A music producer who filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs last month has now accused actor Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexually harassing and assaulting him, an amended federal complaint filed Monday night shows.
The amended civil complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan hours after federal officials searched Combs’ homes. Combs is a subject of a federal investigation, and several people have been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to allegations involving sex trafficking, assault, illegal narcotics and firearms, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Representatives for Combs, 54, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment Monday.
The producer, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, filed his original lawsuit against Combs and others in February, alleging that Combs forced him to procure sex workers and pressured him to engage in unwelcomed sex acts with them.
The amended suit alleges that Gooding groped Jones while on Combs’ yacht.
An attorney and representatives for Gooding did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.
Gooding “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’ the suit states.
Jones “was extremely uncomfortable and proceeded to lean away from Mr. Gooding Jr.,” the lawsuit says. “He rejected his advances and Mr. Gooding Jr. did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
Attorneys for Jones said in the lawsuit that the incident happened on a yacht rented by Combs in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 2023. It accused Gooding of sexual assault and misconduct.
Gooding has not been charged with any crime.
In a different case, Gooding pleaded guilty in 2022 to a misdemeanor charge that he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018.
He completed alcohol and behavior modification counseling, was then allowed to withdraw that plea and then pleaded guilty to a lesser harassment violation, resolving the case with no jail time.
On Monday, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants at properties belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami, sources told NBC News.
There has been no information connecting Gooding to any of the searches, and it is not clear what the searches entailed.
Combs has been accused of misconduct in civil cases filed by four women. One was quickly settled and three are pending. Combs has denied the allegations in those lawsuits.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he said in a December statement.
Jones said in the lawsuit that he worked on Combs’ latest album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid.” The album was released in September 2023 and was nominated for a Grammy.
The suit alleges, in part, that Motown Records, and others, benefited from his work on the album, but that he was not fully compensated.
Monday’s amended complaint filed by attorneys for Jones contains a declaration by former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam who it appears to show her willing to testify about the contract involving “The Love Album.”
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group, which owns Motown Records, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit seeks damages, including punitive damages, but does not specify an amount, seeking amounts to be determined at trial.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
