Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones claims the mogul repeatedly groped and abused him while they worked on his most recent album.
Three months after Cassie sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing him of rape and abuse, the disgraced mogul has once again been accused of sexual assault. In a suit filed on Monday, which was first reported by TMZ, the videographer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones accused Combs of sexually harassing, drugging, and threatening him between September 2022 and November 2023, per NBC.
Jones — who produced nine songs on Diddy’s 2023 album, Love — says that while working on the project, he lived and traveled with Diddy, who subjected him to repeated abuse. “Throughout his time living with Mr. Combs, Mr. Jones was the victim of constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus by Mr. Combs,” Jones’s filing claims. Jones alleges that in February 2023, he woke up naked, dizzy, and confused in bed with Combs and two sex workers, and believes that Combs had drugged him.
Jones also alleges that Diddy made him and his 30-year-old son, Justin Combs, procure sex workers for parties at Diddy’s various homes, and threatened to harm him if he did not comply. According to People, which reviewed the court filing, Jones claims to have recorded several hours of video and audio of Diddy and his staff “engaging in serious illegal activity” during that time. Among the recordings, Jones says he has footage of “Mr. Combs providing laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers at his homes in California, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida.” Jones is suing for $30 million.
Shawn Holley, an attorney for Diddy, categorically denied Jones’s accusations. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday. His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines,” she said in a statement to the Cut. “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.” She added: “We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Jones’s suit also names Diddy’s son Justin; the rapper’s chief-of-staff, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge; and former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam as defendants. In a statement to TMZ, a rep for Justin said, “Justin Combs categorically denies these absurd allegations. They are all lies! This is a clear example of a desperate person taking desperate measures in hopes of a payday. There will be legal consequences for all defamatory statements made about the Combs family.”
In November, Diddy reached a settlement with his ex-girlfriend Cassie, one day after she filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of rape and abuse. In her suit, Cassie said Diddy provided her with “copious amounts of drugs” and frequently became violent, beating her “multiple times a year.” She accused him of forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while Combs masturbated, filmed, and took photos. Since then, three other women have accused Diddy of sexually assaulting them in the 1990s and early 2000s. He has denied all allegations, saying, “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth.”
The Cut has reached out to representatives for Khorram and to Universal Music Group for comment. We will update this post when we hear back.
Related
