Sean Combs, Jaime Foxx and More Celebrities Accused of Assault by Exes, Survivors and Others
Sean Combs
As New York’s Adult Survivors Act expired November 24, women rushed forward with accusations of assault. Sean “Diddy” Combs was among those in the hot seat when his ex Cassie Ventura alleged there was “abuse, violence and sex trafficking” — including forcing her to engage in sexual acts with male prostitutes while he watched — during their 2007 to 2018 relationship.
The rapper quickly settled for an unspecified sum, with R&B singer Cassie, 37, stating, “I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control.” A lawyer for Diddy said the settlement “does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims.” But he wasn’t off the hook yet. Two more women filed suit against the Bad Boy records honcho.
Joi Dickerson-Neal accused the 54-year-old of drugging and raping her when she was a college student in 1991, while a Jane Doe alleged that he and a pal took turns raping her 30 years ago. Calling the claims “fabricated,” Diddy’s attorney dismissed the suits as “money grabs.”
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Five months after the Oscar winner avoided trial by making a settlement on rape allegations, two more women filed suit alleging that the 55-year-old “sexually assaulted and battered” them on separate occasions in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Jasmine Abbay says the Jerry Maguire star “forced his tongue in her mouth” while she was serving drinks at a Manhattan club.
While the actor pleaded guilty to criminal forcible touching, he avoided jail time. The next year, Kelsey Harbert (inset) claimed that, as she sat with Cuba and his girlfriend at an NYC bar, the actor put his hand on her thigh and grabbed her breast, “groping it, feeling around on it, as if I was a piece of meat.” He later admitted to “nonconsensual physical contact.” Explaining their suit, attorney Gloria Allred stated the women were “deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case” and are “seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases.”
Jaime Foxx
The Ray star has been accused by a Jane Doe of groping her breasts and genitals at NYC hotspot Catch in 2015. The plaintiff alleges that the 55-year-old seemed “intoxicated” at the time and states that she continues to suffer “physical and emotional injuries, anxiety, distress, embarrassment and economic harm” from the alleged run-in.
The Oscar winner is adamant no such incident took place, with a spokesman pointing out that the same Jane Doe filed a “nearly identical” suit in Brooklyn in 2020, which was dismissed, adding, “The claims are no more viable today than they were then.” The spokesman averred that the actor is “confident” the charges will be dismissed once more. “And once they are, Mr. Foxx intends to pursue a claim for malicious prosecution against this person and her attorneys for refiling this frivolous action.”
Axl Rose
Former Penthouse model Sheila Kennedy filed suit against Axl Rose, claiming that the Guns N’ Roses singer sexually assaulted her in an NYC hotel in 1989. The suit outlines an evening during which the 61-year-old “pushed [her] against the wall and kissed her” after the pair departed a club and went to the rocker’s hotel room.
After she refused to participate in group sex, the suit alleges an irate Axl threw her to the floor twice, then tied her hands behind her back with pantyhose before “forcibly penetrating” her without consent. “She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her.”
Axl’s attorney Alan S. Gutman denied the allegations in a statement, adding, “Though he doesn’t deny the possibility of a fan photo taken in passing, Mr. Rose has no recollection of ever meeting or speaking to the Plaintiff and has never heard these fictional allegations.”