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Sean "Diddy" Combs is now the subject of another lawsuit brought by his former stylist, Deonte Nash, who also appeared as a witness during the rapper's recent federal trial.
Filed on September 24 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the complaint runs 37 pages and names both Combs and his label, Bad Boy Entertainment. Nash accuses them of sexual battery, human trafficking, false imprisonment, and violence. He says he was employed by Combs from 2008 to 2018 and that what started as a career opportunity turned into "a nightmare" of abuse and intimidation.
According to the lawsuit, Nash "personally experienced sexual, physical, mental, and emotional abuse at the hands of Defendants during his ten-year employment," which allegedly included "forced tests of loyalty and manipulation, sexual harassment and sexual assaults, physical violence and manhandling, labor trafficking, threats of harm, and threats of death."
Court documents describe several incidents, including one in 2013 or 2014 when Combs allegedly discovered Nash had dined with then-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura without permission. The following day, Combs "threw" Nash "onto the car and violently strangled him." Another alleged confrontation in 2014 involved Combs and his security team entering Nash's home without consent, confiscating his phone and keys while searching for Ventura.
Nash also accused Combs of repeated groping, grinding against him, pinching his nipples, and making "unwanted, inappropriate, sexually charged" remarks in front of others. His lawyers argue the degrading comments and unwanted touching left him objectified and unsafe. Nash said Combs told him at one point that he was "only alive because [Combs] allowed it."
In a statement, Nash said: "After enduring years of abuse, I finally found the courage during the criminal trial, and I am now ready to take action. Sean Combs has never taken accountability for the years of harm he inflicted on me and so many others." He added, "Today, I am free from the confinement his abuse imposed, and I have reclaimed my voice."
The lawsuit notes that threats allegedly continued after Nash's resignation in 2018, leaving him fearful for his safety. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has demanded a jury trial.
Combs, 55, was convicted in July of two counts related to prostitution but was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. He is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, awaiting sentencing scheduled for October 3.
