Note: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual assault.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued again by a woman who claims that he sexually assaulted her. April Lampros filed her lawsuit in a New York court yesterday (May 23). She is being represented by Tyrone A. Blackburn, the same lawyer who is representing the music producer Rodney Jones Jr. (also known as Lil Rod) in his sexual assault lawsuit against Diddy.
In her lawsuit, obtained by Pitchfork, Lampros says that she met Diddy in early 1994 while she was a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). “When she met Mr. Combs, Ms. Lampros shared with him her dreams of working in the fashion industry,” the complaint reads, “and Mr. Combs promised to mentor her and help her by introducing her to music and fashion industry executives as well as assisting her with finding work.”
Diddy, who was 24 years old when he met Lampros, “love-bombed” the college student and invited her to events, according to the complaint, but “what Mr. Combs displayed as kind gestures quickly manifested into an aggressive, coercive, and abusive relationship based on sex.”
Lampros alleges that she had “four terrifying sexual encounters” with Diddy, and that the producer “had a terrible temper and often threatened to harm her if she failed to do what he said, if he witnessed her talking to other men, or if she failed to take his phone calls.”
Lampros claims that her “first horrific sexual encounter” with Diddy occurred in New York in 1995. She alleges that, after she was pressured to drink with him at a bar, Diddy raped her in a hotel room, and that, months after the alleged incident, the hip-hop mogul “sent her gifts, cards, and flowers and used his power and access to music industry events to lure Ms. Lampros back to him.”
The second alleged assault took place in a New York parking garage. Lampros claims that Diddy forced her to perform oral sex on him, leaving her “in shock, morally depleted, embarrassed, and in physical agony.” The lawsuit does not include the date of the alleged assault.
The third alleged assault took place at Diddy’s New York apartment in 1996. According to the complaint, the musician forced Lampros and his then-partner, Kim Porter, “to take ecstasy” and have sex with each other while Diddy watched and masturbated. “Ms. Lampros vocally opposed this idea,” the lawsuit states, “but Mr. Combs quickly reminded her that she had no control over the situation as he could make her lose her job.” Diddy also forcibly penetrated and raped Lampros that night, according to the lawsuit.
Lampros claims that, in or around 1998, she “found the courage to end her relationship with Mr. Combs.” She reencountered Diddy in 2000 or 2001, however, and the musician “began apologizing for his past behaviors; he started telling her that he was a changed man,” the lawsuit states. “He then showered her with compliments, telling her how good she looked and kept reminiscing about their prior sex life. He then began dropping hints about them having sex. Ms. Lampros rejected his advances.” The fourth alleged assault occurred after Diddy’s apparent apology when he “violently grabbed [Lampros] and forced himself onto her. He began kissing her and touching her against her will.”
Formally, April Lampros is suing Diddy for battery, assault and sexual assault, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and a violation of New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Pitchfork has reached out to Lampros’ attorney and representatives for Diddy for comment.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued several times since last year for alleged sexual assault. The first major lawsuit came from his former girlfriend Cassie, who accused Diddy of physical and sexual assault. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed, with Diddy’s lawyer saying, “Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims.”
More recently, CNN released hotel surveillance footage that showed Diddy physically assaulting Cassie in 2016. Diddy posted an apology video, and Cassie, in a rare public statement, thanked people for their support of her. “Thank you to everyone that has taken time to take this matter seriously,” she wrote. “My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.”
As for active litigation, Diddy is being sued by Joi Dickerson-Neal (who accuses the producer of assault, battery, sex trafficking, and more), Liza Gardner (who claims that Diddy and R&B singer Aaron Hall sexually assaulted her and a friend in the early 1990s), a Jane Doe (who says that Diddy, former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre, and an unnamed third person “sex trafficked and gang raped” her in 2003 when she was a 17-year-old high school student), the music producer Rodney Jones Jr. (who alleges that Diddy sexually assaulted and groomed him), and former model Crystal McKinney (who, just this week, sued Diddy for sexual assault).
Along with the civil lawsuits, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation.
Diddy has denied allegations of sexual assault, stating, in December, “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.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741