Producer Lil Rod Accuses Diddy, Diddy's Son Of 'Massive' Cover-Up In Studio Shooting
Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones is accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs and his son of a “massive” cover-up of their involvement in a 2022 shooting, according to an amended complaint. The new allegations add to Jones’ original lawsuit, in which he accuses Diddy of sexual assault and harassment.
In new filings, Lil Rod claimed that Diddy or his son Justin shot Justin’s friend, identified in the complaint as a 30-year-old named G, in the abdomen and near his leg or hip area in a bathroom at Chalice Recording Studio in Los Angeles in September 2022. He claims that G has since disappeared.
The complaint, which included pictures purported to show a bloodied bathroom, said the shooting followed an argument involving Diddy, Justin and G during a “writers and producers camp” at the studio. The three moved to a nearby bathroom just 2 feet away from Lil Rod when multiple shots were fired, at which point the producer feared being shot through the door, according to the complaint. It then added that Diddy and Justin left the bathroom while G remained on the floor and that multiple people then crowded around the door.
In an effort to help G, Lil Rod applied pressure to his wounds, propped him up on the toilet and urged the surrounding bystanders to call for an ambulance, according to the complaint. Lil Rod then carried G to the ambulance in front of the studio as Diddy and his son “disappeared to another part of the studio,” according to the document.
The complaint claims that G was “physically incapable of walking” and that Lil Rod had to carry him to the ambulance.
“Mr. Combs gave strict instructions to inform the police that he had nothing to do with the shooting. He also forced Mr. Jones to lie to the police by telling them that G was shot standing outside the studio by a drive-by assailant,” the complaint says.
Lil Rod’s recollection of the shooting clashes with the official Los Angeles Police Department account and claims from Diddy’s attorney Shawn Holley that the shooting did not happen at the studio, NBC News reported Monday.
At the time, KCAL-TV in Los Angeles reported that the victim was shot outside of the studio, citing the LAPD. The report, which was featured in the amended complaint, did not include names.
“When LAPD arrived on scene, it was immediately determined (conclusively) that the shooting took place some distance from the studio,” Holley told NBC News.
“Neither Sean nor Justin were in the vicinity or even aware of what had occurred until afterwards. So I don’t think either of them were interviewed [by police],” Holley added.
Further, the complaint included a screenshot of an Instagram message from the studio to an unnamed recipient that claimed the shooting occurred “half a block away from Chalice.”
“As of the date of this filing, neither the Los Angeles Police Department, nor the Los Angeles Fire Department have released any official reports surrounding this shooting. There has been no body camera footage, and no 911 call recording. What is even more disturbing, is that there has been no citing [sic] of G,” the complaint said.
In Lil Rod’s initial complaint, filed on Feb. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, he accuses Diddy of “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping”; coercing him to engage in sexual acts with sex workers; as well as lacing alcohol given to Lil Rod and his guests, which included underage girls.
In addition, the complaint says that Diddy runs a racketeering enterprise has not paid him for his production work on his latest album, “The Love Album.” Rod also claims in the suit that Diddy said he was “responsible for” a shooting involving a rapper named Shyne in 1999.
“Filing a lawsuit should never be the first option in a dispute. We can have an honest discussion to resolve the issues as I suggested, or we can follow the same plan Shawn Holley used that got her clients Danny Masterson and Tory Lanez convicted. Makes one wonder who is really managing this situation for Mr. Combs,” Lil Rod’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn said, according to NBC News.
Lil Rod is the first man to file a sexual assault and harassment lawsuit against Diddy, who has branded himself as “Brother Love” despite previous allegations of violence and faulty business practices from numerous men who had been employees, Rolling Stone reported.
The Bad Boy Entertainment founder was accused of sexual abuse in four other lawsuits in November, starting with a harrowing lawsuit filed by an ex-girlfriend, model and R&B artist Cassie.
In a 35-page complaint, Cassie accused Diddy of raping and abusing her, forcing her to have sex with male sex workers as he watched, and inciting a drug and alcohol addiction.
The “Me & U” singer’s accusations came as the Adult Survivors Act in New York, which allowed accusers to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse beyond the set statute of limitations, was set to expire in November. Cassie and Diddy settled the lawsuit the day after it was filed.
Following Cassie’s suit, at least three more from other women were filed under the New York statute before it expired.
One woman, identified in the lawsuit as Liza Gardner, accused Diddy and singer Aaron Hall of raping her and her friend in 1990 or 1991.
Another woman, Joi Dickerson-Neal, accused Diddy of raping her, filming it and showing the video to others in 1991.
A woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit claiming that Diddy, former Bad Boy Records President Harve Pierre and an unnamed man “gang raped” and “sex trafficked” her when she was 17 years old in 2003. At the time, Diddy was 34.
Following the onslaught of lawsuits, Diddy, who has denied all the accusations against him, stepped down from his position as chairman of the media company Revolt in November. Plans for a reality TV show that was set to focus on his life and family were cut short in December.
“Enough is enough,” he wrote in an Instagram post in December. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones claimed Sean “Diddy” Combs took responsibility for the killing of rapper Shyne in 1999. The incident in question was a shooting at a nightclub that resulted in Shyne being sentenced to 10 years in prison.