Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Former Danity Kane Protégé Dawn Richard Claims He 'Groped Her and Left Her Locked in Car' Fearing for Her Life

Former Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money singer Dawn Richard filed a detailed lawsuit accusing music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault, battery and extreme verbal abuse.

Originally filed in September 2024 and supplemented with actions under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, the complaint details several major allegations during her time working under Combs between 2004 and 2012.

Richard alleges that Combs frequently barged into her changing rooms unannounced, touching her bust and buttocks without consent under the guise of "shaping" her wardrobe and career.

The lawsuit describes a December 2010 altercation in which Richard objected to Combs' use of derogatory language toward women.

After Combs allegedly swung his fist at her face, his bodyguard forced Richard into Combs' Bentley, locking her inside. The car lacked interior door handles, and she was left trapped for hours on a freezing winter night without her coat, phone or heat.

Richard said she screamed for help and experienced "sheer panic" while fearing she might never be released.

When Richard rejected his advances, Combs allegedly retaliated by cutting her from a track, denying her vocal parts and withholding compensation.

Richard claims she frequently witnessed Combs violently choke and beat his then-girlfriend, Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, and was threatened with severe "consequences" if she ever spoke out.

In June, a federal judge officially dismissed Richard's civil lawsuit against Combs despite calling the allegations "execrable."

Richard’s legal team, led by attorney Erica Fudali, publicly disagreed with the decision and vowed to continue fighting until justice is achieved.

Separate from this civil dismissal, Richard previously testified as a witness in a Manhattan federal court trial where Combs was convicted on prostitution-related charges and sentenced to over four years in prison.

Combs remains incarcerated in federal prison serving a 50-month sentence, but his legal woes continue.

During the ongoing Las Vegas trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis (the man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's 1996 murder), prosecutors have resurfaced recorded police interviews from 2008 and 2009.

In these tapes, Davis claimed that Combs offered a $1 million bounty to have Shakur and Marion "Suge" Knight killed. Combs has always vehemently denied any involvement. The prosecution rested its case on Wednesday, August 26, leaving experts debating whether the father-of-seven could eventually face charges.

Combs previously filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal and Peacock over the documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, but a New York judge dismissed the case.

On August 26, it was revealed that NBCUniversal and its co-defendants are seeking $990,292 in legal fees from Combs under New York's anti-SLAPP laws. Combs' legal team is not disputing that he owes them money, but they are actively fighting to reduce the total amount of the bill.

In July, the rapper was reportedly placed in solitary confinement following a prison altercation with another inmate. According to mid-August reports, he has since been released back into the general population at his New Jersey facility.