apocalypse Now”), “Break On Through,” and “Love Me Two Times” among their many classics. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

“It was kind of meant to be,” says Krieger, who with his current band has been playing many of The Doors’ albums in their entirety at Whiskey A Go Go, the famous LA haunt where the group was the house band in the mid-’60s. “It has to be that. We were all so different, but that’s why it worked.”

The Doors indeed were an accidental miracle. Manzarek and Morrison were fellow film school students at the University of California, Los Angeles, where Krieger was an undergraduate. Densmore was a local drummer going to school a few towns away, who was brought into a group started by Manzarek that also featured his brothers.

“Then Ray’s brothers quit, so they needed a guitarist and John, who I knew, brought me in to rehearse with them and that was it,” says Krieger, who says he played that haunting slide intro to the future hit, “Moonlight Drive,” at that first gathering of the foursome. He laughs. “Jim loved that slide. He wanted me to put it on every single song. I said thanks, but no.”

Morrison and Manzarek were big book fiends and conjured the band’s name from a line in a William Blake poem: “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite.”

The Doors’ heavy first album was a serious departure from the Summer of Love sounds pinging across the airwaves in 1967. Many songs had dark overtones, reflecting Morrison’s cerebral, if haunted, nature. None more so than “The End,” with its violent Oedipal theme. Morrison would seem to go into a trance during live renditions of the tune. Krieger says the singer was a live wire literally from the band’s formation.

“Jim was something else, man, although remember in the ’60s it wasn’t that crazy to be crazy,” he says with a laugh.

If Jim Morrison had swapped acid for meditation, one wonders ‘what might have been,’ says Robby Krieger

The guitarist says that Morrison was on acid when they recorded “The End,” and after the session was over, he snuck back into the studio and doused nonexistent flames he saw with a fire extinguisher. “Jim could ruin a show, for sure, but one thing he never was was late,” Krieger says. “He loved to create art, that’s what he was about.”

Where all four members had certainly dabbled in the various drugs of the day, Krieger says everyone except for Morrison quickly looked for an alternative mind-expansion outlet.

“We were into the Maharishi (Mahesh Yogi, spiritual guru to the Beatles), and he came to Los Angeles and we got Jim to go. He looked at (the Maharishi) from about 10 feet away and just shakes his head and says, ‘No, he doesn’t got it.’ And walked away,” he says. “I often wonder what might have been if he’d felt otherwise and given up acid and started meditating like we were doing.”

Morrison, the rebellious son of a Navy admiral, had model-ready Dionysian looks, so much so that in 1981, a decade after Morrison’s somewhat mysterious passing, Rolling Stone put him on the cover with the famous headline, “Jim Morrison: He’s Hot, He’s Sexy and He’s Dead.”

He was also a handful, Krieger says. “He’d be on acid with a bunch of people, and start turning the lights on and off really fast, just to see what would happen. Mostly, we just rolled with it. I trusted Jim, but there were times I worried he might go too far.”

“Night Divides the Day,” which takes its name from a lyric in “Break On Through,” spends a good many pages on Morrison’s most famous trespass: a 1969 gig in Miami during which Morrison, annoyed with the crowd, was arrested for indecent exposure for allegedly taking his pants down. Fiction, Krieger says.

“It was close, sure, and he would have done it had Ray not said to our equipment manager, ‘Don’t let him take his pants down!’ But no, didn’t happen,” he says.

But the damage, in essence, was done. Morrison was convicted in 1970 of indecent exposure and profanity and was awaiting sentencing when he decamped to Paris with his longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson.

The stress of it all caused Morrison to gain weight and continue to abuse substances; his death was ruled as heart failure, even though no autopsy was performed. Morrison is buried in Paris’ fabled Père Lachaise Cemetery, where his headstone remains perpetually covered with mementos from fans.

Of the culture’s enduring fascination with Morrison and the music he and his bandmates created, Krieger seems as impressed as anyone.

“Ten years ago we had the 50th anniversary of the band getting going, and I was going, wow, 50 years and we’re still being talked about,” he says. “Now it’s 60. It just keeps going and going. It’s just crazy.”

May 13, 2025
Melissa recalls how mom kicked down the door’

One goal overshadowed all others for Melissa Rivers when producing a television special honoring her mother, “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute.” It had to be hilarious.

“My mom always said, and I say it in the special, when you make someone laugh, you give them a mini vacation, and God knows we need a vacation,” Rivers says.

The hourlong tribute airs May 13 on NBC (10 ET/PT), with an extended, uncensored version streaming on Peacock May14. “The Peacock version is what really happened in the room,” Rivers teases.

In the special, taped in November, Tiffany Haddish raps to a rendition of “Hava Nagila” recalling how Joan’s jokes “split your side like a kidney stone.” Nikki Glaser applauds Joan’s candor about aging and plastic surgery, and Aubrey Plaza retires Joan’s not-so-politically-correct jokes. Rachel Brosnahan, who cites Joan as an inspiration for Midge on Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” rapidly fires off as many Joan quips as she can in one minute. Chelsea Handler praises Joan as “a pioneer for women in comedy,” explaining “she walked so that we could run!”

Joan Rivers (born Joan Molinksy), died in 2014 after she stopped breathing during a procedure on her throat. She became the first woman to host a late-night show, was celebrated for her brutally honest appraisal of celebrity fashion on red carpets and built a billion-dollar QVC brand.

“These women wanted to be there,” Melissa Rivers, 57, says. “I think it’s because she kicked down the door. It wasn’t a glass ceiling; it was a door, and she kicked it down. And they all know that. They know that they would not be able to do what they do, especially the material they do, if she hadn’t made it OK first.”

Patton Oswalt tells the audience gathered at the Apollo Theater for the taping that Joan wrote 70,000 jokes.

“I would find random pieces of paper with five words on it and be like, ‘Oh, this is yours. You left it,’” Rivers says. Joan “would record all of her standup when she was working in clubs and working at new material, and then start to figure out why something didn’t work or why something did work. She was very, very disciplined.”

Sarah Silverman, also featured in the tribute, recalls in an interview with USA TODAY that Joan was “always writing. She was a comic’s comic ’til the end, and she still had so much more in her. What a tragic, frustrating death.

“She was 81,” Silverman continues, “but she was the youngest, hippest 81, with so much more. One thing that really inspires me about Joan is she once said that she didn’t feel like she hit her stride in standup until she was in her 70s.”

Melissa Rivers marries attorney Steve Mitchel after pair lost home in LA fires

Rivers’ favorite part of the taping was seeing how her mother’s humor can still captivate an audience today.

“Every time on the monitor (in the green room), when one of my mom’s clips would roll, everyone would stop and watch and laugh,” she says. “And a number of people said to me that night, ‘She’s still the funniest person in the room.’”

Rivers says her mother “didn’t like talking about legacy,” because it “was for people who aren’t relevant.” But the tribute gives Joan one more opportunity to bask in the love of a crowd.

“She was truly a writer, and she loved performing live,” Rivers says. “She loved an audience more than anything.”

May 13, 2025
Hotel video played ahead of Cassie testimony

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.

The scope of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged sexual abuse and violence continues to be scrutinized as his criminal trial resumes hearing witness testimony.

Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura Fine, a rhythm and blues singer known as “Cassie,” is expected to testify as the prosecution’s star witness in the rapper’s sex trafficking case, a day after jurors saw a video of Combs hitting and kicking her in a hotel in 2016.

Throughout a two-month trial, jurors are expected to hear testimony from three and possibly four of the Combs’ female accusers, as well as ex-employees who prosecutors say helped arrange and cover up his actions.

Prosecutors have claimed Combs lured women into romantic relationships, forced them to take part in days of drug-fueled sex parties and then blackmailed them with videos he recorded of the encounters. Combs, 55, faces sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, Combs’ defense lawyer Teny Geragos countered that prosecutors were trying to twist his romantic relationships into a racketeering and sex-trafficking case.

Daniel Phillip is continuing his testimony on May 13 as court proceedings kick off. Phillip previously told the court that he and Ventura Fine had multiple sexual encounters during their first meeting and that Combs recorded the pair having sex once or twice in the scope of that time.

He also claimed the rapper asked for his driver’s license, so he could take a picture of it “for insurance,” which Phillip said he perceived as a threat.

During another alleged incident, Phillip said Combs became violent with Ventura Fine after she failed to enter Combs’ bedroom immediately. The man recalled that Combs threw a bottle of liquor in Cassie’s direction and proceeded to drag her back to the room by her hair while she was screaming.

Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes and trafficking charges.

Cassie set to testify as star witness in Diddy trial

Ventura Fine is set to testify against Combs, her ex-boyfriend and former label boss, in his trial on May 13.

Previously known as “Victim-1,” she is one of two accusers who form the government’s key witnesses and are expected to describe the “freak offs” in detail.

Ventura Fine sued Combs in November 2023, accusing him of trafficking, raping and viciously beating her over the course of a decade, beginning a few years after signing to his Bad Boy Records label in 2006 and ending after he allegedly raped her in 2018. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount a day later.

Aside from a lengthy letter to fans in 2024, the singer has yet to speak publicly about what she says occurred behind closed doors amid their high-profile relationship. Ventura Fine is expecting her third child with husband Alex Fine. They share two daughters.

One factor remained constant during the jury selection process: Potential jurors told the court over and over again that they’ve seen the much-talked-about video that allegedly shows Combs beating, kicking and dragging Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine.

Prosecutors played the 2016 video for jurors during the May 12 hearing, which shows the rapper assaulting Ventura Fine in the hallway of a Los Angeles-area hotel.

Combs, wearing only a towel, is then seen grabbing Ventura Fine’s belongings and dragging her into the hallway. He leaves Ventura Fine behind. She lies motionless on the ground for a moment before getting up and walking to a hotel phone mounted on the wall.

Combs returns to the scene shortly thereafter and appears to grab at the phone. He then sits in a chair opposite Ventura Fine and throws a vase in her direction, shattering it. Combs apologized after the video first aired on CNN in 2024.

Prosecutors claim the video took place during one of Combs’ “freak offs” and is evidence that he was trafficking Ventura Fine for sex.

As prosecutors lay out their accusations against Combs, they called their first witness Israel Florez, a former security officer at the Los Angeles hotel where surveillance video captured the music mogul appearing to beat then-girlfriend Ventura Fine.

During court testimony, Florez detailed Combs’ alleged 2016 assault of Ventura Fine at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel, which resurfaced in leaked footage of the incident in May 2024.

The prosecution played the hotel security footage multiple times, first in full and then slowed down and broken into multiple parts, including Combs stalking the hallway, Cassie trying to put on shoes and Combs striking her back, kicking her repeatedly and dragging her back into the room.

Upon his arrival at the scene, Florez said Ventura Fine looked “scared” and that Combs gave him a “devilish stare.” Florez testified that Ventura Fine just wanted to gather her belongings, a phone and a bag, and leave. Combs then allegedly attempted to stop Cassie’s departure, telling her, “You’re not going to leave.”

Florez said he escorted Combs back to his room and told him the damages from the incident would be charged to his room, after which Combs allegedly offered him a stack of money in exchange for staying silent about the altercation. (Florez testified he declined the offer.)

Geragos addressed the footage in her opening statement, calling the video “horrible” and “dehumanizing.” She said it shows domestic violence. But, she told jurors, the fight was about a phone Combs was trying to get from Cassie, not about forcing her into sex.

Prosecutors say Combs kept women under his power and trafficked them using force, fraud and coercion. But Geragos painted a picture in which Ventura Fine was entirely free.

“For Cassie, she made a choice, every single day for years,” Geragos said. Ventura Fine was choosing to stay with Combs until one day she chose to leave him.

Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity.

Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in “freak offs” — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.

Largely stoic throughout prosecutor Emily Johnson’s opening statement, Combs showed a rare reaction when the U.S. attorney was laying out his alleged criminal conduct in his “freak offs.”

When she explained that he would direct Ventura Fine on what drugs to take ahead of the sexual performance, Combs took a big breath and moved in his chair.

Ventura Fine’s husband, Alex Fine, was spotted at the courthouse on May 12 during the first day of opening arguments.

Fine, who wed Ventura Fine in 2019, shares two children with the singer, with a third on the way.

Prosecutors told jurors to expect to see videos of Combs’ alleged “freak offs” – highly coordinated, sometimes days-long sexual performances that the music mogul is accused of orchestrating.

The “freak offs,” which federal officials have said were fueled by illicit substances and featured male escorts, were used in part to blackmail his ex-girlfriend, Ventura Fine.

Combs used lies, drugs, threats and violence to force the accusers to have sex in front of male escorts, Johnson told the court. She said the incidents often lasted multiple days and with multiple escorts and sometimes forced them to travel out of state.

She repeatedly said Combs directed everything and frequently had staff on hand to replenish lubricant, linens and drugs for the women and himself, as well as cash for the escorts. He “fed them drugs” such as MDMA so they could “stay awake and perform for him for hours and days on end,” Johnson said. She also told the court he often masturbated throughout the “freak offs.”

Referencing the alleged “freak offs,” Johnson said Combs forced Ventura Fine to have sex on camera with male escorts and kept the tapes as blackmail. The videos, Johnson said, are “souvenirs of the most humiliating nights” of her life.

Ventura Fine entered her first “freak off “reluctantly, but she “loved” Combs and “wanted to make him happy,” Johnson continued. The prosecutor said the rapper “beat her viciously,” whether she was taking too long in the bathroom, missed his calls or left a “freak off” early.

Johnson described one instance in 2009 during which Combs allegedly threw Ventura Fine on the floor of an SUV and “stomped repeatedly on her face.” She will testify about another instance when she said Combs allegedly forced another escort to urinate in her mouth, Johnson said.

Diddy’s lawyers accuse prosecution of bias against Black jurors

Members of Combs’ family turned out to court for the start of his sex-crimes trial.

Combs’ mother, Janice Combs, was spotted arriving at the courthouse on May 12, as were his children Quincy Brown, Justin Combs, Christian Combs, Chance Combs, D’Lila Combs and Jessie Combs.

Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling suit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry.

He was arrested in September 2024 and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations contributing to criminal activity.

Per Combs’ indictment, prosecutors say his racketeering activity included “multiple acts of kidnapping,” arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for the purposes of prostitution and distribution of narcotics.

His indictment emerged alongside dozens of separate civil suits suggesting a pattern of abusive behavior and exploitation spanning decades, including accusations of rape, sexual assault and physical violence.

The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings.

USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom.

Contributing: USA TODAY staff; Reuters

May 13, 2025
Did Ye, Bianca Censori get kicked out of the Grammys?Entertainment

Did Ye, Bianca Censori get kicked out of the Grammys?Entertainment

May 13, 2025
Gerard Depardieu guilty of sexual assault, French court rules

Juliette Jabkhiro, Tassilo Hummel
| Reuters

PARIS, May 13 (Reuters) – A court in Paris on Tuesday found actor Gerard Depardieu guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021 and handed him an 18-month suspended prison sentence, in a fall from grace for a towering figure of French cinema.

In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to come before judges in France, Depardieu repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer said he would appeal the court’s decision.

But judge Thierry Donard said Depardieu’s explanation of events had been unconvincing.

The #MeToo protest movement over sexual violence has struggled to gain the same traction in France as in the United States, although there are signs that social attitudes towards sexual assault are changing.

More: Gerard Depardieu trial: French actor stands at center of country’s #MeToo movement

One of the two plaintiffs, Amelie K, a set decorator, told the court the actor had groped her all over her body as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments.

“He touched everything, including my breasts,” she recalled. “I was terrified, he was laughing.”

The presiding judge said two witnesses corroborated her account whilst Depardieu, who was not present for the ruling, had been contradictory in his own accounts.

Amelie K’s lawyer described the ruling as a “beautiful decision” that gave recognition to Depardieu’s victims.

More: Paris prosecutors investigating death of actress who accused Gérard Depardieu of sexual misconduct

Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years, which has put a spotlight on how women are treated in the movie industry. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.

His trial has laid bare a generational divide in France over sexism, with some prominent older actresses defending him. Brigitte Bardot, 90, told broadcaster BFM TV on Monday that “those who have talent and grope a girl get thrown into the gutter”.

Denying sexual assault, Depardieu had argued before the court that he did not consider placing a hand on a person’s buttocks sexual assault and that some women were too easily shocked.

(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Richard Lough, Alex Richardson and Sharon Singleton)

May 13, 2025
A timeline from the 1990s to 2024
Sean “Diddy” Combs is on trial for allegedly leading a criminal organization that operated through sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor and violence over the course of 20 years, per federal prosecutors.
The embattled music mogul’s federal criminal case, which has the potential to put him behind bars for life if he’s found guilty, was seemingly cracked open by a civil lawsuit from his former girlfriend of a decade, Casandra Ventura Fine – known as Cassie – on Nov. 16, 2023. As described by Combs’ own attorneys in an October court filing, “The government’s investigation only began after (Cassie’s) lawsuit was settled.”

Since the legal action, which alleged Combs trafficked, sexually assaulted and physically abused the “Me & U” singer during their decade-long relationship, Combs has had to answer to a rapidly snowballing list of misconduct allegations that spans three decades. Aside from the criminal charges, USA TODAY has counted at least 70 civil lawsuits that have been filed against Combs since November 2023.

Before Cassie’s lawsuit, Combs boasted a complex legal history dating back to the deadly City College stampede of 1991, which resulted in the deaths of nine people aged 15 to 28 years old. However, until his 2024 arrest on federal charges, the Bad Boy Records founder had dodged any serious consequences despite multiple legal entanglements.

That might change, depending on whether a jury convicts Combs, who’s pleaded not guilty to all charges. At the same time, all of his civil cases – aside from the few that have been dismissed – remain up in the air.

Aside from Combs’ public apology after footage of him attacking Cassie in a 2016 hotel surveillance video became public, his team has denied the allegations brought forth in every civil suit, often repeating the same statement that “no matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor.”

USA TODAY has pieced together a timeline of some of the allegations against Combs, according to his purported victims’ lawsuits. USA TODAY has not independently verified the veracity of these claims. See the full list of allegations and lawsuits here.

Diddy on Trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom with USA TODAY as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces sex crimes and trafficking charges. Subscribe to the newsletter.

1990s

Liza Gardner, 1990 or 1991: Claimed Combs and Guy singer Aaron Hall took turns raping her and a friend they met the pair at an MCA Records event in either 1990 or 1991. She initially filed her lawsuit anonymously.

Joi Dickerson-Neal, 1991: A then-college student who claimed Combs drugged, sexually assaulted and abused her in 1991. She says he recorded the incident on videotape, which was distributed to others in the music industry.

Jane Doe, 1991: A Louisiana woman who claimed Combs sexually assaulted her right before his fatal City College charity game in 1991. She said he’d assaulted her while his bodyguard “was standing watch” outside of the record executive’s makeshift dressing room.

Jane Doe, 1993: A woman who was 16 years old when she auditioned to be a backup dancer for Combs. She said in a February 2025 lawsuit that a man named “Kay” took her to a home near Long Island, New York, where she was allegedly drugged before Combs assaulted her.

Jane Doe, 1995: A woman who said she was beaten and raped at a promotional party in New York for the Biggie Smalls music video “One More Chance.” Her lawsuit was tossed out by a judge after she refused to reveal her identity.

Aristalia Benitez, 1995: A then-20-year-old New York University student who claimed Combs sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious at a party in lower Manhattan.

April Lampros, 1995-2001: A former New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who alleged Combs raped her on multiple occasions over five or six years, including one instance in which she said he’d forced her and his then-girlfriend Kim Porter (who died in 2018) to take ecstasy and have sex together before he raped her.

John Doe, 1998: A man who says he was 16 when he attended a White Party in the Hamptons hosted by Combs. At the soiree, the man alleged, Combs instructed him to expose himself as a “rite of passage.” Combs then allegedly grabbed the man’s genitals.

Jane Doe, approximately 1999: A model and radio station promotional employee, then 23, who attended a VIP party hosted by Combs. She claimed the producer drugged and subjected her to four hours of “unwanted touching and groping” at his home.

Justin Gooch, 1999: A then-16-year-old who alleged Combs gave him drugs and sexually assaulted him at The Tunnel nightclub bathroom in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

Leslie Cockrell, 1999: A music scout who claimed Combs drugged and assaulted her at his party in the Hamptons when she was 24.

Unraveling old lawsuits, allegations: Diddy’s history of legal troubles before 2023

2000s

Jane Doe, 2000: A woman who alleged Combs sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old and babysitting for a tenant in a lower Manhattan building, where his romantic partner also lived.

Sara Rivers, 2002-2004: “Making the Band 2” alum and Da Band singer who accused Combs of “unwanted touching,” creating a hostile work environment and fraud while filming the MTV show in a February 2025 lawsuit, filed the same day she appeared on Peacock’s “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.”

Thalia Graves, 2001: Claimed Combs and his then-bodyguard, Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman, “viciously raped her” at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City, and that Combs recorded and shared footage of the alleged 2001 assault. Sherman is suing Graves for defamation.

Jane Doe, 2001: A New York woman who alleged Sherman, a friend’s love interest, offered her a ride after partying at a nightclub, then raped her at gunpoint after stopping at his NYC apartment. She names Combs in the February 2025 lawsuit, claiming Sherman was “directed and encouraged by Combs.”

Anna Kane, 2003: A then-17-year-old who alleged Combs, former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre and an unidentified third assailant “gang raped” her at Combs’ Daddy’s House Recording Studio. Though she’d filed her 2023 lawsuit anonymously, she later identified herself in the case after a judge ruled she must reveal her identity.

Crystal McKinney, 2003: A model, then 22, who says Combs assaulted her and forced her to perform oral sex at his New York City studio. She alleges he had her “blackballed” in the modeling industry afterward.

Candice McCrary, 2004: A then-19-year-old college student who said Combs assaulted her after a Manhattan photoshoot in 2004. Since her motion to proceed under a pseudonym was denied, she has revealed her name.

John Doe, 2005: A California man who was 10 years old when he allegedly auditioned for Combs at a hotel in 2005. He claimed Combs, who would have been around 36 at the time, drugged and sexually assaulted the aspiring child actor and rapper.

Dawn Richard, 2005-2012: Former Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money singer who accused Combs of stealing her work, withholding payment and subjecting her to “inhumane” working conditions throughout their decade-long professional relationship – which allegedly included assault, groping, false imprisonment and multiple instances where she claimed to have seen him assault Cassie.

John Doe, 2006: A man who says he worked as a security guard at Combs’ 2006 White Party in the Hamptons. The man claimed he was given two drinks that were drugged, and Combs “forcibly pushed” him into a van, holding him down to sexually assault him.

Latroya Grayson, 2006: Said she was hospitalized after Combs allegedly sexually assaulted her at a “black party.” She claims she won a radio station contest to attend one of his New York City parties in 2006.

Kendra Haffoney, 2007: An “I Want to Work for Diddy” cast member who said Combs drugged and assaulted her at a 2007 party after she moved to New York to begin filming the first season of the series.

John Doe, 2007-2012: A male entertainer and musician who said Combs trafficked and coerced him into performing strip shows from 2007 to 2012. The man also accused the record producer of drugging, raping and threatening him on multiple occasions.

Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine, 2007-2018: Combs’ former longtime girlfriend and Bad Boy recording artist who accused him in a November 2023 lawsuit of trafficking, raping and viciously beating her over the course of a decade. The relationship, which began a few years after she signed to his label in 2006, involved “a certain level of toxicity and drug use” but not sex trafficking, Combs’ lawyer said in a 2024 TMZ documentary. The “Me & U” singer’s lawsuit, settled just a day later, seemingly triggered the chain reaction of lawsuits and an investigation that ultimately led to federal criminal charges for Combs. Also, she appears to be a star witness for prosecutors in Combs’ case.

2010s

John Doe, 2012: A man who was allegedly hired as an escort to have sex with Combs’ “female companion.” The record executive allegedly drugged, forcibly raped and pushed him to perform a series of “degrading” sexual acts on the woman.

Bryana Bongolan, 2016: A fashion designer who claimed Combs dangled her from a 17th-floor balcony at Cassie’s Los Angeles apartment before slamming her into furniture and threatening to kill her.

Ashley Parham, 2018: Claimed Combs and others “violently gang raped” her at the Orinda, California, apartment of Shane Pearce, one of his associates. Parham refiled her lawsuit months later to add comedian Druski, football wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Combs’ mother Janice Combs and alleged associates to the lawsuit.As with other claims, Combs has denied the allegations, as well as Druski and Beckham. California law enforcement officials called Parham’s lawsuit claims “unfounded.”

Phillip Pines, 2019-2021: Combs’ ex-executive assistant, who claimed the Sean John founder made him assist in his sex-trafficking operation.

2020s

Jane Doe, 2020-2024: A woman alleging Combs drugged and assaulted her multiple times after first meeting him overseas in 2020. At one point she became pregnant, she said, also claiming Combs’ ex Yung Miami threatened her. The accuser alleges she eventually suffered a miscarriage.

Grace O’Marcaigh, 2022: A steward who alleged Combs’ son Christian “King” Combs sexually assaulted and harassed her on a yacht the family chartered. The woman claimed Combs aided and abetted his youngest son.

John Doe, 2022 or 2023: A Southern California man who worked as a photographer and production assistant on the set of a commercial and says Combs invited him to his trailer. The Revolt TV founder allegedly forced the man to perform oral sex on him in exchange for making the man’s “career take off.”

Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr., 2022-2023: “The Love Album” producer who claimed Combs groped, sexually harassed and assaulted him; facilitated others, including then-girlfriend Yung Miami’s cousin and Cuba Gooding Jr., to assault him; and has not paid him for “thousands of hours of work.”

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Contributing: USA TODAY staff
May 13, 2025
Crossword Blog & Answers for May 13, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Weather Front
Constructor: Beth Rubin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

FOG OF LOVE (36A: Cooperative romantic comedy boardgame) In the game FOG OF LOVE, two players each create and play a character. As the players proceed through the game, the characters they have created meet and fall in LOVE and then encounter situations that may test their relationship. The original game was released in 2017, and a couple of expansion sets have been released: FOG OF LOVE: LOVE on Lockdown and FOG OF LOVE: Paranormal Romance.

NOIR (42A: “Mulholland Drive” genre) Mulholland Drive (2001) is a surreal neo-NOIR movie written and directed by David Lynch. He won an Academy Award for Best Director for the film. Naomi Watts (Betty / Diane) and Laura Harring (Rita / Camilla) star in the movie, and each portrays two characters.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

HELLO (14A: ___ Kitty (Feline character whose significant other is Dear Daniel) The character HELLO Kitty, the anthropomorphic Japanese Bobtail cat whose full name is Kitty White, made her first appearance in 1975 on a vinyl coin purse. HELLO Kitty merchandise was originally marketed at pre-teen girls, but the fandom has expanded to include all ages. As the clue informs us, HELLO Kitty’s significant other is Dear Daniel, a character first introduced in 1999. I like to say “HELLO Kitty,” to my cat, Willow. It just makes me giggle. Willow was quite helpful and agreed to pose with a HELLO Kitty fleece blanket.

CBS (16A: “Matlock” and Elsbeth” network) Both Matlock and Elsbeth are TV shows that premiered on CBS in 2024. Matlock is a legal drama that draws from a TV series of the same name that aired from 1986 TO 1992. In that series, Andy Griffith starred as Ben Matlock. In the 2024 series, Kathy Bates portrays Madeline Kingston, who creates the alias of Madeline “Matty” Matlock and sets out to seek justice for her daughter who died from an opioid overdose. Elsbeth is a spin-off of The Good Wife (2009-2016) and The Good Fight (2017-2022). Cara Preston stars as Elsbeth Tascioni, an attorney who is assigned by the Department of Justice to observe the New York Police Department.

HAIL A TAXI (19A: Wave from the curb, say) This theme answer reminded me of someone I know who used to have a dog named TAXI. He said he chose the name so he could step outside and call for the dog, shouting, “TAXI!”

TATE (41A: London art museum) There are four TATE galleries that house the United Kingdom’s national art collection: TATE Modern, TATE Britain, TATE Liverpool, and TATE St. Ives. The TATE is named after Henry TATE, one part of the food and beverage company TATE & Lyle. This clue feels timely, as the TATE Modern is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It first opened on May 11, 2000.

SACRED (52A: Like some cows and texts) This clue intrigued me when I first read it. What connects cows and texts? Ah, SACRED cows and SACRED texts; two very different things, connected by the use of the word SACRED.

APR (53A: National Poetry Month (Abbr.)) April (APR) has been observed as National Poetry Month since 1996. The celebration is organized by the Academy of American Poets to increase appreciation of poetry. Of course, you don’t have to wait until next April to appreciate some poetry. You might check out Mary Oliver’s poem “Beans” or Joy Harjo’s poem “Without.”

WON (61A: South Korean currency) When Korea was divided into South Korea and North Korea following the end of World War II in 1945, both countries ultimately adopted (different) currencies called WON, South Korean WON and North Korean WON.

EMO (64A: My Chemical Romance genre) Although My Chemical Romance is considered an influential band in the EMO genre, they have at times rejected the EMO classification. The music of My Chemical Romance has also been described as alt rock, pop-punk, punk rock, and hard rock.

PINK (65A: “The Dark Side of the Moon” band ___ Floyd) The Dark Side of the Moon is PINK Floyd’s 1973 studio album. The songs on the album – which was envisioned as a concept album about the pressures the band faced – explore the themes of conflict, greed, time, death, and mental illness. The Dark Side of the Moon was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

ELSA (6D: “Frozen” queen) ELSA is a character in Disney’s 2013 animated movie Frozen and the 2019 sequel Frozen II. Even though I know this, I still amused myself by envisioning ELSA as a “frozen queen” (similar to Hans Solo at one point in the Star Wars saga…) instead of the queen in Frozen.

ALEX (7D: Trebek who hosted “Jeopardy!” from 1984-2020) Did anyone else really want this answer to be in the form of a question? ALEX Trebek (1940-2020) hosted Jeopardy! from 1984 until he died in 2020. He was awarded the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host eight times during his 37 seasons hosting Jeopardy!

ACLU (15D: Rights advocacy org.) Through litigation and lobbying, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocates for the rights of all people in the United States.

LAT (37D: Back muscle, for short) The latissimus dorsi muscles – commonly referred to as the LATs – are located in the back, and are the largest muscles in the upper body.

VITAMIN (40D: A, B, C, D or E, but not F) It’s true. There’s no VITAMIN F. After VITAMINs A, B, C, D, and E, the alphabetic list of VITAMINs skips to VITAMIN K.

RAP (58D: Genre for Megan Thee Stallion) Megan Thee Stallion is a RAP artist and songwriter. Her most recent album, Megan: Act II was released in October of last year as an expanded reissue of her album Megan, which was released in June 2024.

ALI (59D: “Beef” actress Wong) Beef is a Netflix TV miniseries about two people involved in a road rage incident that leads to them becoming enemies and getting involved in each other’s lives. ALI Wong and Steven Yeun co-star in the show, which premiered in April 2023.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

HAIL A TAXI (19A: Wave from the curb, say)

FOG OF LOVE (36A: Cooperative romantic comedy boardgame)

RAIN CHECK (55A: Ticket that can be used at a later time)

WEATHER FRONT: A WEATHER-related word is found at the FRONT of each theme answer: HAIL, FOG, and RAIN.

The title of today’s puzzle let me know exactly what to expect theme-wise. It’s fun that the first (FRONT) answer in this puzzle is also a WEATHER-related word: ICY (1A: Slippery, like winter roads). That’s a nice bonus. Thank you, Beth, for this enjoyable puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles
May 13, 2025
‘American Idol’ reveals Top 3 contestants ahead of 2025 finale
We are officially just a few sleeps away from finding out who will be the next “American Idol.”
As the competition shed two more contestants to reveal the Top 3 on May 12, Season 23 has never had fewer contestants than this moment. That meant there was more time for the generous studio audience to cheer and applaud the final five contestants for so long the judges – Slater Nalley, Breanna Nix, John Foster, Jamal Roberts and Thunderstorm Artis – as they vied for a spot in the “Idol” finale on May 18.

On the second Disney Night in Episode 17, the singers largely stayed in their lanes and avoided delivering any surprises with the two songs they each performed, honed by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mentorship.

Thunderstorm crooned as he played the guitar while Slater ditched his instrument for the first time to try his hand at emulating Randy Newman. Breanna had a faraway look in her eyes as she stressed about getting through the lyrics in Natalie’s “This Will Be,” then redeemed herself with a romantic track from “Tarzan” that left her husband in tears.

John brought his modern cowboy to the stage once again, and Jamal put a delightful R&B spin on a beloved “Beauty and the Beast” song. Also, Iam Tongi returned to the “Idol” stage for an extra cross-promotional performance for the upcoming live action “Lilo & Stitch.”

Here are the results of Episode 17.

What happened last episode? Two singers leave after emotional Mother’s Day tributes

Who was sent home on ‘American Idol?’

The guitar-wielding duo of Slater and Thunderstorm failed to earn enough votes to make it into the Top 3.

But this won’t be the last you’ll see of them – or the Top 14. They will be coming back for one last performance in the finale.

Carrie Underwood dishes on her first date at 16: ‘It did not go well’

In an exclusive “Idol To Icon” clip, Underwood admits she never heard back from her first date. “American Idol” airs Sundays/Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

ABC

The group will also be joined by performances from the Goo Goo Dolls, Good Charlotte, Jessica Simpson, Jelly Roll, Patti LaBelle, Salt-N-Pepa, Jennifer Holliday, Josh Groban, Brandon Lake, Myles Smith and Kirk Franklin.

And in a time-honored tradition, judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie will also jump on stage for some time on the mic.

Who is in the ‘American Idol’ Top 3?

John Foster

Jamal Roberts

Breanna Nix
May 13, 2025
Photos of Tory Lanez: Rapper currently in prison for shooting Megan Thee StallionMusic

Photos of Tory Lanez: Rapper currently in prison for shooting Megan Thee StallionMusic

May 13, 2025