Diddy Wants Dawn Richard’s Lawsuit Thrown Out After Her Testimony

Sean “Diddy” Combs is pushing back hard against the civil lawsuit filed by singer Dawn Richard, calling her allegations “completely false” and asking a judge to dismiss the case entirely. The legal move came Friday (May 16), the very same day Richard took the witness stand in Diddy’s ongoing federal sex trafficking trial.

In court documents obtained by TMZ, Diddy’s legal team claims Richard is attempting to exploit the wave of negative press currently surrounding the disgraced Hip-Hop mogul. The filings argue that her civil suit is an opportunistic attempt to “transform narratives of alleged injuries against others into a headline-grabbing sex trafficking conspiracy as to her.”

The defense lists several legal reasons why the lawsuit should be thrown out, including the statute of limitations and what they call “improper group pleading.” While the majority of the filing is being considered dense legalese, the message is clear that Diddy’s team is drawing a hard line, asserting that Richard’s claims doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Richard, formerly of R&B groups Danity Kane and Diddy Dirty Money (with the producer himself), testified in court that she witnessed Combs abuse his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, during a 2009 altercation. She told the court she saw Diddy try to strike Ventura with a kitchen skillet, and later, beat and drag her while others watched in fear.

Richard’s claims follow similar allegations made by Ventura herself, who said that she suffered constant physical abuse and coercion from the father-of-seven over obscure things.

“He would smash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head if I was down,” Ventura said of her relationship with Combs while on the stand, emphasizing that arguments between them would often result in “some sort of physical abuse.”

These developments come amid a sweeping federal case against Combs, who faces multiple felony charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. If convicted, the music mogul could be looking at 15 years to life in prison.

Diddy has maintained his innocence and currently remains behind bars.