Lawyer says there may be 300 potential cases against Diddy

A lawyer representing a number of alleged victims of Sean “Diddy” Combs says the potential variety of civil authorized circumstances in opposition to the musician “is probably in the 300 range”.

Tony Buzbee advised the BBC his group had obtained about 3,000 calls since he held a information convention calling for shoppers in October.

He has already issued 20 lawsuits from women and men searching for damages from the musician; and says that “realistically” the ultimate complete shall be “about 100 to 150”. Others won’t make it to court docket as a result of the time restrict for submitting claims has expired in sure states.

Mr Combs has denied all the costs in opposition to him, calling the accusations “sickening” and the results of folks in search of a “quick payday”.

His legal professionals have characterised the a number of civil lawsuits, together with the claims of 300 potential victims, as part of a “reckless media circus”.

They stated Mr Buzbee’s press convention, and the creation of a toll-free cellphone quantity for tip-offs, had been “clear attempts to garner publicity”.

In an announcement to the BBC, his lawyer Erica Wolff stated: “Mr Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.

“In court docket, the reality will prevail: That Mr. Combs by no means sexually assaulted or trafficked anybody – man or girl, grownup or minor.”

The musician is currently being held in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting trial on separate criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which he also denies.

Mr Buzbee, whose practice is based in Houston, is an outsized character in US legal circles, once described by the New York Times as “an enormous, imply, formidable, tenacious, fire-breathing Texas trial lawyer”.

A former Marine and a TV show host, he made his name suing the energy giant BP after an explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City killed 15 people; and successfully defended former Texas governor Rick Perry against abuse-of-power allegations.

More recently, he helped a sizeable group of women reach out-of-court settlements with American Football player Deshaun Watson over allegations he had sexually assaulted them during private massage sessions.

His involvement with Mr Combs began last year – after his co-counsel Andrew Van Arsdale, who previously represented hundreds of victims in a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, began receiving calls about the star.

“I think he got a little bit overwhelmed, and he realised that this might be more than he could handle [on his own]”, Buzbee says.

After agreeing to help, Buzbee asked potential victims to come forward via an Instagram post. In the next 10 days, he estimates his team received 3,000 calls.

Those claims were screened by a team of lawyers and former law enforcement officials, who arrived at a list of clients with cases “that are viable, that have been thoroughly vetted, that will ultimately be filed”, he says.

“We nonetheless get [calls] each single day,” he added. “I believe that the potential [number of] circumstances might be within the 300 vary, however I believe realistically, it’s going to finally be about 100 to 150.”

The alleged victims include a roughly equal number of men and women; whose accusations span a 20-year period.

Among them are a woman who claims Mr Combs raped her in a hotel room in 2004 when she was a 19-year-old college student; and an aspiring young musician who alleges the musician drugged him and forced him to perform oral sex when he was 10 years old.

Lawyers for Mr Combs have denied the allegations, saying in a statement to the BBC that he “has by no means sexually assaulted anybody – grownup or minor, man or girl”.

The lawsuits have so far been filed anonymously, with the alleged victims referred to in court documents as John Doe or Jane Doe.

However, Mr Combs’ laywers have asked the courts to release their identities so he can adequately prepare for any potential trial.

In three cases so far, including that of the 19-year-old woman, a judge has ruled that they will have to reveal their names for their claims to move forward.

“It occurs quite a bit,” Mr Buzbee told the BBC. “If the plaintiff is pressured to disclose her or his or her identification, Mr Combs hopes that they are going to quietly go away and by no means convey the declare once more.

“The good news is, that’s not going to happen. That’s something I screened for… so if they’re forced to reveal their identity, they’ll reveal their identity, and we’ll keep pressing forward.”

Mr Buzbee added that he had taken similar measures in the DeShaun Watson case, where several women publicly attached their names to the lawsuits following a challenge from the sportsman’s lawyers.

One lawsuit has received particular attention because it claims other celebrities were involved in Mr Combs’ alleged crimes.

The case, filed in New York in October, regards a 13-year-old who claims she became disorientated and dizzy after accepting a drink at one of Mr Combs’ parties.

Soon after, she claims that a man, originally identified as “Celebrity A” removed her clothes and raped her, while Mr Combs and a woman named as “Celebrity B” watched.

On Sunday, the plaintiff updated the lawsuit to identification the primary celeb because the rap legend Jay-Z.

In an extensive statement, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, called the claims “idiotic” and accused Mr Buzbee of attempting to blackmail him by threatening to make his name public.

“My coronary heart and assist goes out to true victims on the earth, who’ve to observe how their life story is wearing costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in an inexpensive swimsuit,” he added.

The musician had previously filed an anonymous lawsuit in Los Angeles, accusing Mr Buzbee of “shamelessly” trying to extort him.

Mr Buzbee fired back that the “frivolous” lawsuit was a “last-ditch try” to stop Mr Carter’s name being made public.

“I’m a US Marine,” he wrote in an Instagram statement. “I will not be silenced or intimidated. Neither will my shoppers.”

Mr Combs’ legal team also deny the claims, and said the extortion charge against Mr Buzbee “expose his barrage of lawsuits… for what they’re: Shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract funds from celebrities who concern having lies unfold about them, simply as lies have been unfold about Mr Combs”.

The back and forth has only fuelled speculation that more high-profile music industry figures will become ensnared in the upcoming trials.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buzbee called that eventuality “very seemingly”.

“If you simply take a look at the conduct that is being alleged, it is fairly ubiquitous. There was a tradition that was created, a celebration tradition, the place something goes,” he says.

“There was only a normal feeling that he [Mr Combs] was above the regulation, that he may do no matter he needed, at any time when he needed, with whomever he needed.”

Social media has seen a flurry of speculation, linking people to Mr Combs’ alleged crimes – based on little more than photos of showbusiness parties in the 1990s and 2000s.

Needless to say, there is no evidence to back up those allegations.

There have also been widely-discredited fakes, including a tell-all biography purportedly written by Mr Combs’ late partner, Kim Porter; and a viral song, in which Justin Bieber purportedly sang, “I misplaced myself at a Diddy social gathering”. The latter turned out to be an AI-generated fake.

Lawyers for Mr Combs have argued that the number of “false and outrageous” claims being made by “authorities brokers, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and others with questionable motives” could be “perceived as prejudicing potential jurors”.

Mr Buzbee disagrees.

“Obviously, the individuals who come into the court docket as jurors, do not are available in in a vacuum,” he tells the BBC.

“They learn the press, and so they know what is going on on, however I believe most individuals are prepared to say, ‘Let’s choose this declare on its deserves. What is the proof and what’s the defence?'”

In the end, Mr Buzbee’s clients may face a long wait to have their cases heard in court.

Jennie VonCannon, a former federal prosecutor with experience of sex trafficking and racketeering cases, says the criminal trial against Mr Combs will have to conclude before the civil claims can proceed.

“That’s as a result of the Fifth Amendment offers you the best to stay silent,” she told the BBC.

“So you want the legal case to go first, as a result of when you made statements within the civil circumstances with the intention to defend your self, you might presumably incriminate your self.”

The BBC understands that Grand Jury hearings for Mr Combs’ criminal trial have continued since charges were filed against him in September.

Some of the alleged victims who are suing him in civil court are believed to have given testimony in these hearings. VonCannon says the government could easily amend their case as a result.

“There’s a college of thought that no investigation is ever full,” she says.

“It seems like the federal government continues to be actively producing discovery, so it is attainable they are going to supersede [replace or amend] the indictment, and even add extra defendants.”

The legal trial is presently scheduled to start in May 2025.