Diddy and his lawyers have been pushing for a gag order against both his alleged victims and their attorneys in the mogul’s federal sex trafficking and racketeering case, and now they have opposition from not just the government, but also the attorney for Cassie Ventura.
Cassie, whose lawsuit against Diddy in November of last year kickstarted a slew of lawsuits and a federal investigation against him, was represented in that suit by Douglas H. Wigdor. On Friday (November 1), Judge Arun Subramanian received a letter from Wigdor that he had written just days before.
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In his letter, Wigdor says that Diddy’s motion, which would “prohibit[] further extrajudicial statements from prospective witnesses and their lawyers” — meaning anyone who accuses Diddy of sexual misconduct, as it is at least possible they could become a witness in the criminal case — would “inappropriately silence victims.”
“To now order our clients to be completely silent about what they experienced would be an affront to their bravery and would be detrimental to other victims of sexual violence who remain afraid to come forward,” wrote Wigdor, who, in addition to leading the charge for Ventura last year, currently represents one anonymous accuser who claims she was attacked by Diddy in 2003.
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The attorney goes on to say that requesting potential witnesses stay silent is “particularly inappropriate” given public statements made by Diddy’s family and lawyers. He cites, among other statements, an Instagram post last month by Diddy’s family that said: “Many have judged both him and us based on accusations, conspiracy theories, and false narratives.”
HipHopDX reached out to Diddy’s representatives for comment about Wigdor’s letter, but they were not immediately available.
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Cassie’s suit against Diddy last year accused the Bad Boy mogul of a long list of crimes, including rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse.
The filing also claimed that he “forced Ms. Ventura to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters,” as well as forced her to carry a handgun even though she felt uncomfortable with doing so. Finally, she claimed that Diddy plied her with drugs and alcohol, triggering a substance abuse problem.
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Cassie claimed the aforementioned acts took place over the course of their nearly decade-long relationship, with the violence continuing to escalate with each passing year.
Amongst the myriad of accusations was Cassie’s accusation that Diddy (real name Sean Combs) allegedly blew up Kid Cudi‘s car during Paris Fashion Week. According to Cassie, she briefly had an affair with the “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper in 2011, when she and Diddy were going through what she called a “rough patch.”
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When the pair reunited, Diddy allegedly found some emails between Kid Cudi and Cassie, and grew progressively angry about the prospect, until things came to a violent end.
“In February 2012, during Paris Fashion Week, Mr. Combs told Ms. Ventura that he was going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car, and that he wanted to ensure that Kid Cudi was home with his friends when it happened. Around that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,” page 20 of the filing alleged.
The suit was settled one day after it was filed.
Diddy’s attorney Ben Brafman addressed the settlement at the time in a statement to HipHopDX.
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“Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” the attorney wrote. “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.”
