Sean “Diddy” Combs faces a new lawsuit from a former personal stylist who alleges the rapper and music mogul subjected him to a “nightmare” of sexual, physical and psychological abuse that lasted a decade.
The stylist, Deonte Nash, “endured constant unreasonable demands and expectations, forced tests of loyalty and manipulation, sexual harassment and sexual assaults, physical violence and manhandling, labor trafficking, threats of harm, and threats of death,” the lawsuit alleges.
Nash testified against Combs during an eight-week federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial this summer. Combs was acquitted of those charges, though he was convicted on two counts of interstate prostitution.
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3. He pleaded not guilty to all charges during the trial.
Erica Wolff, one of Combs’ lawyers, blasted Nash as “another opportunist looking to profit off his proximity to a celebrity.”
“In court, the truth will prevail, as it did in his criminal trial: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman,” Wolff said in a statement to NBC News. “Mr. Combs looks forward to clearing his name again in a court of law where truth matters.”
Nash stopped working for Combs around 2018, according to his lawyers at the firm Singleton Schreiber. But the threats continued, the lawyers said, “leaving him in significant fear for his safety and unable to move forward with his life.”
In a statement, Nash claimed Combs has “never taken accountability for the years of harm he inflicted on me and so many others.”
“Today, I am free from the confinement his abuse imposed, and I have reclaimed my voice,” Nash said in part. “It is time for the world to confront the truth about the horrific abuse I endured and the lasting impact of Mr. Combs’ actions on my life.”
In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles, Nash’s lawyers outline 11 allegations, most notably human trafficking, assault, battery and sexual battery.
Nash’s lawyers are seeking general and compensatory damages; damages for emotional distress; punitive damages; costs of the lawsuit; and lost wages.
Nash testified during Combs’ trial that he was not considering suing the hip-hop star. “I’m focused on getting out of here,” he told a defense lawyer during cross-examination.
In a statement, Nash said he “finally found the courage during the criminal trial, and I am now ready to take action.”
Katie Llamas, Nash’s lawyer, said her client “still fears for his safety every day.”
“Had he not been subpoenaed and forced to testify in Mr. Combs’ criminal trial, he likely would never have come forward,” Llamas added.
