Sean "Diddy" Combs is fighting back against the RICO and sex trafficking allegations made in a lawsuit by his former employee, saying the suit's "true purpose" was to "generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement."
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court Monday, Diddy's legal team argued against each claim Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones brought forth in his complaint, which they said was "replete with legally meaningless allegations and blatant falsehoods."
"Jones' second amended complaint is his third attempt to dress up a run-of-the-mill commercial disagreement as a salacious RICO conspiracy," the motion states. "Running to nearly 100 pages, it includes countless tall tales, shameless celebrity namedrops, and irrelevant images. Yet, despite all its hyperbole and lurid theatrics, the SAC fails to state a single viable claim against any of the Combs defendants."
Jones, a music producer who worked on Diddy's most recent record, first filed his lawsuit in February, alleging Diddy conspired with a slew of other defendants in a "RICO enterprise" set up to acquire and transport drugs, firearms and sex workers — some of whom were minors.
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The complaint also accused the music mogul of sex trafficking and sexual assault, with Jones claiming Diddy subjected him "to "constant unsolicited" groping and that he tried to groom the producer into engaging in sexual acts with others, including Cuba Gooding Jr.
The suit, which is seeking $30 million in damages, was amended in March, the same day federal agents raided two of Comb's homes reportedly as part of a sex trafficking investigation. At the time, it was the fifth lawsuit alleging sexual crimes since Combs' longtime girlfriend Cassie sued him for rape and physical abuse in November, which was settled soon after.
Similar to a statement at the time of Jones' filing in which Diddy's lawyer called him a "liar" "looking for an undeserved payday," the motion to dismiss claims the producer's statements and "videotaped threats on social media are part of a calculated effort to promote his personal brand and profit from the exposure."
It cites a video Jones posted on X in which he laughs about the suit despite it claiming "severe emotional distress, demands Diddy pay him 'that money by Monday,' and warned: 'I'm from Chicago, we don't play about our business.'"
Diddy's attorneys also say Jones has taken a "page from his attorney's playbook" in this way, as the producer's lawyer was apparently recently referred to a court grievance committee for "engaging in a 'pattern' of 'improperly fil[ing] cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly.'"
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In regards to each claim, the motion states Jones' suit fails to show facts that a RICO enterprise exists, where and when a sexual assault occurred, that Diddy could have foreseen or controlled an alleged assault by another perpetrator or that "threats of force, fraud [or] coercion were used to compel Jones to commit a 'commercial sex act' or that Jones is a 'victim' under trafficking victims law. It also argues against the breach of oral contract and emotional distress claims Jones made in his suit.
"Mr. Jones is nothing more than a con man, shamelessly looking for an easy and wholly undeserved payday," Diddy's attorney Shawn Holley said in a statement. "We have indisputable, incontrovertible proof that his claims are complete fabrications. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn has refused to return our calls. We look forward to addressing these ridiculous claims in court, and intend to take all appropriate action against all who are attempting to peddle them."
In a statement to Deadline, Blackburn said the motion to dismiss Jones' lawsuit was "nothing more than a billing exercise by Sean Combs' latest set of lawyers."
"It is a weak attempt to fill their pockets before he is indicted, and they decide to haul ass, just like his five previous lawyers did," Blackburn said. "If their client does not engage in salacious behavior, I would not have anything salacious to file. I pick my clients; I do not pick their facts."
