Diddy Sued for Sex Trafficking by Former Exotic Dancer

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing a new lawsuit from exotic dancer Adria English, who claims she was the victim of sex trafficking in the 2000s by the Bad Boy mogul and others she named in a complaint filed Wednesday (July 3) in federal court in New York.

According to the complaint filed by the lawyers Ariel Mitchell-Kidd And Steven MetcalfEnglish was sex trafficked by Combs along with co-defendants Tamiko Thomas, who was allegedly an employee of Bad Boy Entertainment at the time, and a man named Jacob Arabov (aka Jacob The Jeweler). She alleges the trio was “aided and abetted” by several companies also named as defendants in the complaint, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Global Enterprises, Sean John Holdings, ATMOSPHERE magazine and its current parent company, Penske Media Corporation (PMC). (PMC did not own ATMOSPHERE (when the alleged events occurred.)

The complaint alleges, among other things, that the actions of all of the defendants violate federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) laws, which have historically been used to target the mafia, drug cartels, and other organized crime rings (a similar state law in Georgia was the basis for prosecutors’ case against rapper Young Thug, who they say leads a violent Atlanta street gang known as Young Slime Life). These types of racketeering laws make it easier for prosecutors to arrest members of alleged criminal enterprises based on numerous individual actions.

English claims she first met Combs in 2004, while she was working as a dancer at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club in Manhattan, after accompanying her then-boyfriend, model Anthony Gallo, to an audition for a Sean John modeling campaign. At the audition, she claims Gallo and another model were asked to perform oral sex on Combs as a condition of getting the job. After Gallo declined, she claims she was later told he could book the campaign if he ordered English to work as a go-go dancer at Combs’ Labor Day White Party in Hamptons, New York. “In an effort to help Mr. Gallo become a model, Plaintiff accepted what she believed to be legitimate employment,” the complaint states.

While working at the event, English says she was instructed to perform lap dances and “sexually flirt” with guests and was “forced to consume alcohol and illicit narcotics,” including bottles she claims were laced with ecstasy. She says she was then invited to perform at other all-night parties, where Combs and Thomas — whom she compares to Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein — ultimately “groomed” her for sex trafficking.

At her third White Party, English claims Combs and Thomas asked her to have sex with guests, using knowledge of her past work in adult films “to coerce” her into doing so. This activity, she claims, continued through 2009 at White Parties held at Combs’ residences in Hampton and Miami.

One of the men English claims she was forced to have sex with during this time was Jacob Arabov (Jacob the Jeweler) at Combs’ request because she feared losing her job as well as her boyfriend’s future modeling opportunities. “Plaintiff, fearing not only her safety, but also the safety of her job and that of her then-boyfriend, followed instructions and traveled with Defendant Jacob where she engaged in forced sexual intercourse with Defendant Jacob at the request and direction of Defendant Combs,” the complaint reads.

English further alleges that Combs kept hidden cameras in every room of her Hamptons and Miami homes and believes her sexual assaults were caught on camera, including when she was “unconscious.”

During this period, English also claims that ATMOSPHERE The magazine published an image of her in a November 2006 article about Combs' white parties without her consent, claiming that its use violated her “privacy rights by misappropriation.” She claims she only “discovered the illicit use” in April 2024. She further accuses ATMOSPHERE and parent company PMC of “intentionally and falsely marketing and promoting” Combs’ White Parties “as a large-scale social and networking event in an effort to conceal and mislead the true intent of the event…and to further the objectives of Defendants’ illegal and criminal enterprise.”

English says she continued to put up with Combs' demands in part because of promises that he would help her break into the music business by placing her in an all-girl band. She says she eventually broke away from Combs when he returned to California in 2009, at which point she says she suffered from severe depression and anxiety in response to the past trauma of being assaulted and trafficked, as well as her declining career.

According to the complaint, English's victimization by Combs and his alleged co-conspirators caused her to suffer ongoing “extreme emotional distress” that impacted every aspect of her personal life.

In a statement sent to BillboardCombs' lawyer Jonathan Davis “No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it will not change the fact that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone. We live in a world where anyone can sue for any reason and with no evidence. Fortunately, there is a fair and impartial judicial process to uncover the truth and Mr. Combs is confident that he will prevail against these and other baseless accusations in court,” he said.

Billboard PMC reached out to Thomas and Arabov for comment but had not heard back as of press time. PMC declined to comment.

This is the tenth sexual misconduct lawsuit filed against Combs since his ex-girlfriend, pop star Cassie, caused a stir with her sexual abuse claim against the mogul in November, which was settled less than 24 hours later. He has vehemently denied all allegations against him. Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by federal agents in March, but no arrests have been made.

In May, disturbing images obtained by CNN showed Combs abusing Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel elevator in March 2016. Shortly after the video was released, Combs apologized for his actions, which he said “disgusted” him.

“I was completely high. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I’m not making excuses,” he said in the since-deleted Instagram clip. “My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”

The fallout from those allegations has continued to reverberate for Combs. Last month, his media company Revolt announced that its employees would become the company’s largest shareholders after Combs sold his stake to an anonymous buyer. Also in June, Combs’ Miami Day honor was revoked, and Howard University stripped him of an honorary degree it had awarded him.

Editor's Note: PMC is the parent company of Billboard.