Note: This article contains references to alleged assault that some readers may find disturbing.
Dawn Richard has sued her former collaborator Sean “Diddy” Combs for abuse, TMZ reports and Pitchfork can confirm. She filed her lawsuit yesterday (September 10) in a New York federal court.
In the complaint, Richard details her history with Diddy, which dates back to the early 2000s when she was on Making the Band, the Diddy-helmed reality show that led to the creation of the pop and R&B group Danity Kane. “During auditions, Mr. Combs spoke to the female contestants in a hostile, condescending manner, making disparaging gender-based remarks such as calling them ‘fat,’ ‘ugly,’ ‘bitches,’ and “hoes,’” the lawsuit contends. “Ms. Richard felt threatened and intimidated by Mr. Combs’ blatant disdain for the young women, like herself, who were excited for the opportunity to be on his show.”
While creating Making the Band, “Mr. Combs deprived Ms. Richard and her Danity Kane bandmates of basic needs such as adequate food and sleep,” according to the lawsuit. “When Ms. Richard or her Danity Kane bandmates requested meals or rest, Mr. Combs refused and chastised them with derogatory comments like ‘you bitches don’t want this’ or ‘y’all are not hungry enough’ and ‘I’m paying you bitches to work.’”
After the initial disbandment of Danity Kane, in 2009, “Richard experienced significant financial hardship” and continued to work with Diddy, at his now-infamous Daddy’s House Recording Studio, in New York, “without pay or allocated budget.” She claims that Diddy “promised that Ms. Richard’s compositions would result in payment of license fees and royalties pursuant to her contract with Bad Boy Records; however, no such compensation was ever reported or paid to Ms. Richard.”
Soon, Richard was in the hip-hop and R&B trio Diddy – Dirty Money with Diddy and Kalenna Harper. Richard says that the musicians initially worked on their lone studio album, Last Train to Paris, at Diddy’s home in Los Angeles. She claims that, at the house, she saw Diddy verbally and physically abuse his then-girlfriend, the singer Casandra Elizabeth “Cassie” Ventura. Richard says that she “wanted to intervene and help Ms. Ventura, but Ms. Harper adamantly refused to interfere in Mr. Combs’ relationship, and physically led Ms. Richard out of the residence.” Despite her terror at observing the alleged abuse, Richard claims that she was forced to return to the residence for recording.
According to the lawsuit, Richard witnessed multiple other instances of Diddy abusing Cassie and other women. She also alleges that, while making Last Train to Paris, Diddy threatened and abused her verbally, made her work nonstop, and “often exhibited uncontrollable anger during recording sessions, throwing objects like albums, laptops, and food against the wall or at individuals.” In addition, she claims that she was not compensated for her work, estimating that she is owed $1.2 million in “unpaid wages and royalties” and $350,000 in “unpaid touring wages.”
