Sean “Diddy” Combs has settled a civil lawsuit with a man who claims the mogul assaulted him after an Oscar party in Hollywood last year.
Gerard Rechnitzer claimed that Combs punched him, pushed his girlfriend and spat on another woman outside of Teddy’s Nightclub at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
In court papers, Rechnitzer’s attorney Marianna Ruiz said she witnessed the altercation.
“I just kind of remember seeing him go flying, not flying as in like feet off the ground, but he went back significantly,” said Ruiz, one of the witnesses on the scene. “I was just in shock that somebody would … just kind of strike somebody out of nowhere.”
Lawyers for Combs had labeled the allegations as “completely baseless” and stated that Combs was “in no way legally responsible for what happened to Rechnitzer.”
Through his lawyers, Combs stated in the lawsuit that Rechnitzer “continued moving toward me and, without warning, lunged at me. Instinctively, I outstretched one of my hands, which hand was not closed-f#####, to shield myself … any contact between Mr. Rechnitzer and myself was caused by his forward motion against my stationary open hand.”
Rechnitzer was awarded unspecified damages in his lawsuit.