VIBE Magazine Named in New Lawsuit Accusing 'Diddy' of Sex Trafficking

NEW YORK (Court TV) — The latest lawsuit filed against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs not only accuses him of sex trafficking and drugging women, but also accuses a popular publication of conspiring with him.

The July 3 filing marks the tenth lawsuit involving Combs. On November 16, 2023, Combs' former girlfriend Cassie filed a lawsuit alleging rape and abuse. The lawsuit was settled a day later, but it has led to a series of other lawsuits filed by men and women claiming to have been victims of abuse and sex trafficking by the artist.

The most recent filing includes accusations from a woman who worked as an adult film actress in California as a teenager before moving to New York in 2004. Although the filing contains her name, Court TV protects the names of alleged victims of sexual violence as much as possible.

The plaintiff said she met Combs in 2004 when she joined her boyfriend, who was attending an audition to be part of a campaign for Combs' Sean John clothing line.

The complaint alleges that in order to get her boyfriend chosen as a model, the plaintiff was required to work at Combs' “white parties.” Combs' parties in the Hamptons, New York, and Miami, Florida, dubbed “white parties,” were known for being lavish events where guests wore only white clothing.

According to the complaint, when the complainant attended the first party, she was given clothing that she was asked to wear as a uniform. A photo of her wearing this outfit was published in the November 2006 issue of VIBE magazine. But the complainant said she had no knowledge that the photo was taken and had not given permission for it to be published.

Because she believed the parties were “a legitimate employment opportunity,” the plaintiff agreed to return to Combs' parties in subsequent years. But around the third “white party,” defendants [Tamiko Thomas and Sean Combs] “They demanded that the complainant begin having vaginal intercourse with guests because they had heard about her past in adult entertainment and used force to coerce the complainant into prostitution.”

Tamiko Thomas, one of the defendants named in the lawsuit, is described as something of an assistant to Combs in the trial.

“Defendant Thomas was to Defendant Combs what Ghislaine Maxwell was to Jeffrey Epstein.”

The complaint claims there is evidence of the alleged sexual assaults from hidden cameras in every room of Combs’ properties in New York and Florida. The filing says the videos are still in Combs’ possession or may have been seized by the FBI during a raid on the rapper’s properties in April 2024.

While the alleged conduct described in the complaint is similar to what Combs faces, this complaint goes a step further by alleging RICO crimes committed by Combs as well as VIBE Magazine and its parent company, Penske Media Corporation (PMC). The plaintiff points to Combs’ longstanding relationship with the publication, dating back to 1993, and argues that Combs’ “general business partnership and financial support” of the magazine, as well as its marketing and coverage of “white parties,” made them complicit in the alleged acts.

“Defendant VIBE and PMC intentionally mislabeled Plaintiff as a guest of the “White Party” in their magazine to further conceal the true intentions of the event and Plaintiff’s role as an employee at the event in order to further the goals of Defendant’s illegal and criminal enterprise.”

The complaint states that the November 2006 issue of VIBE contained 18 pages related to Combs or his businesses, including a cologne titled “UNFORGIVABLE.” “The slogan for the ‘UNFORGIVABLE’ cologne was ‘Life without passion is UNFORGIVABLE.’ Who would have thought that Defendant Combs’ true passion was running a corrupt organization that abused women and engaged in sex and drug trafficking.”

Court TV has reached out to representatives for Combs, VIBE and PMC for comment. Combs has previously denied the allegations in other lawsuits, calling them “false, offensive and salacious.”