Disclaimer: This story contains graphic details that some may find disturbing.
Sean "Diddy" Combs will face 120 new sexual misconduct lawsuits, including one from an individual who alleges he was only 9 years old when the music mogul abused him, a Texas-based attorney announced during a press conference Tuesday.
After allegations involving Combs began last year, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said his office had received a few calls with related claims, but after federal authorities indicted Combs two weeks ago on sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges, "the floodgates opened," leading more than 3,285 individuals to contact Buzbee's office with allegations of being "victimized" by the 54-year-old.
Of those 3,285, Buzbee said his team vetted and confirmed the accounts of 120 individuals who will file lawsuits, with 25 of them claiming they were minors at the time of the alleged act.
"The biggest secret in the entertainment industry that really wasn't a secret at all has finally been revealed to the world. The wall of silence has now been broken, and victims are coming forward," Buzbee said during the press conference.
Buzbee said the alleged incidents in the 120 lawsuits span from 1991 to earlier this year. He described the victims as 60 males and 60 females from more than 25 states, with the majority being from California, New York, Georgia or Florida. He also said 62% are Black, 30% are White and the remainder are Hispanic or Asian.
In listing some of the plaintiffs' ages at the "time of occurrence," Buzbee described the case of a boy who was allegedly taken to audition at Combs' Bad Boy Records in New York City when he was 9 years old. The attorney said the boy was one of many minors who were there attempting to land a record deal, but under a false promise, the 9-year-old was instead allegedly sexually abused by Combs and several others at the studio.
Another case Buzbee shared was of a then-15-year-old girl who was flown to New York City to attend a party, where she was allegedly drugged then taken into a private room and raped by Combs and multiple others. Buzbee also described a pregnant woman who alleges she drank a non-alcoholic beverage at a group dinner with Combs then woke up the next morning next to Combs and with injuries to her privates.
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Though each is an individual case, Buzbee said most of the lawsuits involve a common theme in which the plaintiff was allegedly "lured" into a situation with Combs, often at some sort of party or audition, and in 90% of the cases, given a drink that they later determined to be laced. After it took effect, the alleged victims were subject to "all types of sexual acts" from the music mogul and other perpetrators, Buzbee said.
More than 55% of the plaintiffs bringing forth lawsuits had filed reports with authorities or with hospitals after their alleged incident with Combs, Buzbee said. As his office has gathered the medical records and law enforcement reports, the attorney noted during the press conference that many plaintiffs had "weird drugs" in their systems. He specifically noted xylazine, a veterinary sedative also known as "tranq," that's known to slow breathing, heart rate and blood pressure to dangerously low levels.
In addition to Combs, Buzbee said there will be many other defendants listed in the 120 lawsuits, from those who engaged in or encouraged the alleged assaults to anyone in the room or venue who knew but didn't stop them from happening. He stated that some of these defendants will be celebrities "that we all know" while others will be entities or venues.
"There are many people and many entities involved, and we're going to follow this evidence wherever it takes us," Buzbee said. "We will find the silent accomplices. We will expose the enablers who enable this conduct behind closed doors. We will pursue this matter no matter who the evidence implicates. These brave victims who have stepped forward deserve nothing less."
Buzbee said his office expects to file the 120 lawsuits in civil court within the next 30 days, as his team continues to vet hundreds more cases. Claims he's bringing forth in the suits include violent sexual assault or rape, sexual abuse, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, false imprisonment, compelling prostitution, sexual misconduct, dissemination of video recordings and sexual abuse of minors.
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Combs is currently being held without bail after pleading not guilty to a federal indictment that accuses him of abusing victims for years and presiding over an empire of sexual crimes. It came almost six months after federal agents raided his home as part of the investigation and around 10 months after singer Cassie, Comb's former longtime girlfriend, sued him for rape and physical abuse in November.
Though her case was settled shortly after it was filed, the suit started a wave of other complaints from plaintiffs alleging similar incidents of sexual misconduct. Last week, Thalia Graves became the 11th person to accuse Combs of sexual crimes when her lawyer, Gloria Allred, filed a lawsuit alleging he and his bodyguard violently raped her, recorded it and then repeatedly sold the footage as pornography in the years since the alleged 2001 incident.
During a press conference announcing the suit, Allred corrected a reporter who asked the attorney if she was representing any other female victims of Combs, saying "or men." She said she is representing other alleged victims but had "no comment" on if other lawsuits would be filed.
Allred had "no comment" on whether Graves was contacted by federal prosecutors, but at his press conference, Buzbee said a few of the plaintiffs in his cases have spoken to the FBI. He said the other individuals who haven't will be "made available" to assist in the investigation.
