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Californian woman Dickerson-Neal said the assault took place almost 32 years ago when she was a psychology student at Syracuse University and Combs was a talent director at Uptown Records. She had ...
Sean "Diddy" Combs has faced a number of civil suits accusing him of sexual assault since last fall. The oldest allegation made against Combs comes from Joi ...
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Apr 29, 2024 · The motion to dismiss four claims in the New York case that Joi Dickerson-Neal brought under the New York Adult Survivors Act (ASA) just before a November 2023 deadline began by citing the plaintiff’s admittedly “incomplete” memory of the alleged assault, seemingly to try and undermine her claimed certainty about being “intentionally ...
- Overview
- Popular '90s singer allegedly saw recording of assault
- Authorities were contacted, woman says
- Woman says Cassie's suit prompted her to take action
Sean "Diddy" Combs has been hit with a new lawsuit by a woman who alleges the music mogul drugged her, sexually assaulted her and recorded the assault without her knowledge when she was a college student in 1991.
The suit was filed in New York Supreme Court on Thursday, one day before the expiration of the New York Adult Survivors Act, which allows adult sexual assault survivors one year to sue regardless of when the original statute of limitations expired.
It's the third suit in the last week filed against Combs or one of his companies that alleges sexual abuse by him or someone associated with him.
“I am so thankful for the bravery of the other women that came forward, the Adult Survivors Act which opened up the filing window to seek justice, and the unwavering support from my attorneys,” Dickerson-Neal said in a statement Friday. “For 32 years, the only people I have been able to confide in were my close friends and therapists. I’m feeling as if the darkness has been lifted and I can freely move forward in achieving my full potential.”
The suit centers on an alleged interaction between Combs and Joie Dickerson-Neal on Jan. 3, 1991, when she was a student at Syracuse University studying psychology.
A spokesperson for Combs denied the allegations.
Days later, a male friend named DeVanté Swing, a member of the popular '90s R&B group Jodeci, revealed to the woman that he viewed a “sex tape” along with other people, according to the suit. Dickerson-Neal said Swing feared his band would lose its record deal if he spoke against Combs. NBC News reached out to a representative for Swing for comment, but did not hear back.
Dickerson-Neal's life was thrown into a “tailspin” after that meeting with Combs, the complaint said. She was later admitted to a hospital for severe depression and suicidal ideation and eventually dropped out of college, according to the filing.
The event left Dickerson-Neal struggling with mental health, career progression and humiliation as a result of the recording of the incident, the suit said.
Combs had allegedly pursued her “for a romantic or sexual relationship” on “repeated occasions,” but she rejected his advances because she heard about his alleged “history of treating women badly,” according to the suit. Dickerson-Neal and Combs had friends and acquaintances in common and she had appeared with Combs in a few clips of a music video, the suit said.
She later filed police reports in New York and New Jersey, spoke to several prosecutors with the hope of pressing charges, and reached out to friends and acquaintances to locate the video Combs allegedly recorded, the filing said.
Dickerson-Neal was told by her colleagues that they were “terrified that Combs would retaliate against them and that they would lose future business and music opportunities if they made a statement in support of Plaintiff,” according to the suit.
It was not immediately clear Thursday what jurisdictions she filed the reports in, when she filed them or what happened after her conversations with authorities.
The New York City Police Department would not confirm if it received a report from Dickerson-Neal, but said it “takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors.”
Dickerson-Neal went on to work in the music industry.
While working at a party, she ran into Combs, who allegedly “backed her into a corner” and “inappropriately confronted her,” the suit said. It was not clear Thursday how long after the alleged assault the party took place.
She said singer Cassie's lawsuit against Combs was the impetus that “forced her to face his assault again,” the filing said.
An attorney for Cassie declined to comment on the suit.
Dickerson-Neal's lawsuit filed Thursday names Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records and Combs Enterprises as defendants. Combs Enterprises has been rebranded as Combs Global, a spokesperson for Combs told NBC News on Wednesday, before this lawsuit was filed.
The latest suit accuses Combs of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sex trafficking and revenge porn. Dickerson-Neal is seeking compensatory damages for mental and emotional injury, distress, pain and suffering, and injury.
“Everyone deserves to be heard and Combs should not be immune from liability because of his wealth and public stature,” Michelle Caiola, one of Dickerson-Neal's attorneys, said in a statement.
Jonathan Goldhirsch, another attorney, added: “Our client has not been able to escape the continuing impact of the harm Combs caused her many years ago. Through the Adult Survivors Act, she can avail herself to the courts to finally seek justice.”
2 days ago · Joi Dickerson-Neal, Crystal McKinney and an anonymous “Jane Doe” spoke about their individual experiences. Dickerson-Neal, who sued Combs for sexual assault in November 2023 , said that her ...
Apr 27, 2024 · This story corrects the spelling of Joi Dickerson-Neal’s surname. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news ...
1 day ago · Combs was also accused in a civil suit filed last November of “intentionally drugging” and sexually assaulting Joi Dickerson-Neal back in 1991, when she was a college student. Though his legal ...
