Since November 2023, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued by and settled with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, been hit with at least four other lawsuits alleging sexual assault, stepped down as chairman of Revolt Media, had his homes in L.A. and Miami raided by Homeland Security, seen his son charged with sexual assault and been indicted on a trio of federal charges including racketeering and sex trafficking.
While nothing has been proven yet in court, it’s been a rapid fall and a dizzying stream of bad news for one of hip-hop’s first billionaires.
Scroll through the photos below for a timeline of it all.
Cassie Files Suit
In November 2023, his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed suit against Sean “Diddy” Combs alleging rape, assault, forced sex with male sex workers and that Combs blew up the car of Kid Cudi, who was at that time dating Ventura. The case was resolved out of court.
Multiple Accusers Come Forward
In the days following Cassie’s allegations, Joi Dickerson-Neal alleged in a New York lawsuit that the rapper drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991 and later engaged in “revenge porn.”
See AlsoSean "Diddy" Combs | "Pensaba que era un rey": las fiestas que llevaron a la caída del rapero - BBC News MundoSean 'Diddy' Combs obstructing justice from behind bars, federal prosecutors allegeAll the allegations made against Sean ‘Diddy’ CombsSean Diddy Combs’ latest $50M bail request halted - here’s whyShortly theraftfer, an anonymous Jane Doe alleged in another Empire State-set lawsuit that Combs and a second man raped Doe and her friend in 1990 or 1991, and that Combs physically assaulted Doe again days later.
A Fourth Lawsuit In Four Weeks
Weeks later, yet another lawsuit accused Combs of sex trafficking and participating in the gang rape of a 17 year old in 2003.
Combs Steps Down At Revolt
Amid the swirl of allegations, Combs stepped down as chairman of his Revolt Media in November 2023.
Music Producer Files $30M Suit
In late February 2024 Combs was hit with a $30M lawsuit by the producer of his latest release, The Love Album: Off The Grid.
Lil Rod claimed Combs compelled him to have sex with prostitutes, submit to constant groping of his genitals and short changed him of $50,000 for his work on the 2023 release.
Combs’ Homes Raided By Feds
Combs saw his L.A. and Miami estates raided by Homeland Security and local law enforcement in March 2024 as “part of an ongoing investigation.” The mogul later called it an “unprecedented ambush.”
Combs’s Son Accused Of Sexual Assault
In April 2024, the rap mogul’s 26-year-old son Christian was accused of “drugging and sexually assaulting” the steward on a luxury yacht the family rented in late 2022.
The elder Combs is a defendant too, named for allegedly turning what was supposed to be a “wholesome famaily vacation” into a venue for “unlawful drug use, sex work, and general chaos.”
Hotel Assault Video Surfaces
A graphic clip obtained by CNN in May 2024 shows Combs with a towel around his waist appearing to repeatedly assault Ventura in a corridor of a Century City hotel.
Diddy Apologizes, Cassie Does Not Accept
Shortly after the hotel video surfaced Combs, who had previously denied Ventura’s allegations of assault, apologized.
“My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he wrote on Instragram, before saying he had since “got into going to therapy, going to rehab.”
Ventura, though a representative, called Combs’ statement an act of “pathetic desperation,” maintaining that “no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
No Prosecution For 2016 Hotel Beating
Los Angeles DA George Gascón announced in mid May that Sean Combs wouldn’t be prosecuted for the assault captured in the hotel surveillance footage.
“If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016,” Gascón said, “unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
Combs Arrested In Manhattan
On September 16, Combs was arrested in N.Y. in an action related to the raids at the rapper’s Los Angeles and Miami homes. He was taken in to custody in the lobby of the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhatten by Homeland Security Investigations.
Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo later called the detention “dissapointing” and related to “an unjust prosecution.”
Diddy Charged With Sex Trafficking, Racketeering & More
On September 17, Combs was formally charged with federal charges related to racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In response, he plead “not guilty” but was denied bail.
The trio of charges could see him behind bars for life if found guilty.
New Sexual Assault Suit Is Filed
Attorney Gloria Allred and Thalia Graves, an alleged victim of Combs, hold a copy of a criminal complaint during a press conference in Los Angeles on September 24, 2024.
“In or around the summer of 2001, Plaintiff’s life was violently knocked off course when Defendants Sean Combs and Joseph Sherman viciously raped her at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City,” read the complaint against Combs, his bodyguard and Bad Boy corporate entities filed in federal court in New York.
