A woman filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her after she met him more than 20 years ago while she was a fashion student in New York City.
April Lampros, in a claim filed in the Supreme Court of New York County, alleges that Combs promised to mentor her and provide industry connections before he became “aggressive” and “coercive.” She is the sixth woman to detail assault allegations against Combs in a lawsuit, accusations that Combs has denied in previous statements. (Supreme Court is a trial court in New York state.)
Lampros, 51, says in the suit that she met Combs in New York City in 1994 while she was studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She alleges he sexually assaulted her on four occasions, including once when she was forced to take ecstasy and have sex with Combs’ former girlfriend Kim Porter.
Years after she severed ties with Combs, Lampros said, she learned that he was alleged to have recorded them having sex without her knowledge and showed the recording to others.
She is suing Combs, 54, over allegations of battery, sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress and gender-motivated violence.
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
Allegations of four assaults
Lampros says in her suit that the first time Combs sexually assaulted her was in 1995, after they met at a New York City bar. She alleges that Combs pressured her to drink alcohol.
She felt “uneasy” after a few sips and was later guided to a car to leave with Combs, the suit says, arriving at a hotel, where she continued to feel unwell. Lampros was on a hotel bed when Combs forced himself on top of her and began to forcibly kiss her, the suit claims.
When Lampros turned her head, Combs grabbed her face and continued to kiss her, the suit alleges. He undressed her despite her attempts to tell him she felt unwell and her pleas for him to stop, it says.
Lampros passed out as Combs raped her, the suit says.
For months after the incident, Lampros said, Combs sent gifts, cards and flowers to lure her back. The suit includes a photo of a card that accompanied flowers Combs was purported to have sent her for Valentine’s Day.
She agreed to meet with Combs to discuss business opportunities, the suit says, and give him a second chance.
Lampros alleges she and Combs were leaving his apartment for dinner when another assault occurred in 1995. According to the suit, they were on their way to the parking garage when a slightly inebriated Combs forced Lampros onto her knees.
According to the suit, he unzipped his pants and forced her to perform oral sex.
The suit alleges Combs turned “angry, threatening and forceful” after the encounter, refusing Lampros’ “decision to distance herself” by threatening to physically harm her and blacklist her across the fashion industry.
The suit describes a third sexual encounter in 1996, alleging that Combs forced Lampros to engage in sexual acts with Porter, who died in 2018 of pneumonia.
Lampros alleges that she was at Combs’ apartment in Manhattan with Porter after they had returned from a nightclub. Combs told both women to open their mouths and forced ecstasy down their throats, the suit says.
He then demanded that Porter and Lampros have sex and told Lampros she had no control when she tried to refuse, the suit claims. It also accuses Combs of raping Lampros.
Lampros had ended her relationship with Combs by 1998, according to the suit.
She also alleged that Porter and Combs got her fired from a bar after Porter saw her working there. According to the suit, Porter called Lampros’ manager and falsely accused her of trying to poison Porter in a move that Lampros believes was retaliation.
About two years later, Lampros said, Combs told her he missed her when they ran into each other at an event. Combs called Lampros for days after she refused to leave with him, asking whether she would see him at his apartment, she said in her suit.
Lampros “reluctantly” agreed for Combs to come to her apartment to hear what he had to say, says the suit, which says he arrived with a security guard who was sitting in the stairwell. During that interaction, Combs grabbed her and forced himself on her, kissing and touching her without her consent, it alleges. She fought him off enough to reach for her door and ask Combs to leave, it says.
Lampros said in a statement Thursday, “I’m confident that justice will prevail and the veil will be removed so no other woman will have to endure what I did.”
The suit, filed by Lampros’ attorney Tyrone Blackburn, names Combs, Bad Boy Records, Arista Records and its owner, Sony Music Entertainment, as respondents.
Representatives for Combs and Bad Boy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Sony and Arista could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.
Recent legal troubles
Lampros’ accusations are the latest in a series of legal troubles for Combs, who is a subject of a federal criminal investigation amid several lawsuits that have accused him of sexual and physical abuse, gang rape and “serious illegal activity,” a source familiar with the matter has told NBC News.
In November, Combs’ former romantic partner Cassie filed a lawsuit in New York accusing him of having physically and emotionally abused her for years. The suit was settled the next day, with representatives for Combs denying the allegations in a statement.
But last week video was made public that appeared to corroborate at least one allegation by Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, in which she said Combs physically assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. The video, dated March 2016, shows Combs in a towel assaulting a woman whom CNN identified as Cassie.
Combs issued an apology on his Instagram page Sunday, saying he was disgusted with himself and describing the situation as one of the “darkest” times of his life.
“My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” Combs said. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
Before the video emerged, Combs had denied all allegations of abuse and wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name. He had previously called Cassie’s allegations sickening.
Cassie thanked everyone who has offered her support in a statement on her Instagram account Thursday, adding that “domestic violence “broke me down to someone I never thought I would become.” She wrote that she has done a lot of healing but that she would “always” be recovering from her past.
“It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in,” the statement said. “I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.”
Since Cassie’s suit was filed, other women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Combs, two of whom say they were teenagers when they were assaulted. Combs’ attorneys have filed paperwork in court seeking to dismiss a Jane Doe lawsuit and partly dismiss another woman’s suit.
On Tuesday, a former model named Crystal McKinney filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003 after they met at a Men’s Fashion Week event in New York City. Combs’ representatives did not respond to a request for comment on McKinney’s lawsuit Tuesday.
Cassie’s suit has been settled, but the others are pending.
Earlier this spring, federal agents searched Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami. Three sources familiar with the matter said firearms were found, but no additional details were provided.
Aaron Dyer, one of Combs’ attorneys, said in a statement after the searches that Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.” He described the searches as an ambush, saying there has been a rush to judgment based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” Dyer said. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
