Diddy responds after he’s ordered to pay $100M in sexual assault lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo has said the embattled music executive is looking forward to clearing his name after a Michigan court ordered him to pay $100 million to an inmate who filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him.

Per Reuters, Derrick Lee Smith, who is currently serving a 75-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of sexual misconduct and kidnapping, was on Monday awarded the $100 million as a default judgment because of Combs’ absence in court.

Smith, 51, in the lawsuit alleged he was at a party with Combs, 54, in Detroit in 1997 when the Bad Boy Records founder drugged and sexually assaulted him, TMZ reported. The plaintiff claimed that prior to the alleged assault, he and Diddy had been drinking and smoking marijuana.

The lawsuit also claimed that the pair together with other women at the party, had undressed at a certain point. Smith alleged that he later sensed a male was touching his left buttock while he was performing oral sex on a woman. He claimed that the man was Combs.

Smith further claimed that he later passed out after Combs gave him a spiked drink, adding that he woke up after some hours and saw Combs and another woman engaged in sexual intercourse. He claimed Combs then told him, “I did this to you too.”

Legal documents showed that Combs failed to respond to Smith’s filing, and the defendant did not attend Monday’s default judgment hearing, per TMZ. The judge awarded Smith the $100 million he was seeking because of that.

Combs, per the payment terms, has been ordered to pay Smith $10 million monthly, with the first installment to be made on October 1. Meanwhile, Combs’ attorney in a statement denied the allegations and accused Smith of committing fraud.

“This man [Cardello-Smith] is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years,” Agnifilo said. “His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Combs currently remains under public scrutiny after CNN shared a video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The rapper and music executive had initially denied allegations of rape and abuse from Cassie. But he later issued an apology on social media after the circulation of the video.

Combs and Cassie started dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for over 10 years. The American music mogul signed Cassie to his label in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37.

And Cassie, now 38, initially filed a lawsuit in New York federal court alleging that Combs brought her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” after she met him. The lawsuit further alleged that Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and physically abused her during their relationship including punching, beating, kicking, and stomping on her.

It alleged that Combs urged Cassie to use drugs and forced her to have sex with other men while he masturbated and filmed. The lawsuit was later dismissed after both parties reached an undisclosed settlement.

In March, agents with Homeland Security raided Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles homes in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation. CNN reported that federal investigators were making arrangements for Combs’ accusers to appear before a New York City grand jury. Combs is also facing multiple sexual assault lawsuits.