A lawyer representing an alleged victim of Sean “Diddy” Combs has told Sky News she believes the criminal case against him is “just the tip of the iceberg” and there are “hundreds” more who may be “too afraid to come forward”.
Lisa Bloom is representing singer Dawn Richard, a former member of two groups formed by the rapper, who has filed a civil lawsuit against him.
Richard is one of dozens of people suing Combs following his arrest in September. The 55-year-old is currently in jail in New York awaiting trial over criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which he has strenuously denied.
Warning – this story includes details some may find upsetting
“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg, what we’re seeing right now,” said Bloom. “I think we’re going to see a lot more accusers come forward.”
The lawyer said she had “no doubt there are hundreds more people” who have allegations of “sexual assault, physical violence, threats, sex trafficking” against Combs, as well as “people associated with him”.
However, she says many alleged victims may feel scared or unable to speak out, or “think they have no rights” after signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
The criminal case against Combs claims that, with the help of some employees, he coerced and abused individuals for years, and used blackmail and violence to silence alleged victims.
On top of the criminal charges, the hip-hop mogul also faces a mounting number of civil suits, with more than 20 filed so far.
‘She alleges she was groped and grabbed’
Richard appeared on the TV show Making The Band, for which Combs was an executive producer, in the early 2000s.
She was a member of Danity Kane, a girl group formed on the show who signed to his label, and later performed alongside the rapper in the trio, Diddy – Dirty Money.
She accuses him of subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions, and threatening her life.
“She alleges that during the show, she and the others were subjected to horrendous conditions,” Bloom said. “They weren’t allowed to eat, they weren’t allowed to sleep, they were locked in places and not allowed to leave.
“They were subjected to all kinds of gender comments… calling them names, insulting them.
“She alleges that she was groped and grabbed by Sean Combs, that she witnessed him physically assaulting other women, that he restrained her, locked her into cars and other places, falsely imprisoned her, and it was just a really terrifying experience for her.”
When Richard tried to speak out on behalf of other women Combs was allegedly abusing in her presence, she was threatened and felt “very fearful”, Bloom said.
Combs’s lawyers say Richard’s allegations are “an attempt to rewrite history”. They say they are false claims manufactured by a singer who has an album out and who’s “trying to get a pay day”.
They also say that if she had such “a negative experience” working with the rapper and producer while in Danity Kane, she would not have returned to work with him a second time in Diddy – Dirty Money.
‘People turned a blind eye’
Richard has spoken with the officers from the US Department of Justice, Bloom said. She believes there will be “more criminal charges to come” against Combs, as well as more civil lawsuits.
“She’s sat and answered questions,” Bloom said. “I assume other people probably have as well. So [criminal charges] could very well be forthcoming… I think there will be more civil suits as well.
“Sean Combs is the top of the pyramid, he was the one orchestrating everything, but those who helped him also need to be brought to justice.
“We want to hold accountable anybody who’s complicit, because to victimise people on this scale where we’re probably talking about hundreds of people, you can’t do that alone, you have to have helpers… people who actually saw incidents of abuse turned a blind eye to it and continued funding these events where things happened. They should be held accountable, and we intend to do that in our case.”
Bloom said she also expects other famous names to be brought up.
“People used to brag about going to Diddy parties, a lot of people were there, maybe some of them didn’t know what was happening but surely many of them did,” she said. “Being a celebrity does not mean that you’re above the law, as I think some of them think.”
Read more from Sky News:
‘They share women. They share secrets’
The allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
For now, the civil cases against Combs are running concurrently to the criminal case against him.
The rapper has not asked for a stay, “which would essentially freeze” the civil cases, Bloom said, so she is “aggressively moving ahead” with Richard’s claim.
From behind bars the rapper, through his lawyers, has said he is “confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court”.
“I look forward to taking Sean Combs’s deposition in prison,” Bloom said. “For one thing, he can’t say he’s unavailable and out of town.”
