Dawn Richard Lawsuit Claims These Celebs Witnessed Diddy Abuse Cassie At Dinner Party

Dawn Richard’s lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs levels accusations of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Within the 55-page document, she also details witnessing his girlfriend at the time, singer Cassie, being abused at the hands of the Bad Boy founder. While she says that she and Diddy-Dirty Money groupmate Kalenna Harper attempted to help — and were threatened for doing so — she names stars Usher, Ne-Yo and record executive Jimmy Iovine as witnesses to the abuse who chose to do nothing.

On page 15 of the document, Richard describes Puff signing a deal with Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records, “to capitalize on Interscope’s significant resources and enhance the promotion and sales of Bad Boy releases including Diddy-Dirty Money’s new album.”

Before Iovine signed the deal, however, Richard claims he witnessed the mogul threaten and punch Cassie during a star-studded dinner in Los Angeles. Usher and Ne-Yo are listed as two other stars who attended and saw Diddy’s violent behavior that evening.

“In front of dinner guests, Mr. Combs hissed at Ms. Ventura in a screaming whisper and forcefully punched her in the stomach causing her to double over in visible pain, crying,” the lawsuit reads. “Ms Clark escorted Ms. Ventura out of the restaurant and Mr. Combs remained and continued socializing with dinner guests. At this point, Interscope Records clearly had actual knowledge that Mr. Combs was dangerous around females and that Combs was willing to brazenly batter a female in public.”

Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolff has addressed Richard’s lawsuit, telling VIBE in a statement, “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.”

It continues, “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.”

VIBE has reached out to reps for Ne-Yo, Usher, and Jimmy Iovine for comment.

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