Sean Combs Coerced ‘I Want to Work for Diddy' Contestant into Sex, Lawsuit Claims
A new lawsuit alleges disgraced music mogul Sean Combs repeatedly sexually assaulted a female contestant on the first season his VH1 reality show I Want to Work for Diddy.
The contestant, Kendra Haffoney, claims the abuse took place in 2007 after she was selected as a finalist for the first season of the show. In her lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan, Haffoney alleges her interactions with Combs were sporadic at first but became more consistent as filming progressed. She claims one night, Combs invited her to an afterparty where she was offered a drink and ushered to his side. Haffoney claims the drink must have been drugged because she started to feel 'delirious.'
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According to the lawsuit, Combs allegedly 'guided [Haffoney's] head down to have her perform oral sex on him.' Haffoney claims the effects of whatever she ingested, along with the power dynamics of the situation, left her feeling powerless to resist.
'Plaintiff wanted to leave, but as the oral sex with Diddy continued, she felt her body getting weak and she ultimately passed out,' the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone alleges. Haffoney claims she eventually woke up back in the I Want to Work for Diddy cast house with Combs sitting on the foot of the bed.
'She knew that she had been drugged with something, she felt weak, and her vagina area felt sore,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Plaintiff knew she had been sexually assaulted, raped, but did not know what to say or who to speak with, was ashamed, confused, degraded, humiliated, and shocked, so she suffered in silence and continued on the show.'
Haffoney says that a short time later, she flew with the cast to Los Angeles for further filming. Without elaborating, she claims Combs subjected her to 'additional acts of sexual assault and misconduct' in California.
The new lawsuit is one of dozens filed against Combs since his former partner Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura accused him of rape and sex trafficking in a November 2023 lawsuit. A spokesperson for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday, but his lawyers have said in prior statements that the music mogul never sexually assaulted anyone.
Haffoney, a resident of Delaware, was able to file her 18-year-old claim using a lookback window tied to a New York City law enacted in 2000 that allows victims to sue their attackers and related institutions for alleged gender-motivated violence. The two-year lookback window, which closes Saturday, has allowed plaintiffs to file lawsuits that otherwise were beyond the statute of limitations.
In addition to Combs, Haffoney also is suing VH1 and Bad Boy Entertainment. Haffoney is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Representatives for VH1's parent company Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Combs, 55, remains locked up in a federal detention center in Brooklyn while he awaits a May 2025 trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. According to an expanded indictment filed last month, Combs allegedly coerced at least three women into commercial sex acts dating as far back as 2004. Prosecutors claim Combs presided over a 'criminal organization' that also engaged in drug distribution, kidnapping, and arson. If convicted as charged, he's facing the possibility of up to life in prison.
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