- A string of federal lawsuits out of Manhattan accuse Combs of sexual assaults courting again to 1995.
- One alleges Combs orally raped a employee for rival model Ecko on the Macy’s flagship retailer in 2008.
- The swimsuit alleges Macy’s coated up the assault on account of a multimillion-dollar cope with Sean John.
Macy’s coated up a violent 2008 sexual assault by Sean “Diddy” Combs at its flagship Herald Sq., Manhattan retailer to guard a “multi-million-dollar” cope with Combs’ clothes model, Sean John, a brand new lawsuit alleges.
The worldwide division retailer chain was named as a defendant in one in all not less than six federal lawsuits, all alleging sexual assaults, filed towards the hip-hop entrepreneur in Manhattan Monday.
The 19-page lawsuit is one in all two filed Monday that names an out of doors firm as a defendant past the businesses belonging to Combs. It was filed on behalf of a “John Doe” who now lives in Ohio.
The plaintiff alleges that he was orally raped by Combs whereas working within the stockroom of the flagship retailer.
The plaintiff mentioned he labored for Ecko, a rival clothes firm to Combs’ Sean John model that was additionally carried by Macy’s.
On the day of the assault, Combs entered into the stockroom with three armed bodyguards, the lawsuit says.
A number of of the guards struck him — he could have been pistol-whipped, he alleges — inflicting him to fall to his palms and knees, the lawsuit mentioned.
The plaintiff says within the lawsuit that a number of of the bodyguards threatened to kill him.
The plaintiff mentioned Combs demanded he carry out oral intercourse on him, calling him by the title of the corporate he labored for, “Ecko.” Combs proceeded to orally rape the plaintiff in what was described as a two-minute assault, based on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that after the assault, Combs grabbed armfuls of Sean John merchandise from the stockroom, went out onto the retail flooring, and “started passing out merchandise to an adoring crowd, as if nothing had occurred.”
The lawsuit accuses Macy’s of rapidly masking up the incident.
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Photos
The plaintiff reported it the identical day to firm safety, however there was no follow-up, and he was quickly barred from the shop, the lawsuit alleges.
“Roughly three weeks later, Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s, pressured Ecko executives to fireplace plaintiff as a result of Macy’s had simply signed a multi-million-dollar cope with Sean John Clothes,” the swimsuit says.
The plaintiff was ultimately fired and instructed by Ecko that he may now not stay in his company-paid house within the metropolis, the lawsuit says.
Ecko was not named as a defendant within the lawsuit. The corporate didn’t instantly return requests for remark from Enterprise Insider after regular enterprise hours on Monday.
The plaintiff “believes that the report of the assault was destroyed or in any other case purged from Macy’s information, and no motion was ever taken on account of the report.” He nonetheless “fears for his life,” the lawsuit says.
Macy’s and Lundgren didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon the allegations.
Attorneys for Combs launched an announcement Monday, once more denying that the artist ever dedicated sexual assault. They known as the lawsuits filed Monday an try to “garner publicity.”
“Mr. Combs and his authorized workforce have full confidence within the details, their authorized defenses, and the integrity of the judicial course of,” the attorneys mentioned. “In court docket, the reality will prevail: that Mr. Combs has by no means sexually assaulted anybody—grownup or minor, man or lady.”
The lawsuits towards Combs had been filed in Manhattan by the Texas-based Buzbee Regulation Agency, co-counsel AVA Regulation Group, and Curis Regulation.
The Sean John model, based in 1998, seems now to be defunct. Its Instagram web page is clean, and its web site is damaged. However its clothes, furnishings, perfume, and footware had been as soon as an enormous money-maker for each Macy’s and Combs, with retail gross sales on the chain exceeding $525 million in 2010.
Beginning in 2011, the corporate’s profitable sportswear line — which it mentioned made up about half of its gross sales — was completely offered at Macy’s. 5 of the retailer’s places included Sean John outlets, the place the corporate’s items had been marketed and offered in prime places, and Combs appeared in commercials for the shop.
For years, it was among the many division chain’s top-selling males’s manufacturers, WWD reported.
“I’ve all the time admired Sean’s sense of vogue, in addition to his enterprise acumen. He has a eager perception into the wants of a style-conscious, modern man,” Lundgren mentioned of Combs when the exclusivity deal was introduced in 2010 — two years after the alleged assault.
“He was the primary individual to imagine in me,” the hip-hop star mentioned of Lundgren, returning the praise in a 2012 Barron’s article. “He was like a godfather,” Combs mentioned.
In 2016, Combs offered a majority stake within the model for $70 million, however below new administration, the model floundered and ultimately filed for chapter.
In 2021, Combs bought the enterprise again for $7.55 million. Sean John continued to be offered at Macy’s till final fall, although a spokesperson didn’t touch upon whether or not the road was pulled as a result of mounting accusations towards Combs.
Combs stays in jail awaiting a sex-trafficking trial scheduled for Could 5.
