Dawn Richard and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Kevin Winter/Getty Images; John Nacion/Startraks
Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard shared her reaction to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest and unsealed indictment.
Days after filing a lawsuit accusing the music mogul of manipulating, terrorizing and sexually abusing her, Richard, 41, spoke out on Diddy’s latest legal troubles through a statement by her attorney.
“We applaud the grand jury’s new indictment of Sean Combs, which is strikingly similar to the federal complaint we filed last week on behalf of our brave client, Dawn Richard,” Lisa Bloom said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 17. “Given the brutal beating of Sean Combs’ girlfriend caught on video and the eight people who have now accused him of abuse in court filings, including Dawn, this arrest seems long overdue.”
Earlier this year, a video resurfaced that showed Diddy, 54, assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie in 2016. The rapper apologized for his actions in a video shared via Instagram.
Diddy’s New York arrest is described by Bloom as “a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning.”
“May justice be delivered to Mr. Combs,” her statement concluded. “We implore other accusers to come forward in solidarity and join us in this fight.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Seth Browarnik/Startraks
On Tuesday, Diddy was indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering one day after being arrested in New York City. The 14-page indictment details a barrage of accusations against the rapper.
Diddy allegedly “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him,” the indictment states. Some of the alleged incidents, which the indictment claimed were carried out to fulfill “his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” date back to 2009.
Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, spoke out about the arrest in a statement to Us.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images While Sean “Diddy” Combs has fervently denied ex-girlfriend Cassie’s rape and assault allegations, multiple women have come forward with similar claims of alleged misconduct by the music mogul. Us Weekly confirmed in November 2023 that Cassie (real name Casandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of rape and repeated physical […]
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo said. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community.”
The statement concluded: “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Dawn Richard perform together on September 29, 2010 in Glasgow, Scotland. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for MTV
Earlier this month, Richard filed a lawsuit and accused Diddy of promising to advance her singing career if she gave in to his demands. According to court documents obtained by Us, Diddy allegedly abused Richard by forcing her to rehearse 48 hours at a time without sleep.
Diddy also allegedly touched Richard inappropriately after barging into her dressing room at his recording studio.
Years before two of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes were raided in connection to a federal sex trafficking investigation, there was conversation about what went on at the rapper’s residences. After the March 2024 raid made headlines, a clip resurfaced of Usher recalling his experience living with Diddy as a teenager. “I got a chance to […]
In response to the lawsuit, Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolff released a statement telling Us, “Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. 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 pay day — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.”
Wolff continued: “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. 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.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).