Diddy Slapped With Another Shocking $60M Lawsuit

Sara Rivers, who was once a contestant on the MTV reality show Making the Band, has filed a $60 million lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs. She is accusing him of sexual harassment, assault, and creating extremely harsh and unfair working conditions. The lawsuit was filed on Friday, March 1, 2024, and it takes advantage of a special legal opportunity provided by New York City’s Gender Motivated Violence Act (GMVA).

This law has a “lookback window” that was revived and extended in 2022, allowing people to file claims that would otherwise be too old to bring to court. The window opened on March 1, 2023, and will close on March 1, 2025.

In her 148-page complaint, Rivers describes many incidents she says happened while she was on Making the Band between 2002 and 2004. She claims that Combs made inappropriate comments about her body, including one instance where he allegedly examined her physically and made insulting remarks. She also says that Combs touched her inappropriately without her consent, including an incident where he allegedly touched her breasts.

Rivers also describes what she calls a toxic and exploitative work environment. She says Combs controlled when she could sleep, made fun of her eating disorder, and forced her and other band members to do unpaid chores. For example, she claims they were made to walk long distances to get a cheesecake for him. Rivers says she was never paid for her time on the show, even though filming took place around the clock for three seasons.

She says she only received small payments after performances and one payment after being pressured to sign a publishing deal with a company owned by Combs’ mother, Janice. Rivers claims that when she rejected Combs’ alleged advances and questioned her contracts, she was fired and blocked from the music industry. The lawsuit names Combs, his mother Janice, Universal Music, MTV, and several executives from Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment as defendants.

Rivers’ lawsuit is not the only one filed against Combs. More than a dozen other people filed separate lawsuits against him on the same day, also using the GMVA’s lookback window. These lawsuits include a wide range of accusations, such as sexual assault, sex trafficking, rape, and grooming. Some of these claims involve both adults and minors and span many years.

One lawsuit describes a pattern of abusive behavior, including controlling behavior, physical violence, and sexual assault. Another lawsuit claims that Combs groomed and repeatedly assaulted a young artist over several years. There are also accusations of sexual assault involving minors, with incidents said to have happened at different times and places.

Combs’ legal team has responded to the lawsuits by denying all the allegations. They call the lawsuits “false claims” and suggest that the people filing them are trying to take advantage of the GMVA’s lookback window for financial gain. They insist that Combs has never done any of the things he is accused of. The fact that so many lawsuits were filed right before the GMVA deadline has led Combs’ lawyers to argue that these are last-minute attempts to exploit the law.

The timing of these lawsuits has sparked debate about the GMVA’s lookback window and whether it is helping victims or being misused. While the law is meant to give victims of gender-based violence a chance to seek justice, the large number of lawsuits filed just before the deadline has raised questions about how effective the law is. The upcoming court cases will have to decide whether these claims are valid and what impact the GMVA’s extended timeframe has on the legal process.