AP

Celebrity

A professional athlete allegedly intervened when the hip-hop mogul made an unwanted move on a luxury car businessman at a launch party for his Ciroc vodka brand in 2022.

A pro athlete reportedly witnessed Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ alleged sexual misconduct. A new lawsuit reveals that the unnamed athlete stopped the embattled music mogul from sexually assaulting a man, who is only identified as “John Doe,” at one of his star-studded parties.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, who owned a luxury car and jewelry rental business, says Diddy instructed him to meet in a private office during a launch party for his Ciroc vodka brand around 2022. Once he was in the office, the plaintiff noticed that Diddy was intoxicated.

The rapper allegedly approached the plaintiff and exposed his genitals. “Combs continued to move closer and then grabbed Plaintiff’s genitals through his pants, squeezing them in a rough and sexual manner,” the suit states.

“Plaintiff, shocked and disoriented, frozen momentarily and did not know how to respond to the weirdly inappropriate sexual advance made by Combs,” it details. The alleged attack only stopped when the unnamed sports star, who is only identified as “Professional Athlete A,” came into the office and intervened, the filing states.

The businessman eventually fled the room and immediately left the party. He claims in the suit that he only decided to come to the party after Diddy, who had been one of his customers for years, told him that other “high-profile guests in the music and entertainment business” would be there.

The businessman said he snapped a photo of Diddy sitting on a couch with “other high profile individuals.” A copy of the photo was included in court papers, but the faces of the other apparent celebrities were blurred.

The businessman was one of five plaintiffs who filed lawsuits against the Bad Boy Records founder in the Southern District of New York on Sunday, October 20. Another lawsuit claims Diddy raped a 13-year-old girl as two other celebrities joined in at a VMAs afterparty in New York in September 2000.

The most recent plaintiffs are being represented by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who said that he’s representing more than 100 people accusing Diddy of sexual misconduct. Diddy’s attorneys have denied the recent lawsuits filed against the rap star.

“The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded [Sunday’s] barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity,” they said in a statement. “Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone-adult or minor, man or woman.”

A trial for Diddy’s criminal charges is scheduled for May 2025.