Part 2:
“Mr. Combs consistently made it clear that he has immense power in the music industry and with law enforcement,” the lawsuit says.
Jones says in the lawsuit that he has video and audio evidence to support some of the allegations. The lawsuit says that Combs required Jones to “record him constantly” and that on several occasions, Combs took Jones’ cellphone to record himself. As a result, Jones alleges, he has hundreds of hours of video and audio records of Combs, his staff and his guests “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
Jones says in the suit that he believes Combs also drugged him on Feb. 2, 2023. He alleges he woke up naked, dizzy and confused in bed with Combs and two sex workers.
In response to a request for comment, Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, used a Latin phrase, “res ipsa loquitur,” which loosely translates as “the thing speaks for itself,” referring to the lawsuit.
Jones says in the suit that he was “under an implied work-for-hire agreement” and was not compensated for the songs he produced on “The Love Album.” As a result, the lawsuit says, Combs, Love Records, Motown Records and Universal Music Group were all unjustly enriched at his expense. The labels did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Combs has been sued by four women who have accused him of sexual assault. Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, said Combs physically abused her and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he masturbated and recorded the encounters. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed. The settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Combs’ lawyer, Ben Brafman, has said.
Following Cassie’s lawsuit, two other women, Liza Gardner and Joie dikkerson-Neal, have alleged in lawsuits that Combs sexually assaulted them. And a woman identified as Jane Doe in court documents said Combs and two other men gang-raped her when she was 17 and Combs was 34.
Those three cases against Combs are still pending. In a statement in December, he denied the allegations, saying “enough is enough,” and called the claims against him “sickening.”
“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,” he said in the statement.
The mounting allegations stand to harm Combs’ legacy and business empire. A day after Ventura filed her suit, three of Combs’ former artists expressed support for her. The same month, Combs stepped down as the chairman of Revolt TV. In December, Hulu scrapped a reality television show that was to have followed his family. And in January, Combs withdrew his lawsuit against Diageo as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant, which he had accused of racism.