Welcome to The Trial of Diddy - hosted by DailyMail.com’s West Coast News Editor Marjorie Hernandez and Manhattan-based Kayla Brantley, reporter-at-large and TV correspondent at Daily Mail. This week they dig into Making Da Band’s Sara Rivers’ 148-page filing against Diddy and catch up with friend-of-the-pod and super-attorney Lisa Bloom who has some inside information to share on the trial. Don’t miss it! Check back each week Kayla and Marjorie as explore each and every new development in this story, looking at what may - or may not - be coming next for Diddy. Follow us on instagram @thetrialpod Email us [email protected] Whatsapp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Presenters: Marjorie Hernandez and Kayla Brantley Editor: Sam Morris Producer Rob Fitzpatrick Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the allegations against Diddy?
The following episode explores a number of allegations regarding the artist Diddy. He denies all charges and has pled not guilty to sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The biggest secret in the entertainment industry that really wasn't a secret at all has finally been revealed to the world.
At the height of his career, Sean Diddy Combs had it all. It seemed like everything Diddy touched turned to gold. Now the once untouchable hip-hop mogul is fighting for his life as he faces multiple federal charges in New York, including sex trafficking and allegedly running a criminal enterprise.
Music mogul and rapper Sean Diddy Combs has faced four different lawsuits in recent weeks alleging sexual assault. I'm DailyMail.com journalist Marjorie Hernandez. And over the last six months, I've been investigating this incredible story and speaking to the people in the eye of the storm.
Welcome to the Trial of Diddy.
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I'm David Patrick Karikos, and on this week's episode of Apocalypse Now, as Donald Trump heads to Doha, we discuss Qatar, a small state at the center of a world increasingly ridden with faction and conflict. Listen to Apocalypse Now wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, I'm Marjorie Hernandez, DailyMail.com's West Coast news editor.
I'm Kayla Brantley, reporter at large for Daily Mail in Manhattan. And welcome to episode 25 of The Trial of Diddy. And oh yes, it's another week, another lawsuit.
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Chapter 2: Who is Sarah Rivers and what is her lawsuit about?
A story in Rolling Stone says Rivers claims that after she refused Combs' alleged sexual advances, he retaliated against her and blackballed her from the music industry.
Rivers, who was included in the show as part of their group, The Band, described her experience in an enormous 148-page complaint filed on the last day of February, just as the look-back window was set to close on otherwise expired claims linked to New York City's Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
Rolling Stone has said that more than a dozen other plaintiffs filed separate claims against Diddy on the same day to make the same deadline. Rivers, who was known then as Sarah Stokes on the show, has claimed the following, that Diddy controlled her sleeping schedule, that Diddy mocked her eating disorder, and that Diddy yelled at her and forced her to do, quote, menial manual labor without pay,
including that infamous time he insisted Rivers and her bandmates walk all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back just to bring him cheesecake.
Now, Rivers went on to claim that Diddy created inhumane working conditions and that Combs sexually harassed her and allegedly made humiliating comments about her physical appearance, including, according to a Rolling Stone story, the time he inspected her rear and said, quote, everything needed to get firmed up.
Rivers has also accused Diddy of cornering her in his recording studio, raising his right arm to block her movement and asking, quote, in a low, sensual voice if she needed anything before he allegedly, quote, ran his left hand across her breasts while repeating the phrase if she needs anything to let him know. Rivers had stated she ran away from the encounter in shock and in disbelief.
The complaint names more than two dozen defendants, including Combs' mother Janice, Universal Music, MTV, and several other bad boy officials. Daily Mail has also reached out for comment. And just yesterday, Jay-Z filed his own defamation suit against the Alabama woman who claimed he raped her when she was 13.
That civil lawsuit has, of course, since been withdrawn after Sean Carter questioned the truth and accuracy of her account. Carter's attorney has since sought sanctions against the woman's attorney, Texas-based Tony Busby. The filing claims Jane Doe has, quote, admitted that Mr. Carter did not assault her.
and that indeed it was Busby himself who pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday. But the extortion and abuse of Mr. Carter by Doe and her lawyers must stop. Busby released a statement to us at DailyMail.com, which I'll read some of it here.
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Chapter 3: What does Lisa Bloom say about Dawn Richard's case?
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.
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.
So Lisa, what advice do you give your clients to cope with the pressures of having these ongoing cases?
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.
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.
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.
Now, she is definitely a very public person, but you also recently are representing another individual, just this time a John Doe. Can you tell us how that case is going and what have you told him as well in terms of protecting himself?
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.
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.
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Chapter 4: How are clients coping with legal pressures?
From what I recall from your complaint that it took place for a period of five years. Is that correct? Yes, that's that's what he alleges.
Sarah Rivers was on Making the Band just like Don was and their allegations are pretty similar. Do you know if Don has made contact with Sarah at all?
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.
So a lot of this stuff should not be disputed because it's right there on the video.
So usually when you have a case like this with allegations going back 20 years, you may have witnesses, maybe some emails, but there's not really much evidence besides testimony. But what's so striking to me in this case is that the evidence here is perfectly edited and was televised for all to see.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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Chapter 5: What evidence exists against Diddy from the Making the Band footage?
If you like this episode, we think you'll love this.
I'm David Patrick Karikos, and on this week's episode of Apocalypse Now, as Donald Trump heads to Doha, we discuss Qatar, a small state at the center of a world increasingly ridden with faction and conflict. Listen to Apocalypse Now wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back, and we're still here with attorney Lisa Bloom.
So Lisa, there was a lawsuit against Jay-Z and Diddy from an alleged victim claiming that they both sexually assaulted her. Now, this was from the very early 2000s, and the case was actually dismissed because there were unsubstantiated claims. How does this possibly affect the credibility of other cases?
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.
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.
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.
Jay-Z's legal team went further and actually have filed a lawsuit against the Jane Doe in that case. And I was just wondering what you thought of that. And also the fact that somebody like Jay-Z can sue an alleged victim. I mean, does that kind of concern you as well? Would that prevent other folks who might have a substantiated claim that might prevent them from doing so?
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.
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Chapter 6: How is public perception affecting the cases against Diddy?
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.
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.
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.
I mean, what is the optics of that though? Somebody like a Jay-Z or somebody like a Diddy. Diddy has not filed any lawsuits against any of the victims, but somebody who was famous like that to go after an alleged victim, the optics of that, what do you think of that in general?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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