Harry named in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs papers
Prince Harry is among celebrities named in a set of court documents relating to a $30m (£24m) sex-trafficking lawsuit facing the US rapper and businessman Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The lawsuit, filed by the American music producer Rodney Jones, alleges that the rap mogul’s music industry associates benefited from Mr Combs’s connections with powerful people.
These people were said to include the Duke of Sussex as well as other “famous athletes, political figures, artists, musicians, and international dignitaries”, who were not named in the filing.
It does not accuse Prince Harry of any personal wrongdoing. He is not a defendant and is named just once in the 73-page document. i has approached the Prince for comment.
The lawsuit claims that those who attended Mr Combs’s parties gained legitimacy and access to various well-known figures.
In 2007, Harry was photographed next to the musician – previously known as Puff Daddy and P Diddy – alongside the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at a memorial concert for the late Diana, Princess
Mr Combs has denied all the accusations since they emerged in December 2023, calling them attempts at getting a “quick payday” and “sickening” in posts on his X account.
of Wales. Prince William also met Mr Combs and Ye at the same event, but was not named in the documents.
Separately, two properties belonging to Mr Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were searched by US federal agents and Homeland Security investigators on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged sex-trafficking. Officials said the searches were connected to an investigation by federal authorities in New York.
Several sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against Mr Combs in recent months.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging that Mr Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them. Mr Combs’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, said of those allegations: “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”
Mr Combs’s former protégé and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape.
The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed.
Another of Mr Combs’s accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
As a record producer and music industry executive, Mr Combs built up a multimillion-pound fortune.