Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing another sexual assault lawsuit, this time filed by a woman who claims he drugged and sexually assaulted her 30 years ago while she was a college student in New York.
In a complaint filed Thursday in Manhattan court, April Lampros alleges the rapper subjected her to an “aggressive, coercive and abusive sexual relationship,” including four counts of sexual assault.
In one such claim, she says Combs forced her to take ecstasy and have sex with his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. Although she was “vocally opposed” to the idea, she said she feared Combs had “blacklisted her in the industry”.
“Ms. Lambros knew she had to comply because she had seen what happens when someone defies Mr. Combs,” her attorneys wrote. “She had also been threatened and victimized by Mr. Combs and did not want to cause trouble because she was afraid of him.”
Thursday's lawsuit also names Sony Music Entertainment as a defendant, alleging that the company “enabled” Combs' behavior. He claims he was working for Sony's Arista Records when at least one of the attacks occurred and that Sony “knew or should have known that Combs was unfit to be in a position of authority.”
Representatives for both Combs and Sony did not immediately return requests for comment.
Lambros is the seventh alleged victim to file a lawsuit accusing Combs of sexual abuse in the past six months, including one filed a few days ago by a model named Crystal McKinney who claims the hip-hop mogul forced her to performing oral sex after a Men's Fashion Week Event in 2003. The rapper is also reportedly facing a federal criminal investigation on molestation charges.
In previous statements, Combs has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. But after a video surfaced last week showing Combs assaulting one of those accusers — then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura — he said he took “full responsibility” for the incident and was “truly sorry.”
In her complaint, Lambros claims she met Combs in 1994 while she was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. After telling him about her “dreams of working in the fashion industry,” Lambros says Combs promised to mentor her and help her find a job in the industry.
But she says the relationship quickly turned sexual, including “four terrifying sexual encounters” and threats of physical violence. One such incident occurred after a night out in 1995, when he claims he started to feel sick after having “a few sips of a drink”.
“Ms. Lambros pleaded with Mr. Combs to stop and he ignored her,” her attorneys wrote. “Ms. Lambros couldn't process why this happened and felt a loss of control. Ms. Lambros was being rushed by Mr. Combs and soon passed out.”
Throughout the relationship, Lambros claims that Combs exerted power over her because of his fame and influence: “She felt that if she obeyed him, it would take away her dreams of pursuing a career in his world.”
Lambros also alleges that Combs secretly filmed one of their sexual encounters and then shared the video with others. She says she learned about the tape in 2023 when an unnamed man told her boyfriend that he “should reconsider dating her because he personally saw a video of her and Sean Combs having sex.”
The suit alleges that all of the defendants violated New York's Gender-Motivated Violence Victims Protection Act. The case also includes charges of civil assault, sexual assault and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Combs.
Read the full complaint here:
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