Pro Athlete Stopped Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs During Sexual Assault of Man at Ciroc Vodka Party, Lawsuit Claims

A man suing Sean “Diddy” Combs says a professional athlete stopped the music mogul from continuing to sexually assault him during a party.

In a complaint filed Sunday, Oct. 20, and obtained by PEOPLE, the unidentified plaintiff says he was invited to a promotional party for Combs’ Ciroc vodka. (Combs no longer has a business relationship with Ciroc.)

At the party, which had multiple high-profile guests, the plaintiff, who owned a luxury car and jewelry rental business, says Combs instructed him to meet in a private office, according to the complaint. 

The plaintiff says once in the office with Combs, he noticed that the Bad Boy Records founder was intoxicated. Combs allegedly approached the plaintiff and exposed his genitals, the suit claims.

Combs then allegedly grabbed the plaintiff’s genitals through his pants and squeezed them in a “rough and sexual manner,” the complaint alleges.

The plaintiff claims that the “situation escalated” until an unidentified professional athlete entered the room and intervened.

The man was one of five plaintiffs — one of whom was a woman who says she was raped by the music mogul in 2000 when she was 13 — who filed lawsuits against Combs in the Southern District of New York on Sunday. The lawsuits are just the latest of a series filed against Combs in the past 11 months, beginning when his ex, the singer Cassie, accused him of sexual misconduct last November.

The most recent plaintiffs are being represented by high-profile attorney Tony Buzbee, who previously announced at a press conference that he was representing more than 100 people accusing Combs of sexual misconduct. 

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Combs’ attorneys denied the latest allegations in a statement to PEOPLE.

“The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded [Sunday’s] barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity," the statement says. "Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone—adult or minor, man or woman.”

In September, Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution by federal authorities in New York City. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in federal custody in Brooklyn after being denied bail.

Combs’ criminal trial is scheduled for May 2025.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

• Danielle Bacher contributed reporting