Diddy's Attorney Says Dawn Richard Wants To "Rewrite History" Amid Her Sexual Abuse Claims

Content Warning: This article mentions verbal and sexual abuse and domestic violence.

In another development in disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs's ongoing legal woes, his former artist, Dawn Richard, has accused him of sexual abuse in a new lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Dawn sued Diddy, claiming he "belittled, terrorized and sexually abused" her throughout their working relationship. Dawn and Diddy's relationship dates back to 2004 when she joined his girl group, Danity Kane, after appearing on Making The Band. According to TMZ, she stated in 2024 via court documents that her longtime boss's abuse allegedly began then.

Amid Dawn's lawsuit, Diddy's legal team is fighting back against the allegations.

After Dawn's lawsuit broke, Diddy's attorney, Erica Wolff, released a statement to Distractify and shared that he was incredibly upset about her claims.

"Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit," the statement read. "In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a payday — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour."

The statement further mentioned how Dawn and Diddy have worked together on multiple occasions since Making The Band, including their group Diddy — Dirty Money with Kalenna Harper, and insisted there were never any issues between the artists during those times.

"If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on The Love Album last year," the attorney said. "It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court.”

Some of the demands Dawn claimed Diddy gave her allegedly included him making her rehearse for 48 hours straight and bullying her for being excited to work with him. Dawn also stated Diddy sexually abused her several times, including an instance where he allegedly broke into her dressing room and began groping her breasts and butt and another where he asked her to come to his house and only had underwear on. When she asked him to put more clothes on, Diddy allegedly yelled, "This is my f--king house!"

Dawn also claimed in her lawsuit that Diddy once locked her inside of a car for two hours after a disagreement. The alleged incident forced the singer to call her father, who drove from Baltimore to New York to save his daughter and confront Diddy. She says her father also threatened to call the police, but never did. In addition to the abuse she allegedly endured from her boss, Dawn said in the lawsuit she witnessed domestic abuse.

According to the lawsuit, Dawn witnessed Diddy's late ex, Kim Porter, leaving his studio with a bruised face. She also claimed to have seen Diddy physically abuse Cassie Ventura and display predatory behavior when they started dating in 2006. Dawn recalled an incident in 2009 where Diddy allegedly slammed Cassie against a wall and threatened to "shelve" her career when she advised Cassie to leave him.