Lisa Bloom
Appearances
20/20
Bad Rap: Downfall
What's really shocking to me when you read all of the lawsuits that have been filed against Sean Combs is how brazen he was, how open he was, how he just has such a lack of concern about other people.
20/20
Bad Rap: Downfall
I have been doing sexual abuse cases for almost 40 years as an attorney representing victims. And I can tell you that the music industry is, in my opinion, the number one worst industry for women when it comes to sexual abuse. The Me Too movement largely bypassed the music industry. There are a few examples like R. Kelly, but not a lot.
20/20
Bad Rap: Downfall
And in general, in the music industry, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of women is tolerated. A lot of very high-level people are complicit. Women suffer. Women are overly sexualized. They're discarded like trash after they complain. And a reckoning is long overdue.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Downfall
What's really shocking to me when you read all of the lawsuits that have been filed against Sean Combs is how brazen he was, how open he was, how he just has such a lack of concern about other people.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Downfall
I have been doing sexual abuse cases for almost 40 years as an attorney representing victims. And I can tell you that the music industry is, in my opinion, the number one worst industry for women when it comes to sexual abuse. The Me Too movement largely bypassed the music industry. There are a few examples like R. Kelly, but not a lot.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Downfall
And in general, in the music industry, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of women is tolerated. A lot of very high-level people are complicit. Women suffer. Women are overly sexualized. They're discarded like trash after they complain. And a reckoning is long overdue.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
She also, unfortunately, she alleges, witnessed some severe acts of violence against Cassie Ventura and other women. And when she spoke out, she says she was threatened with more physical violence. She said Sean Combs had a vicious temper and she was absolutely terrified of him. My client knew Cassie Ventura.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
She says witnessed a lot of acts of violence, like Cassie was making some eggs in a kitchen. They weren't to Sean Combs' liking. He threw the pan across the room and physically assaulted her on numerous occasions. And Dawn Richard, my client, says that when she spoke out about it, tried to get Cassie to speak out. When she complained about it, she was also threatened with physical violence.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
So a woman does not have to choose between her dignity and her job. A woman doesn't have to go from job to job fleeing from billionaire bullies like Sean Combs, fleeing from sexual harassers or people who engage in violence. It is 100% on Sean Combs and other men who are accused of workplace misconduct to stop it, to knock it off. She didn't have to give up her career in order to have her dignity.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
So in terms of the atmosphere of fear, dozens and dozens of people have now come forward and said, The same thing that Don Richard has said, that it was he had a terrible temper. He was very violent. We all saw it on that video. And that video, by the way, was Cassie Ventura trying to leave a party, what have been called the freak off parties.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
She had the temerity to want to have her own agency and decide that she wanted to leave. And we see him assaulting her, kicking her when she's down and dragging her back into the party because he didn't want her to leave.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
He says he was in possession of a trove of digital evidence from Diddy's freak-off parties.
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
I'm very proud to represent Dawn Richard. She was on the TV show with Sean Combs making the band back in 2004. Then she was in two bands that he produced, Danny Decane and Diddy Dirty Money. And we filed her lawsuit a few months ago alleging
Diddy On Trial
Woman claims Diddy ‘dangled her from a balcony'
that Sean Combs used a lot of offensive gendered comments in the workplace, calling women fat, ugly, the B word and other terms, that he groped and grabbed her body parts, sexually assaulted her, that he not only failed to pay her money that was promised to her, but actually prevented her from eating and sleeping during those years, just treated her...
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
I mean, I've always said just because somebody was at a party or did business with Sean Combs does not mean that they were complicit. They may not have known. But if they did know and they turned a blind eye to it and they funded him, then they were complicit and then we're not letting them out of the case. So that's where we are right now.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
We have a conference with the judge in January, and that's when all of the discovery sort of gets set. The discovery is the phase where we get documents and information. We exchange it. We give them what we have. They're supposed to give us what they have. And then we start taking depositions.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
I think, you know, obviously one of the biggest moments will be when I get to take Sean Combs' deposition, which will probably be in prison. And I'm very happy to go and take his deposition in prison. I've been to prison for various cases many times, so it doesn't bother me, doesn't scare me.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And we'll see what he says about Don and we'll see what his story is and we'll see whether it matches up with the documents and information and other witnesses that you know, we'll see what he has to say for himself.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So that's a great question. We are going through it to see what there is. I think some of that footage will support Dawn's story, you know, that she was being treated very badly. It was kind of part of the show that the women were treated so badly and that Sean Combs would rant and rave and have temper tantrums. Somehow this was all seen as acceptable at the time. I don't think that was just TV.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
I think that was the reality. And I think some of that footage will really help us. Yes.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
No, but a number of witnesses have come forward. I'm not going to name them here, but a number of people have come forward to help us to corroborate. And we are very appreciative of that. And anybody who has knowledge or information about please do come forward because cases are only one with witnesses and evidence. Sometimes people say, can't I just write a letter?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And no, unfortunately we need live witnesses. We need people to come forward and talk to us. So some people have done that and that's very helpful.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, everybody has the right to take his deposition in their cases. Every party to a case has to sit for a deposition. You can't get out of it by saying, well, there's a whole bunch of people suing me. If you don't want a whole bunch of people suing you, maybe you shouldn't do a So we all are going to have the right to take his deposition.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
There'll probably be some skirmishing as to the dates and the times and who goes first and all that. That's fine. But eventually we are all going to get his deposition.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Yes, unless he can convince somebody to let him out. And so far, that's not working. So as you know, there was a bail hearing. One of the reasons why the judge said bail was denied was because of our case, because of alleged witness tampering in our case. He had over 100 phone contacts, according to the government, with a witness in our case who came out and spoke out against Don.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So, oops, I guess he forgot that his phone was being tapped. even though on another call he says, my phone is being tapped. So he knew, but I guess he forgot, you know, we like to say people have the right to remain silent, but not the ability. So he was personally apparently reaching out to a witness in our case, and that's considered witness tampering by the government.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And the judge agreed and he did not get bail. He since has asked another judge to release him, denied. I believe that went up on appeal. Um, I think it was denied. So I, I'm not sure if the appeal has been decided yet, but he's still in prison. Right. And I think he's going to stay there probably for the rest of his life.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Yes. I was shocked. Not a lot of things shocked me, Marjorie. You've known me for a long time. I've been around the block, but what? And again, because he knew his phone was being tapped, but I think he was getting probably desperate. Perhaps he was on drugs. I know some were found in his room when he was arrested. So
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
I don't know, but I'm speculating that maybe he wasn't in his right mind or he just was very upset. And maybe it was ego. He's used to telling people what to do. He's used to, you know, calling all the shots. And so he reached out to her. You know, it would take a psychologist to explain that kind of thinking. But yeah, that was pretty shocking.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
People are rarely as smart as they think they are. People think, you know, like they see TV or movies like, oh, I'll get somebody else's phone and all. You know, they think they're very clever. They're not. And the government seized his hard drives at his home. They seized his phone when they arrested him. You're not going to outsmart
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
the SDNY, the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York who have seen it all, have heard it all, who have your devices. I mean, your devices, you know, tend to give everything away. That's where all of our information is, right? Texts, phone calls, emails. So yeah, even if you use somebody else's, you know, eventually they're going to get it. It's just, Not a good idea.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So let's keep in mind that Jay-Z is, I believe, a billionaire and who I'm sure has the high-priced lawyers, publicists, crisis management team. And I'm sure that after giving us a lot of thought, they came up with this strategy, which they think is going to help them. And I think it's a sideshow. The strategy and the sideshow being go after the lawyer and not the woman accusing him.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Let's remember, there is a woman accusing him of having sex with her when she was 13 years old, of raping her when she was 13 years old, alongside Sean Combs and a female celebrity. So... They don't want to go after the woman. I'm sure that the crisis management people think that's a bad idea. So instead, let's go after the lawyer. And it is not extortion to send a letter to somebody.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
We call it a demand letter and say, here are allegations that my client has against you. We are going to file a lawsuit unless you would like to do a mediation and reach a settlement with us. That's what the lawyer did. That is something that I do all the time, that lawyers do all the time. Most people would prefer to have a settlement before the filing of a lawsuit, and that's why we do it.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
There's nothing illegal about it. In fact, it's favored by the courts because courts want settlements because courts are very clogged and busy and can't possibly resolve all the cases that are before them. So Jay-Z, I'd also like to point out, used a pseudonym when he filed his case against the lawyer.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
He didn't use his real name, and yet now he criticizes the accuser, his accuser, of not using her real name, right? So there's some hypocrisy there. And all of that, again, is a sideshow. His case against the lawyer is not going anywhere. Extortion is threatening to go public with embarrassing information unless somebody pays you money.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Extortion is not threatening to file a lawsuit unless somebody pays you money. So unless there's something else that went on in the conversations with the lawyer and Jay-Z's team that I don't know about that's not public yet, I don't think that case is going anywhere. I do think the case against Jay-Z, brought on behalf of the woman will go forward. Now, Jay-Z wants to unmask her.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So he wants a different rule to apply to her than applied to him when he filed his case as John Doe, right? Will he be able to unmask her? I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what the court does. But I find that really hypocritical on his part.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
He doesn't say, I wasn't there. I didn't do it. He just wants to go after the lawyer and he wants to get on his high horse. I'm from Brooklyn and I have to tell this to my children. And I really don't think it makes much difference that he's from Brooklyn. And look, he might be innocent. He might be guilty. I don't know. I'm not making that call. Yes.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
But I do know that he is a very wealthy and privileged guy. And to say, like, I'm just a regular guy from Brooklyn when we're talking about a billionaire, it's a little much for me. And also, it's very hard to be an attorney representing victims against these billionaires. I've been going after billionaire bullies for a long time. I also have gotten sued by some of these guys.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Those lawsuits never went anywhere. I fought them. I got them dismissed. But that's why there are not that many lawyers representing victims. There's a handful of us out there, but it's a very difficult area of practice because they come after us and we have to pay outside lawyers to represent us. We're operating generally on a very thin margin. We're not getting paid hourly.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
We only get paid when we win. And, uh, it makes it very difficult, but it's, this is a, an increasingly common strategy to go after the accusers lawyers to try to scare them and, um, I think it's really unfortunate. I think that case should be thrown out. I think Jay-Z should have to pay his attorney's fees, and then he can face the case of the woman accusing him of rape.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
You know, they say every story needs a villain and Jay-Z doesn't want to be a villain. He wants to make the attorney a villain. So that's the strategy. I think Jay-Z ultimately probably will deny the charges. And look, here's what we know about people who are guilty or people who are innocent. They deny the charges. Both of them do.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So the fact that somebody denies it or denies it really strongly or denies it in a way that seems very compelling because it was probably written by crisis managers, it really doesn't tell us anything. The case is going to be decided based on the evidence, the witnesses, the credibility. You know, was Jay-Z there? For example, was he at that party after the VMAs, I think, in 2000? Was he there?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Let's start with that. Was he there? If he wasn't there, he's got a pretty good defense. Well, I haven't heard that. And he's had time to figure it out and to think about it because initially there was a letter, right? And there was some back and forth. So I don't know if there was a few weeks, a month, whatever, but that would be a very easy thing to look up. Was he there with Sean Combs? So-
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
You know, I think all will be revealed in the case itself. Should he be worried that there could be an investigation into the allegations? You mean a criminal investigation?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, because the victims don't have the choice. The victims don't decide if a criminal case is going forward. Yes, you can go to the police, but then the police and the district attorneys will decide if they want to go forward. I've had many cases where my clients go to the police. The police usually are very polite and they take a report and then nothing happens. And then they come to me, right?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
That's very, very common. And so she may have gone to the police and they may have done nothing. I don't know in this new case involving Jay-Z what evidence there might be. Are there photos, for example? Did she tell people contemporaneously, which would be very common? Maybe she didn't go to the police at the time. Maybe she told her mother, her best friend, her therapist, right?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
That would be very helpful. Usually there is some additional evidence that is going to help the accuser.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, a couple of things. If there is a prior accuser who says that she was raped by Jay-Z at 13 and he settled with her, that would be very significant, very big for the current case because that would show a pattern. So if that information is out there, I would hope that that person would come forward and talk to the attorney, any attorney.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
It could be me or it could be Mr. Busby who represents the accuser. Talk to an attorney. That's a confidential conversation. and find out if you can assist. But to your larger point, Kayla, about settlement makes everybody look guilty. I don't know. I think some people understand that sometimes people settle just to make something go away. The settlement amount is usually pretty significant.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So I think about Pete Hegseth, who's currently being considered for Secretary of Defense. He had a settlement with a woman. He says he didn't do it. The police refused to prosecute. He paid her basically to make the whole thing go away because he wanted his job at Fox News. You know, I think a lot of people would look at that and say, yeah, okay, I get it.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
You know, I understand why a person would do that. Doesn't necessarily mean he's guilty. Other people might look at it and say, you know, why did you pay her off if you're innocent and why not fight it? But fighting these cases is hard. It can go on for years. If you're a high profile person, it can really, damage your reputation. So part of it also depends on the settlement amount.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
I think if somebody settles for $50,000, it's very different than they settled for a million dollars, right? If they settle for a bigger number, that indicates that the accuser probably had some pretty good evidence that the accused person is trying to suppress by way of the settlement.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So that's a very common fight that happens during the discovery phase, objecting to something based on attorney client privilege. Attorney client privilege is pretty much sacrosanct. If you are writing a note, for example, for your attorney, that does not get turned over to the other side. That is privileged and confidential.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
If you have a conversation with your attorney, that should not be recorded in the prison system so that other people can hear. People should not be listening in and you should not be asked questions about it later. What did you say to your attorney? What did your attorney say to you? That's privileged and confidential. The problem is sometimes people just write notes and
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And then later on, it's not clear. Were you writing that for your attorney or were you just writing it for yourself? If you're writing it for yourself, it's not an attorney-client communication. It's not privileged. You have to turn it over. They might then say, oh, oh, I just remembered. Yeah, I was writing that for my attorney. Let me just put it at the top. Dear attorney, right?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So the court's going to see through that if you're playing games.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Right. If it's his notes from court, even if he's sitting in court listening and taking notes. Again, it's going to be a question of, is that just for his own purposes or was that for his attorneys and for his case?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, of course, we're all curious as to who that is. Is it somebody associated with Jay-Z? Is it, I mean, who is it? And we just don't know. But from the point of view of the case, this person is going to be a witness. And probably one of the first things Jay-Z's team will do in the discovery phase is file a request to say, who is this?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And the plaintiff, the woman and her team, they're going to have to reveal it to Jay-Z. And then they can go talk to this witness and see if she remembers it the way that the accuser does. I also just think, you know, as somebody, I've been doing these kinds of cases for 40 years. I still have many, many active cases.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And I kind of have a nose for when people are telling the truth and when they're not. And some of it is based on detail. Like, why would you add that detail in there if you're making up a story? In fact, if you're making up a story, it's better to not have witnesses in the room, right? Because then they can come forward and say, well, that's not what happened, right?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So if she's saying, okay, it was Sean Combs, who we already know is accused by many, many people. And, you know, many people have already come to the conclusion that he's a predator. So he's in the room, okay? And then Jay-Z, I don't know what their relationship, maybe you know, did they have a close relationship? Were they friends? Did they hang out together at parties? I don't know.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Jay-Z's in the room. And then this female celebrity is there. If the accuser's attorney is doing his job well, he should have already reached out to the female celebrity and locked down her story, like a written statement under oath. Um, that's what we would do if there's a witness in the room, somebody really, really important like that.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Now, if it's a celebrity, it might be very hard to get ahold of them. They might not want to talk to you. They might not want to help. Sometimes people do. Sometimes people have a fit of conscience and they actually want to help, but usually they don't, but you have to at least try. So that's a really, um, interesting detail, right?
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, I don't know if this directly helps our case, but I do think that all of the accusers who come forward against Sean Combs are helping each other because there is strength in numbers. And when you're up against somebody that powerful and wealthy, if it's just one person, it's very difficult. If it's two people, still difficult.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
If it's three, if it's four, okay, now it's starting to seem more credible to the average person, right? And now we're up to several dozen who have come forward. I think that really helps if even half of them are telling the truth. And probably, in my opinion, all of them are telling the truth.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
But let's just, you know, worst case scenario, if only half of them are telling the truth, it's still a big number of people who were sexually assaulted and trafficked by Sean Combs. So I think it does help. And the more people who come forward, the better.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Lisa Bloom. I'm a victim's rights attorney at my law firm, The Bloom Firm, and I represent two accusers of Sean Combs, including one of them is Don Rashard.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So just to clarify, my second client is a man. And so he would be a John Doe. But the issue that you raise is a very important one. So it's called pseudonymous filing, which means filing under a pseudonym like Jane Doe or John Doe. And this has been widely accepted in sexual assault cases because we all know that sexual assault is so underreported. People are terrified to come forward.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
They don't want to be known the rest of their life as a person who was sexually assaulted, much less sexually assaulted by a very prominent celebrity like Sean Combs. So it's really important that people have the option of either filing under their real name, like Dawn Richard did very bravely after thinking about it and deciding what was best for her.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And I think it's very unfortunate that courts are sometimes ruling now that people cannot file under a pseudonym. They have to reveal their real name, which leads some people to just drop the case, right? So, you know, we all know that sexual abusers need to be brought to justice and we need to do everything possible to help the victims.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And it really does not help if they have to reveal their real names or else drop the case. So I think that's really unfortunate.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Well, their real purpose is to embarrass and humiliate the victim. They're going to do anything they can to do that and hope that the victim will just drop the case. Of course, they don't say that in court. They say that they want it to be public so that members of the public can come forward with information and help them. I don't think that really happens very much, but that's what they say.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Or they'll say, you know, in fairness, Sean Combs' name is out there. Why shouldn't the victim's name be out there? Well, they're not in equivalent positions is the answer to that. Sean Combs is very wealthy, famous, can hire the best lawyers, the best investigators, has a lot of people even now who still support him.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And, you know, other people are just powerless everyday people who are terrified of being involved in the legal system, who may have a hard time even getting a lawyer. And if they have a lawyer, it's somebody who's a solo practitioner or a small firm. You can't afford investigators and any of that. So they come to this in very different positions.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Exactly. Yes. And I've had many cases where we file. For example, I had I think eight women I represented against the company Activision in a big sexual harassment scandal they had. And many of the women wanted to be Jane Doe's in that case. And they were. And of course, we revealed their name to the other side. So the other side could, in fairness, know who it was and fight the case.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
So of course, I've also had cases against the clothing company Guess. And our clients in those cases started out as Jane Doe's. And then some of them, as the case progressed, decided to come out and use their real name. So I also like to tell victims that they generally get stronger as the case progresses.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
People are usually terrified at the beginning, even to call me, even to talk about the case confidentially with me. Maybe we send a letter first to start the case. They're terrified of that. They're terrified of filing the lawsuit. But as it goes on, they see that actually the earth is not opening up and swallowing them. They are okay and
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
In fact, many people are very supportive of victims and they can do it. And some of them ultimately decide to come forward and use their real names.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
It very well might. And that's a very good point, Marjorie. Yes. Because the number one hurdle that I'm up against as an attorney who represents sexual abuse victims is fear. Fear of getting involved in the legal system, of being unmasked, of having your friends and neighbors and coworkers know that you were sexually abused. Sometimes the details are out there. You know, it's really humiliating.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Sexual assault is about having your power being taken away from you. It's a very intimate violation. The last thing most sexual assault survivors want is for all of these details to be out there for the whole world to see attached to their name.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Yes. And thank you. And she is so accomplished and she's all about the music. She just went on tour. You know, she has over a million Instagram followers. I mean, she's a very popular, accomplished woman and she's all about the music. All she wants to do is make music and be a musician.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And yet she found herself in the position after Cassie Ventura came forward of saying, I need to come forward too in support of Cassie, in support of the others, and to tell my own story. And she knew that her name being attached to it would make a big impact for others. So of course, I advised her that she had the right to file as a Jane Doe and she gave it some thought.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
And she decided to come forward with her real name, which I thought was very brave of her.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Yes. So we filed it several months ago, and there's been a lot of skirmishing ever since. First of all, we had to serve all of the defendants in our case because we didn't just name Sean Combs, we named a lot of individuals and entities that we claimed were complicit. You know, somebody like Sean Combs can't have this many victims if he's doing it all by himself.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
It reminds me very much of Jeffrey Epstein, who I represented 11 victims of, and he had a whole operation with Ghislaine Maxwell and other recruiters. And similarly with Sean Combs, we think there's a lot of people and companies who were complicit and we named them. Well, of course, those people don't like being named. They don't like being associated with Sean Combs.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Many of them have come to us and said, we shouldn't be in the case. Here's why. You have to dismiss us. If you don't, we're going to go to the judge and ask the judge to dismiss us. So we've had a lot of back and forth with them. Also, we had to serve everyone, which was not easy. Sean Combs was in prison. And we wanted his attorneys to accept service.
The Trial of Diddy
Billionaire Bullies
Otherwise, we could have sent somebody into the prison to serve him, but that's somewhat complicated. So we got all that ironed out. Everybody is now served. And some of the defendants were still considering whether they really should be in or should be out. We're willing to listen to evidence.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Will people cooperate with us? I always prefer that somebody will voluntarily cooperate, be a witness for us. Most people don't want to be witnesses. They don't want to help other people. They don't want to be in the legal system at all. You can't pay them other than a very small amount for a daily fee, like I think maybe $30 or something. So you can't pay people.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Most people don't want to do it, and they want to run as far away from the courthouse as possible. Some people get an attack of courage, and they decide they do want to help, and we love those people. There's a woman who helped me in a case years ago who I thanked profusely and she has become a dear friend of mine now because I am so appreciative of what she did.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So going back to Sarah, yes, of course we would want to reach out to her through her attorneys, see whether she's willing to help us, whether she'd be willing to testify. If people don't want to testify, we always have the option of subpoenaing them. But I really, as kind of a policy matter, I don't like to subpoena other victims. I don't like to force them to do something.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
If somebody is just a witness to something and they're not a victim, I may exercise the subpoena power because I've got to get witnesses into court to prove our case.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Well, it doesn't have any effect on our case because that has nothing to do with me, my law firm or my clients. I don't know exactly what happened there. I've also seen some reports that I think the attorney is Tony Busby in that case. Right. And I think he's claiming that the allegations were not false. So I really don't know. I haven't looked into it.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
But, you know, that kind of thing does happen. This is why at our firm we are very, very careful about vetting cases, about going over things. Sometimes people kind of get sick of us asking them question after question after question. I need every email. I need every text. I want to see everything before we file a case. It's never going to be perfect. You're working with human beings.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Sometimes stories change. Memories are faulty. Witnesses fall away. Sometimes people do make false statements and they can be very convincing. So that's one of the things actually I find very interesting about practicing law is you You never really know. And things do change a lot. But if people did file a case that's not substantiated, they should withdraw it.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Right. I'm glad you raised that, Marjorie. You know, it is concerning. So, again, I mean, I'll just step away from that specific case because I don't know exactly what happened there. I know that he did file that case, as you say, against her and I think against her attorney as well. Right. Yeah.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So that is kind of a trend right now with the kinds of people that I sue, billionaire bullies, you know, celebrity sex offender types. It is a trend that they will go after the victim or the alleged victim and even the attorneys. And I think they do that for a number of reasons. The best defense is a good offense. They may be innocent. Again, I don't know what happened in that case.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
They want to clear their name. And they have enough money to have attorneys, I think that case was filed in Texas, go after somebody in any state and be very aggressive. Sometimes, and not necessarily in this case, but sometimes those cases are frivolous, in my opinion. And I think they're done just to be very aggressive. I think it's very sad if any victim is deterred from coming forward.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
You know, victims need good attorneys who know what they're doing to avoid being in that position. I've had people sue me. I've won those cases, had them dismissed. But, you know, they're going to do whatever they can think of to be aggressive, whether it's filing these cases, running negative PR campaigns against victims and their attorneys, which is harder sometimes.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
to go after, harder to prove. That's one of the allegations in the Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively case, right? And some of my cases involve that as well. You know, it's rough. It's rough out there. People have to know what they're doing. I would say that.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Well, I think it's very concerning. It's very hard to be, obviously, a sexual abuse victim in general. Add to that being a sexual abuse victim who comes forward in a lawsuit, it's really hard. I mean, one of the things that we look at when people come to us and many people come to me for representation every day.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
One of the things I look at is, are you going to be strong enough to really do this fight? You know, what if they sue you? What if they run a negative PR campaign? What if there's all kinds of social media posts about you? Are you going to be able to withstand it? You know, I have a case right now that we're about to file against a prominent person.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And my client is in her early 60s, and she's very strong. And I like to say that women get stronger as we get older. I have noticed that all my life. And I like having an older client who's very secure in who she is and made up her mind and really thought this through. And she's mature, and she knows what she wants to do. And you know, I'm very comfortable with her.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Somebody who is maybe just starting out in the business, they're in their early twenties, they want to file. And then, you know, maybe a couple of months later, the world's crashing in on them and They want to back out of it. I understand that. I'm very compassionate. But that puts us in a very tough position. So I'm always looking for people who are strong enough to withstand litigation.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Litigation is tough. Many people, by the way, we represent, we don't file. We do pre-litigation settlement. That's, for many people, the right thing. They can get a settlement. It's all confidential. They go on with their lives. That's what a lot of people still want. And so we still do a lot of that. And how long do these cases typically take? Years.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Once you file, I would say you should expect maybe two years to get to trial. That's a long time, right? To be going over the details of your sexual abuse over and over. And I tell them, You may be having a good day. You had a great day at work. You had a great day with your partner and your kid. And then you get a call from me.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
You know, I need to get some questions answered in discovery and it all comes crashing down on you. Right. Or worse, somebody is unemployed and the case becomes their whole life. I understand that, too, because it's it's such a vortex that you get sucked into. But that's also very unhealthy. So people need to have an emotional support person. They need to be in therapy.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
They need to have other things going on in their lives because a couple of years fighting litigation is really tough. And again, that's why a lot of people settle before filing because they know themselves and they say like, I just can't do that.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I would say 95% prefer to settle without going to litigation. We send a confidential demand letter. We often have mediations, which are confidential and confidential. they're done. They move on with their lives. There are some cases that we have to file because there might be a statute of limitations taking those time deadlines to file. And so we have to.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Other cases, I don't want to settle because I believe that the person has already gotten away with this in the past and a confidential settlement is just going to enable them to continue to do it. Other cases, we tried to settle before litigating and the other side was not reasonable. And so we file it. I would say most of the time, the other side will come to the bargaining table and we'll
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
have a negotiation sometimes they won't even do that so then we file or if the negotiation doesn't go well we don't think they're being reasonable then we will file lisa i do have a question going back to your client john doe and you said this allegation or these incidents happened starting at 2007
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
One of the things we say in his complaint, so I don't think I'm disclosing anything improper, is that Sean Combs being arrested and being in prison lowered his fear level, right? He still has fear. But it did make him more comfortable in coming forward now. It would be an overstatement to say that he's comfortable. He's not comfortable now. He's still scared.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
He's still very anxious about bringing this case. He feels a little bit better that we were able to prevail on the motion that he could be a John Doe. But, you know, there's always a chance that his name will get out there and it will be humiliating for him. People don't want to be known as a sexual abuse victim or even an accuser.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
It reminds me a lot of the 11 women I represented against Jeffrey Epstein. Once he went to prison, a lot of them came forward. But even after he died, some of them were still scared. And I found that to be so interesting about the trauma response. that a lot of times it's not rational. You could say, look, he's dead. You have nothing to fear now.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And nobody is supporting this monster, Jeffrey Epstein. But still, she was scared. And that's how the trauma response works.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I do think it's going to go forward then. I do have some inside information on that, that they are planning to go forward May 5th. I can't tell you my source, but it sounds like it is going to go. I wanted to know because I intend to be there for that trial for a number of reasons. So I needed to know for my own scheduling purposes. I understand that jury selection will begin May 5th.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
in the Southern District of New York, which, of course, is in New York City. And that will take about a week. And then they expect the trial itself to begin the following Monday, May 12th. Now, obviously, anything can happen. And one of the easiest things to get in our legal system is a delay. All kinds of things can lead to a delay. An attorney gets sick. Somebody's out of town.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Another case happens. drags on. And so the judge needs to push the case forward. There's some dispute that's not resolved that needs to get, you know, a lot of things could happen to delay the case. But my understanding right now is that all parties do expect the trial to start May 5th. Wow. Were you surprised at that?
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I was a little surprised because often the first trial date is, gets put off, but Southern District of New York is kind of a no-nonsense jurisdiction. And Judge may be pushing this forward. You know, I don't know the details about it, but I think it would be good for everybody if it does start on May 5th. Let's get on with it.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Well, I'm sure they have from the prosecution what's called the Brady evidence, which means that the prosecution has to turn over all of their evidence to the other side.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So I would assume that Sean Combs' team is going over all of that evidence, talking to those witnesses, reviewing witness statements, looking for holes that they can exploit, whether it's on cross-examination of witnesses, whether it's pointing out deficiencies in the evidence. They're probably thinking about whether Sean Combs should testify against
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I think it's very unlikely that he will testify. That is ultimately his decision. Every criminal defendant in America gets to make that decision himself. The lawyers don't make that decisions for him. I would be very, very, very surprised if he does testify. But that's a decision that usually they reserve for trial.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Yes, and I think that probably will be publicly available a week or two before trial unless there's some confidentiality orders in the case that I don't know about. By the way, lawyers, we put a lot of names on a witness list just because you can't call somebody unless they're on the witness list. So usually we put a lot of names on there, but we don't call all those people.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So we shouldn't get too excited if there's names on the list that they may not get called as witnesses.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Yes. So I'm very proud to represent Dawn Richard. She's a lovely person and a terrific musician and very brave. And we filed her case several months ago, just before the criminal charges came down against Sean Combs. And the criminal case was strikingly similar to the complaint that we had already filed with some very similar allegations of sex trafficking and co-conspirators.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So we found that to be encouraging. We had a lot of different people and parties to sue in the case. That took a long time. We've had a fight with some of the other defendants besides Diddy. who don't want to be in the case and feel that they should be dismissed. Some of them we did dismiss. We worked with them. We looked at the facts.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
We looked at what they had to say because I always want to be fair and reasonable. Some of them we did. Others we did not. And so we're having those fights over the motions to dismiss. Once all that gets sorted out by the judge on those motions, then we'll begin The discovery phase of the case, which means we take depositions, we exchange documents and information, ultimately get to a trial.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
But we don't have a trial date yet, and I would expect that's at least a year away.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Yeah, not yet. Of course, I very much look forward to that. We have to get past the motions to dismiss first so we know which parties are in the case. So it wouldn't be proper for us to notice his deposition to send out that legal notice until this phase is resolved.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
You know, it's tough. It's tough. She had a tour. She was out on tour a few months ago. I think she did beautifully. She got wonderful reviews and feedback for her performances because she's all about the music. But in terms of the case, it's very difficult. She does get a certain amount of negativity and hate sometimes. online as anybody does who brings these cases.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
She's had people following her. We don't know if it's press or crazed fans or people on Sean Combs' side, but it's very scary. She doesn't just disclose her locations to try to protect herself. I mean, that's her life now.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Kayla, I tell them, live your life. You know, she had asked me, do you think I should go on tour? I said, absolutely. Make your music. Go on tour. Be you. Don't let this slow you down. And she did. And I knew that would also bring her a lot of gratification because she is all about the music. And she's just a magnificent performer. I follow her on Instagram.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I love to look at her pictures of her and her costumes. And I mean, she's amazing. So I tell her, do that. Live your life. And of course, let us know if there are any serious threats to you. Otherwise, I also tell everybody, don't read the comments. Block anybody online who's particularly annoying. I get that all the time. I don't even care. But don't read the comments and the articles.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
There's always going to be somebody at home who's going to troll you. Don't let that affect you. You know who you are.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Yes. So John Doe is an adult entertainer who was somewhat well-known in Las Vegas in 2007. And that's when Sean Combs, he says, found him and began to engage him at parties. And he says, you know, the incidents got worse and worse. I don't repeat the allegations of the complaints publicly for legal reasons. But we filed John Doe's complaint, which is very sexually explicit, not too long ago.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And also in the Southern District of New York, it's a federal case. It's publicly filed. Anybody can look at it. We also had to make a special motion to the court to allow him to proceed anonymously because the allegations are so sexually explicit and he did not want his name out there. You know, people are afraid.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Don Richard was brave enough to come forward with her real name, but that's not for everyone. And John Doe decided he was ready to file the case. He's absolutely terrified as well, but not with his real name.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
I'm not aware of any contact that Dawn has had with Sarah, but we really appreciate Sarah's courage in coming forward and making these allegations. These are also very similar to the allegations that Dawn Richard made in her complaint, in our complaint. And a lot of this is something that you can see if you go back and look at old videos of the show, the way that these women were treated.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So a lot of this stuff should not be disputed because it's right there on the video.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And isn't that amazing, Kayla? And thank you for pointing that out, because to me, this is part of the normalization of the bankers. music industry that they would be so bold in the early 2000s, which is not that long ago, 20 years ago, to just put it all on film. And even now, you know, people ask me, why do I think that sexual abuse is so bad in the music industry?
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Because I think that's one of the worst industries for women out of all the industries that I've gone after. And I think it's because it is so accepted and normalized. Yeah. You know, look at female artists are still expected to wear very skimpy, tiny little clothes and be very sexy. Whereas male artists can, you know, wear whatever they want. And it's all about the music for them. Right.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And when you look at a lot of music videos now, there's still overly sexualized images of women, which really have nothing to do with the song. It's just there, I guess, as eye candy for people. And, you know, some of that you could say, well, that's just part of the artistry, but it's so prevalent.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And women being sexually harassed, sexually assaulted in the music industry, the music industry covering it up over and over again, as in R. Kelly's case, for example. I mean, it's really time for a reckoning in the music industry.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
You know, I hope so. I hope that the production companies have preserved it. That's something that we definitely want to look at and see what is there. Also people's personal videos, you know, people are always making videos with their phone. What do people have? What is still preserved? Absolutely.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
You know, I wonder if this, as I said, will really even be contested, that the women were deprived of food, that they weren't allowed to leave, that they had bad labor conditions, they had to work ridiculous hours, they were so controlled. You know, I wonder if that will even be contested in the case, because I think it's pretty clear that these things happened.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Yeah, and why do artists need to be hazed? They don't. People in other industries don't need to be hazed. Television actors don't get hazed. I mean, it's silly. I think it was partly for the entertainment value of reality TV. We all like to see things that are shocking and outrageous. And it's partly the personality of the people involved that they were cruel and sadistic.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
Our job as attorneys is to gather the evidence, gather the facts, the witnesses, and to put on a winning case at trial. So it's not that significant to me whether people in general are tired of hearing about the allegations or they've got fatigue over it. My job is to go into court and put on a case that will win, right?
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
And I think that the two cases that I've accepted, Don Rashard's and the John Doe case, are both very strong cases. I have also reviewed a lot of others and rejected them because I didn't feel that they had strong enough evidence and witnesses. So a lot of people are coming forward. Perhaps the people that we didn't take, they went to other attorneys who see it differently and rejected.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
God bless them. I hope that they do get good representation if they want to continue with their case. But it's kind of a different angle looking at something from the point of view of a case rather than from the point of view of media. I agree with you. I mean, Sean Combs has become a punchline. People are kind of tired of it, maybe.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
But the criminal case looks like it's on track to go forward in May, which is only two months away. And I think that will create a whole new round of interest. And I think people are really going to be shocked. You know, people know about some of the allegations like the baby oil and they want to maybe laugh about it. It seems funny. There's funny memes about it.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
But these allegations are deadly serious about what he's accused of doing to people, including my clients. So I think once people hear the details of what he's accused of doing, they will sit up and take notice.
The Trial of Diddy
It's Rough Out There
So what we do in our cases is we look at all of the publicly available information and certainly a A complaint like Sarah's complaint is something that's publicly available. And then we're looking for overlap and what will help our client. My interest is helping my clients. I hope everybody else does well too, but my job is to help my clients. So we're going to look at, is there overlap?