The controversial legacy of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Here’s what we know
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces federal sex crime charges. Here’s what we know about his controversial legacy.
With Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial underway, Dawn Richard has taken the stand.
Richard, discovered by Combs, was a prominent collaborator of the music mogul for a decade, formerly of the Bad Boy Records girl group Danity Kane and also part of the trio Diddy – Dirty Money. Her September 2024 lawsuit, then, came as a shock, as she claimed Combs subjected her to physical and sexual abuse throughout their professional relationship. Combs’ lawyers at the time said Richard was trying to “rewrite history.”
Her lawsuit points to apparent behavior that did not escape fellow artists and the people he stood next to professionally.
Richard accused Diddy of subjecting her to “inhumane” working conditions, including deprivation of food and rest, as well as assault, groping and false imprisonment. She also detailed multiple instances where she claimed to have seen the producer assault his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine, who last week finished four days of harrowing testimony in his trial. Richard’s testimony on May 16 focused on her witnessing this abuse.
Richard returned to the stand May 19 in Combs’ trial. “I’m expecting justice,” she said during her testimony.
Richard’s accusations, which included alleged incidents during the production of Diddy – Dirty Money’s highly-lauded album “Last Train to Paris,” introduce a disturbing refrain into their collaborations, changing how some fans may now hear the music. Fellow Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day has also been critical of the rap mogul.
Revisit Richard and Diddy’s relationship, her testimony and why she’s suing the rap mogul.
Dawn Richard testifies about violent assault on Cassie
In testimony on May 16, Richard described witnessing Combs attack Ventura Fine as she was making eggs in a kitchen in Combs’ Los Angeles home.
“He came downstairs screaming, belligerent,” Richard said, noting Combs asked where his eggs were and yelled that Ventura Fine never gets anything right.
Combs grabbed the skillet Ventura Fine was cooking in and tried to hit her with it, Richard testified. The skillet didn’t seem to hit Ventura Fine “fully” because “she went into the fetal position,” according to Richard.
Combs grabbed Ventura Fine’s hair and then dragged her upstairs, Richard said. Then, Richard heard glass breaking and yelling.
Combs later told Richard what she saw was passion and Ventura Fine was OK, Richard testified. “Where he comes from, people go missing if they talk,” Richard recalled Combs saying.
Dawn Richard, Diddy’s collaborations: From Danity Kane to Diddy – Dirty Money
Diddy’s music competition series “Making the Band,” which ran from 2000 to 2009 mainly on MTV, led to the formation of multiple music groups, including Da Band and Day26. In “Making the Band 3,” the rapper held country-wide auditions to form a girl group, putting contestants through a series of intense competitions for five spots.
Finalists Richard, O’Day, Aundrea Fimbres, Wanita “D. Woods” Woodgett and, later, Shannon Bex would go on to form Danity Kane, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2006, which produced the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single “Show Stopper.” Their second album, “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” included their second top 10 single, pop-dance hit “Damaged,” in 2008.
Since its inception, the group has gone through multiple lineups, with D. Woods leaving the group in 2008 and Fimbres leaving in 2014, before the release of the group’s third and final studio album, “DK3.” The group has split up and reunited multiple times over the years, including as a duo for the 2020 extended play “Strawberry Milk,” featuring just Richard and O’Day.
Diddy – Dirty Money, with Richard and singer Kalenna Harper, was formed in 2009.
The trio released “Last Train to Paris” in 2010, a cult-classic ensemble effort that has gained critical praise over the years, given its forward-thinking R&B-pop sound. The album included singles “Coming Home” with Skylar Grey, “Hello Good Morning” with T.I. and “Loving You No More” with Drake.
The group disbanded in 2012 without a sophomore effort, but reunited for Diddy’s 2023 album “The Love Album: Off the Grid.”
Why is Dawn Richard suing Diddy?
Richard’s September lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY, alleged abusive behavior during her time with both Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money.
Richard sued Diddy on 21 counts of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and copyright infringement. She claimed the producer stole her work, withheld payment and subjected her to “inhumane” working conditions, which included assault, groping and false imprisonment, throughout their association together.
Richard accused the rapper of promising to advance her career in exchange for favors on the set of “Making the Band” in 2005. According to Richard, Diddy belittled and harassed the female contestants during filming.
Once the group was assembled, Richard said the label founder regularly deprived them of sleep and meals, referred to them derogatorily and “denigrated their physical appearances,” telling Richard in particular she was “too skinny and needed to ‘do something about (her face).’”
The singer also recalled an incident during rehearsals in New York for Diddy – Dirty Money’s “Saturday Night Live” performance in 2010, in which she claimed she and Harper were denied food and rest. Enraged and screaming at the pair for being late, Richard alleged Diddy nearly hit her before she was escorted away by a bodyguard.
When Harper ran after her, both were locked inside a car without door handles, she claimed. Richard used Harper’s phone to call her father, but Harper was later removed, leaving Richard locked alone in the car for two hours. It was only after her father arrived from Baltimore that she got out.
Richard also claimed to have witnessed Diddy’s party behavior, including bringing in underage girls to attend dayslong “drug-fueled” parties at his homes in New York and Miami, where he and his guests “performed sexual acts on them.”
Dawn Richard claims she witnessed Diddy assault Cassie, Kim Porter
The singer also recalled run-ins with Diddy’s exes, Kim Porter and singer Ventura Fine, that made her fear for her safety.
The singer claimed to have seen Porter’s face battered while she cried, leaving a music studio in 2005. Combs had an on-again, off-again relationship with Porter from 1994 to 2007. She died in August 2018 from pneumonia at 47.
Richard also details in the lawsuit multiple instances where she claimed to have seen Diddy assault Ventura Fine.
In one, she said a “high on drugs” Diddy slammed Ventura Fine against a wall, choked her and dragged her up the stairs in his home in Los Angeles during the recording of “Last Train to Paris” in 2009. The following day, she and Harper were locked in a room for over 20 minutes as Diddy threatened them and told them not to speak of the incident.
Richard “wanted to intervene,” she claimed in the lawsuit, but Harper refused to get involved and led her out of the house. On other occasions when Richard or Harper did intervene by encouraging Ventura Fine to leave, she claimed Diddy threatened them with statements like, “You want to die today,” and “I end people.”
Richard, O’Day and D. Woods voiced their support for Ventura Fine when she filed her November 2023 lawsuit. At the time, Richard tweeted she was praying for “peace and healing” for Ventura Fine.
Ventura Fine accused Diddy of trafficking, raping and viciously beating her over the course of their relationship. The “Me & U” singer’s lawsuit, settled just a day later, triggered the chain reaction of lawsuits and an investigation that ultimately led to his federal criminal charges.
In her own filing, Richard said that Ventura Fine’s “bravery” in suing Diddy empowered her to come forward, saying years of Combs’ alleged abuse “had become normalized for her.”
What other Danity Kane, Dirty Money members say about Diddy
In June, O’Day said she did not feel “vindication” amid her former record label boss’ legal trouble. “Anyone being exposed, or any truths being told, don’t change the reality of what you experienced,” O’Day told People.
In a December 2022 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, O’Day also alleged Combs fired her because she wouldn’t do things he requested “in other areas” besides music.
D. Woods spoke out in the Investigation Discovery docuseries “The Fall of Diddy” in January, recalling sexually charged remarks aimed at O’Day, verbal abuse of the five women during her brief time with Danity Kane. “I see myself standing in those dark, scary, predatory spaces and hearing somebody say some of the most degrading things to me and … having to figure out how to navigate and not let that person break me down.”
Harper distanced herself from Richard’s claims shortly after her lawsuit was filed. In an Instagram stories post, according to People, she said, “Many of the allegations and incidents described in this suit are not representative of my experiences.” She added she was not “involved in” nor “aware of, any behavior that could be considered abusive or unlawful.”
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY staff
