It’s been a busy week for Sean “Diddy” Combs in the courtroom.
Just days after filing a $50 million defamation suit, the music mogul is back on the offensive, this time calling former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard’s lawsuit “ludicrous” in a push for dismissal.
Richard has accused Diddy of sex trafficking, forced labor, and a host of other offenses, but his legal team says her claims don’t hold water.
The lawsuit alleges 21 causes of action against Diddy and more than two dozen defendants and attempts to paint the Bad Boy founder as the center of a sprawling conspiracy.
Richard says she was held hostage in his Maybach during a terrifying confrontation. According to Richard, she was trapped in the luxury car as Diddy berated and intimidated her.
The standoff reportedly ended when her father arrived on the scene and intervened, allowing her to finally exit the car.
Richard’s lawsuit also accuses Diddy of emotional manipulation, financial exploitation, and fostering a hostile work environment.
She alleges her likeness and creative contributions were used without permission, adding to what she says was years of mistreatment under the guise of advancing her career.
Diddy’s have attorneys ripped into the accusations, labeling them legally baseless and time-barred.
“Even if the outrageous facts alleged were true (they are not), they do not support Richard’s claims,” the filing states.
Diddy’s legal team argued that Richard’s claims, many of which date back to 2004–2011, fail to meet the requirements for allegations of trafficking and forced labor.
They pointed out that the complaint does not detail any acts of coercion, force, or commercial sex, calling it a sensationalized attempt to revive old grievances.
“At most, [Richard’s] complains that she was underpaid and subjected to difficult work conditions, which do not constitute forced labor,” the filing added.
One of the focal points of Diddy’s defense is the statute of limitations.
His team emphasized that most of Richard’s claims are well past the legal window for filing, noting that Richard had signed multiple releases—most recently in 2021—that waived her rights to pursue these allegations.
“Even if [Richard] had stated any viable claims, every single one of her claims (except a single (invalid) allegation of Copyright infringement in 2023) cannot be pursued as a matter of law because in October 2021, Richard released all of her claims against [Diddy] that existed as of that date (and, in June 2007, had already released all claims other than those for royalties),” Diddy’s lawyer Erica A. Wolff said.
Richard’s lawsuit also invokes the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act, but Diddy’s lawyers argue that her claims under this law are equally weak.
They criticized her examples of alleged misconduct, including an incident involving unwanted touching during a wardrobe fitting, as insufficient to meet legal standards.
“These claims are not only factually baseless but fail as a matter of law,” they asserted.
Diddy’s legal strategy also highlights what they describe as the vague and overly broad nature of Richard’s complaint.
They argue it lacks specific details necessary to substantiate claims of fraud, breach of contract, or intentional infliction of emotional distress and want the lawsuit thrown out of court.