Dawn Richard has come forward today with a long list of charges against disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, including allegations of physical and sexual abuse, dating back to 2004 when she first met him on the set of his MTV show Making the Band 3.

According to Richard's lawsuit, Combs would become verbally and emotionally abusive during auditions for the show, which later escalated to controlling behaviour that damaged her health and then to groping of her body without consent. She also says that Combs walked into her dressing room while she was naked, and once locked her in a car for two hours.

"Mr. Combs’ star-studded, larger-than-life persona overshadowed his vicious temper and pervasive acts of violence directed towards those in his inner circle – specifically, women."

Here's Dawn Richard's full lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs: https://t.co/M9rCfvM78u pic.twitter.com/pEfiUV2YD0

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) September 11, 2024

As the owner of Bad Boy Records, Combs was essentially in control of Richard's career between 2004 and 2012, including five years with Making the Band winners Danity Kane and three as part of electro-hip-hop trio Diddy–Dirty Money. Richard's lawsuit states that when her father threatened to report Combs to the police, he was told to think about her career. Richard also claims that Combs withheld her earnings, stole her copyrighted works, and "flagrantly exploited" her through "years of inhumane working conditions," as well as using his power over her career to otherwise manipulate her.

Richard and her Danity Kane bandmate Aubrey O'Day both showed support for Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in her own sexual abuse lawsuit against Combs late last year – which the rapper settled within 24 hours. Surveillance video footage from a hotel clearly showed Combs violently attacking Ventura.

praying for Cassie and her family, for peace and healing. you are beautiful and brave. ❤️

— DAWN (@DawnRichard) November 16, 2023

In her filing, Richard says that she saw Combs physically abusing Ventura, including throwing punches and dragging her around, and that she saw another of Combs' ex-girlfriends leaving his studio with "visible facial injuries including a lacerated lip." Richard also says that when Combs found out that she and her Dirty Money bandmate Kalenna Harper had tried to persuade Ventura to leave, he threatened to bury their careers or worse. “I end artists,” he is alleged to have told them. “I shelve careers … You could be missing … You bitches want to die today?”

Combs has not yet made a comment regarding Richard's suit. The rapper is currently the subject of several other ongoing lawsuits and is under federal investigation for suspected sex-trafficking. Only yesterday, a judge in Michigan ordered Combs to pay a total of $100,000,000 to a man named Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith who sued him for sexual assault.