‘The names that we’re going to name, assuming our investigators confirm and corroborate what we’ve been told, are names that will shock you’
An alleged sex tape of Sean “Diddy” Combs engaged in an explicit act with another A-list celebrity is being “shopped around,” according to a lawyer for one of the rapper’s latest accusers.
“The biggest secret in the entertainment industry, that really wasn’t a secret at all, has finally been revealed to the world,” said Tony Buzbee, one of the lead attorneys, at a Houston news conference. “The wall of silence has now been broken.”
“There already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood being shopped around, but one particular person contacted me to shop a particular video,” Mitchell-Kidd alleged.
“I can tell the video was pornographic. This was in his Atlanta home, and it does seem like the person isn’t looking into the video. To me, it doesn’t seem like that person knows they’re being videotaped,” Mitchell-Kidd added.
Mitchell-Kidd also shared details surrounding an alleged rape of her client in 2018.
“She reached out to me a few weeks ago. She called me and told me about her assault and her escape,” Mitchell-Kidd said. “She was at a friend’s house who had industry ties, and Diddy decided to come to the house.”
Mitchell-Kidd alleged that her client discovered that Combs was planning on sex trafficking her.
“It led to her being served a drink. She started to feel woozy. Combs sexually assaulted her with an inanimate object. … And then directed another gentleman to sexually assault her while he watched and pleasured himself,” Mitchell-Kidd said.
The alleged victim was able to escape to the street, with her escape witnessed by a neighbour.
According to a criminal indictment, Combs, who was denied bail and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, is accused of using his “power and prestige” to induce female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs” that the rapper arranged, participated in and often recorded on video. The events would sometimes last days and Combs and victims would often receive IV fluids to recover, the indictment said.
“He used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the ‘Freak Offs’ as collateral against the victims, and the indictment alleges that he maintained control over the victims in several ways, including by giving them drugs, by giving and threatening to take away financial support or housing, by promising them career opportunities, by monitoring their whereabouts and even by dictating their physical appearance,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
Prosecutors said that victims were left afraid for their safety and allege that Combs used firearms to threaten and intimidate participants.
If convicted, Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Buzbee said at his news conference Monday that the alleged assaults happened in New York, California and Florida.
“The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs. And there’s a lot of names,” Buzbee said. “The names that we’re going to name, assuming our investigators confirm and corroborate what we’ve been told, are names that will shock you,” he added.
Of the 120 purported victims, 25 were minors at the time the alleged assaults. One individual alleged he was 9 years old when he was abused, Buzbee said. The allegations stretch all the way back to 1991 and go up to this year.
Erica Wolff, an attorney for Combs, denied the claims in a statement Tuesday.
“As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus. That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”
Combs, who is appealing a federal judge’s decision to keep him in jail while he awaits trial, is due back in court next week.
— With files from The Associated Press