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Rodney Jones Jr., the music producer also known as Lil Rod, has amended his February lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs to include actor Cuba Gooding Jr. on the list of defendants.
Last month, Jones filed a lawsuit against Diddy, 54, accusing the media mogul of sexually harassing and threatening him for more than a year. The producer claimed that he “secured irrefutable evidence” of illicit activity, including Diddy providing laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers at his homes and the rapper’s acquisition, use and distribution of ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, as well as displaying and distribution of unregistered illegal firearms.
According to court documents obtained by ET, Jones filed the lawsuit in Federal District Court in Manhattan, claiming that he was subjected to possible drugging and rape, ritual humiliation, and being cheated out of more than $50,000 for his work on Diddy’s September 2023 release, The Love Album: Off the Grid.
Jones claimed that he and Diddy worked together between September 2022 and November 2023, a partnership that resulted in nine songs on The Love Album, for which Jones is credited as a producer. Jones also alleged that he was not paid for “13 months (and) thousands of hours of work.”
In the lawsuit, Jones also accused Gooding, 56, of sexually harassing and assaulting him on a yacht rented by Diddy in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 2023.
On Monday, the producer amended his complaint to name Gooding as an official defendant.
According to the lawsuit, Jones believed Diddy was “grooming him” in an attempt to “pass him off” to Gooding, introducing him to the Oscar-winning actor and leaving the two alone in a studio on Diddy’s yacht.
“Cuba Gooding Jr. began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders,” Jones’ lawsuit alleges.
The complaint includes a photo that supposedly shows Gooding with his arm around Jones, along with a picture that allegedly shows Diddy and Gooding talking on the yacht.
The lawsuit claims that Diddy “failed to step in and stop” Gooding from “sexually assaulting” Jones, who allegedly “forcibly pushed” the actor away.
ET has reached out to Gooding’s attorney for comment.
As mentioned in the complaint, Gooding has faced several lawsuits in recent years over alleged sexual abuse, rape and forcible touching against more than 30 women.
In June 2023, the Jerry Maguire star settled accusations that he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago, just as trial was to start with jury selection.
In the lawsuit, the Jane Doe alleged that Gooding raped her in his hotel room after convincing her to stop at the room so he could change clothing. His lawyers, though, insisted that it was consensual sex and that she bragged afterward to others that she had sex with a celebrity.
Minutes after jurors were to begin assembling in a courtroom, a calendar entry in the official court record said: “TRIAL OFF.” It added: “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”
The lawsuit sought $6 million in damages. Gloria Allred, one of several attorneys representing the woman, declined to comment to CBS News about the reported settlement. Other lawyers, including those representing Gooding, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Represented by attorney Tyrone Blackburn, Jones’ lawsuit implicates other celebrities, including rapper Yung Miami, whose unnamed cousin is accused of sexual assault after she allegedly “burst into the bathroom and began groping” Jones during a gathering on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
Jones also claims producer Stevie J helped recruit sex workers for Diddy and participated in sex parties referred to as “freak-offs” (a term Diddy allegedly used to refer to sexual encounters with sex workers) according to the lawsuit.
Bishop T.D. Jakes, songwriter and music producer Donald Lawrence, the Clark Sisters, Smokie Norful, Faheem Muhammad, DeForrest Taylor, and Jose Cruz are also among the celebrities named in the filing.
But not all the named celebrities have not been charged, only: Diddy, Gooding, Diddy’s son, Justin Dior Combs, Universal Music Group Chief Executive Lucian Charles Grainge, former Motown Records Chief Executive Ethiopia Habtemariam, Chalice Recording Studios, the record labels, Diddy’s chief of staff, Kristina “KK” Khorram, Love Records and Combs Enterprises are named as defendants.
The network of involvement, Jones claimed, amounts to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The amended civil lawsuit, filed in a New York federal district court, came hours after two of Diddy’s homes were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents as part of an “ongoing investigation,” and amid sex trafficking allegations leveled against the music mogul by multiple women.
In a statement to ET, Homeland Security Investigations shared, “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”
TMZ reports that law enforcement sources said the case is being handled out of the Southern District of New York, and that it appears to be tied to sex trafficking allegations. The outlet also reported that two of the handcuffed men in the helicopter footage appear to be Diddy’s sons, Justin and Christian “King” Combs.
Additionally, a source told Rolling Stone, in an article published on Monday, that four Jane Does and one John Doe had already sat for interviews with Southern District of New York investigators for an investigation related to an alleged sex trafficking and RICO case, and additional interviews have reportedly been scheduled.
ET has reached out to Diddy’s reps and attorneys for comment.
Diddy made headlines when he was slammed with four lawsuits last year. The media mogul was accused of sex trafficking by his ex-girlfriend, Cassie, in her November 2023 lawsuit against the rapper, which also included Cassie’s claim that Diddy raped her in 2018, near the end of their relationship.
The lawsuit between the exes was settled quickly and “amicably,” Diddy said in a statement to ET at the time, adding, “I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love.”
“Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Diddy’s attorney, Ben Brafman, added in a statement to ET. “Mr. Combs’ decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best.”
Despite their settlement, however, Diddy faced three additional new lawsuits before the end of the year, in which he was accused of sexual assault, revenge porn and being involved in the “gang rape” of a 17-year-old girl.
On Monday, attorney Douglas Wigdor, who represents Cassie and one of the Jane Does in the other lawsuits, said in a statement in response to the Homeland Security raids, “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
Hours after the raids were initiated, Diddy was reportedly spotted at an airport in Miami, according to multiple reports.
Diddy was photographed pacing around the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport at approximately 3 p.m., with his cell phone in his hand after the simultaneous raids were conducted, TMZ reports. In a video obtained by the outlet, Combs can be seen walking around freely outside the customs office at the airport, reportedly hours after the raids were initiated.
His presence at the airport comes amid additional reports by People that a private jet owned by Combs flew to the Caribbean island of Antigua on Monday morning as the raids were conducted.
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