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The federal sex trafficking probe involving music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is widening, with new accusations being leveled against the hip-hop icon and other high-profile figures.
In an amended lawsuit, music producer Rodney Jones, known as Lil Rod, has added Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. to his existing sexual assault claims against Combs. Jones alleges that Gooding Jr. sexually harassed and assaulted him, including groping him aboard Combs’ yacht.
Per The LA Times:
“Defendant Cuba Gooding, Jr. was a relevant actor who has fallen from grace due to several sexual assault lawsuits and a recent guilty plea for sexual assault,” said the complaint, which was obtained Tuesday by The Times. In it, Blackburn noted that his client — a Chicago-born producer, who produced nine songs on Diddy’s 2023 album — believed Combs “was grooming him to pass him off to his friends” and that “fear became reality” when Combs introduced him to Gooding on his yacht in January 2023.
Jones accused Gooding of fondling his “legs, upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders,” which made the producer “extremely uncomfortable.” Although he allegedly rejected the actor’s advances, Gooding “did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
“As the owner of the property, Mr. Combs had a duty to protect Mr. Jones from the harm he suffered at the hands of Cuba Gooding Jr. Mr. Combs breached his duty when he failed to stop Cuba Gooding Jr from sexually assaulting Mr. Jones,” the complaint said. “In furtherance of this breach, Mr. Combs encouraged Cuba Gooding Jr to continue his assault on Mr. Jones when he said that Cuba Gooding Jr should privately get to know Mr. Jones better. Mr. Jones has suffered immensely because of Mr. Combs’s intentional breach of his duty to him.”
Jones’ original February lawsuit accused Combs of forcing him to procure sex workers and subjecting him to unwanted sexual acts. It also claimed Combs admitted responsibility for the infamous 1999 New York City nightclub shooting that led to weapons charges against him.
That shooting incident left victim Natania Reuben severely injured after being shot in the face. “I literally watched them pull out the guns, I had a clear point of view,” Reuben stated. She accused authorities of favoring Combs’ account over hers as a victim, though she later reached a $130 million settlement with him in 2011.
Jones’ lawsuit is just one of many recent legal actions Combs has faced amid the intensifying federal probe. His homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal agents on Monday as part of an “ongoing investigation” into alleged human trafficking, though no arrests were made.
However, authorities did detain Combs’ alleged drug “mule,” 25-year-old Brendan Paul, who was traveling with the music mogul. Paul was arrested at Miami’s Opa-Locka Airport and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana candies before attempting to board Combs’ private plane.
While Combs himself has not been charged, the investigation continues to escalate with new claims of sexual misconduct emerging.
In June 2023, Gooding Jr. settled a civil case accusing him of raping a woman at a New York hotel a decade earlier, further entangling him in the widening legal saga surrounding Combs.
As federal investigators dig deeper, more revelations about alleged criminal behavior in Combs’ inner circle seem likely to surface in the high-stakes probe.
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