NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sued by Dawn Richard, claims sexual and physical abuse

NZ Herald
12 Sep, 2024 01:44 AM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is facing another lawsuit by a new accuser, Dawn Richard. Photo / Getty Images

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is facing another lawsuit by a new accuser, Dawn Richard. Photo / Getty Images

Warning: mention of physical and sexual abuse.

Another alleged victim of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has come forward, filing a lawsuit that claimed the disgraced music mogul belittled, terrorised and sexually abused her, according to TMZ.

Dawn Richard, a singer who was most notably a member of the former girl group Danity Kane, has alleged she first fell victim to Combs in 2005 while filming for Making the Band, an MTV reality TV series that focuses on the formation of different musical acts.

All but one season of the show was overseen by Combs, who made the final decision on who would be in the band and also served as executive producer. The third iteration focused on Danity Kane, who were signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records .

In the court documents, which were obtained by TMZ, Richard, 41, alleged Combs would call female contestants “fat”, “ugly”, “b****es” and “h**s” during the on-set auditions for the show.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She also claimed Combs had promised to advance her singing career if she gave in to his alleged demands, and showed particular disdain for her on set due to her young age. In 2005, she alleged she saw his former partner, the late Kim Porter, leaving a music studio visibly distressed and with obvious wounds on her face.

According to the lawsuit, in 2009 Richard also witnessed Combs physically attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie, throwing her against a wall, choking her, and dragging her up a flight of stairs of his Los Angeles home while high on drugs.

In another alleged instance of abuse, Richard said the mogul hurled a burning hot pan of eggs at Cassie, 17 years his junior, while yelling: “I’ve been asking you for my s**t; I can’t stand you b****, you never do it right!”.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Richard alleges witnessing Combs also punching Cassie, an R&B singer and his protégé, in the face and attempting to strangle her.

Sean Combs' long-time former girlfriend Cassie Ventura said she was subjected to years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Photo / Ian West / PA Wire via Getty Images
Sean Combs' long-time former girlfriend Cassie Ventura said she was subjected to years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Photo / Ian West / PA Wire via Getty Images

Richard alleges in the documents that she and others, including her band mate Kalenna Harper, attempted to intervene on one occasion, advising Cassie to leave the relationship.

Combs, who later found out about the conversation, then purportedly threatened to “end” Richard and Harper’s careers, yelling: “Y’all b****es don’t get in my relationship ... Don’t tell my b**** [Cassie] what she need to be doing ... Just make money and shut the f*** up ... I end artists ... I shelve careers ... You could be missing ... You b****es want to die today”.

In terms of his treatment of Richard, the singer has claimed she was forced to rehearse 48 hours at a time without sleep, which had a significant impact on her physical health. In another instance, she asked the producer to put on clothes when he greeted her at his Miami home wearing only underwear; he refused, screaming, “This is my f***ing house!”.

Discover more

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of blowing up famous rapper’s car

18 Nov 12:11 AM
Royals

Prince Harry named in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexual assault lawsuit

26 Mar 06:46 PM
Entertainment

'Witch-hunt': Diddy breaks silence amid sex trafficking investigation

26 Mar 11:05 PM
Entertainment

'It broke me': Cassie's heartbreaking confession amid Diddy assault video

23 May 11:59 PM

Between 2009 and 2011, Richard claimed Combs inappropriately touched her breasts and backside after barging into her dressing room when she was naked. She says she was also locked in a car by Combs for two hours, with the heavily tinted windows obscuring her as she screamed for help.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DAWN (@dawnrichard)

In a statement to TMZ, Combs’ attorney, Erica Wolff, said the rapper is “shocked and disappointed” by the lawsuit.

“In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour,” Wolff said.

“If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year.

“It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”

The Making the Band reboot, slated to screen in 2020, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to materialise.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Earlier this week, it was reported Combs had lost another legal battle, with a judge ruling on Monday that the mogul must pay US$100 million ($162m) for a sexual assault claim by a 51-year-old Michigan man.

The lawsuit alleged that in 1997, while at a party in Detroit, Combs drugged and sexually assaulted Derrick Cardello-Smith.

Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone ruled in favour of Cardello-Smith and Combs — who did not appear at the September 9 virtual hearing — was ordered to pay US$10 million ($16.3m) monthly from October 1 in the default judgement.

In May, Combs admitted he beat ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released footage of the attack, with the rapper saying in a video apology he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable”.

“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” Combs said in the statement, posted to Instagram and Facebook.

The video showed Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching, kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie, and throwing a vase in her direction.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Cassie, legal name Cassandra Ventura, sued Combs in November 2023 over years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day, but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs, with several more lawsuits filed in the following months, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to raid Combs’ mansions in LA and Miami.

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said in the May video.

“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace.

“I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

The security camera footage of the attack, dated March 5, 2016, closely resembled the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in Ventura’s lawsuit.

The suit alleged Combs paid the hotel US$50,000 ($81.5m) for the security video immediately after the incident. Neither he nor his representatives addressed that allegation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

New Zealand

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM
Entertainment

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Entertainment

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM

Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM

Di Leach is returning to theatre seven years after she became unwell.

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM
Delta Goodrem shares first look at 'fairytale' wedding in Malta

Delta Goodrem shares first look at 'fairytale' wedding in Malta

10 Jul 10:03 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP