Sean “Diddy” Combs’ long-running legal dispute with former “Making the Band” star Sara Rivers is approaching a significant turning point after a New York judge ordered the dismissal of nearly all charges against the music mogul. Rivers, who appeared on Combs’ early 2000s reality series Making the Band 2 and later joined the hip-hop group Da Band, filed a lawsuit in February alleging unwanted touching, the creation of a hostile work environment, and fraud during the filming of the MTV show. Her suit also named several of Combs’ companies and business associates, including his mother, Janice Combs, as defendants.
On August 14, in a ruling issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Jed S. Rakoff dismissed 21 of the 22 charges listed in Rivers’ lawsuit. The dismissed claims, which ranged from racketeering, assault and battery, forced labor, to false imprisonment, were ruled to be without legal merit and were dismissed with prejudice. This ruling means Rivers will be barred from refiling the dismissed claims in any future case.
The only remaining charge alleges that Combs violated the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act through alleged sexual abuse. Judge Rakoff has not yet decided whether this claim will be dismissed with or without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that Rivers could pursue it again in a new lawsuit. The judge stated that he would await guidance from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the parameters of the New York law before issuing a final ruling.
A spokesperson for Combs’ legal team, Wolff, stated, “From the outset, we have said these claims were meritless, time-barred and legally deficient. The court agreed, finding no legal basis to allow them to proceed. We are pleased the court carefully analyzed and swiftly dismissed these baseless claims.”
Combs, who was arrested in September 2024, remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his trial earlier this summer. He faced charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. In July, the rapper was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of the remaining charges.
Rivers’ lawsuit details allegations of sexual assault during her tenure on Making the Band 2, the MTV reality series that documented the formation of Da Band. She claimed that an incident occurred during a trip to Washington, D.C., when Combs allegedly pressured her to drink a cocktail she had refused. Rivers said that Combs also criticized her and her bandmates for lacking initiative because they had not visited his studio, Daddy’s House, to record music. After visiting the studio on her own, Rivers alleged that Combs cornered her and “ran his left hand across her breasts.” Rivers claimed she left the studio “in shock and disbelief” following the incident. The lawsuit stated that she suffered monetary losses, physical injury, and ongoing psychological and emotional distress as a result of Combs’ alleged actions.
In January, Rivers appeared in the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, which examined Combs’ rise to fame and his legal controversies. She described Combs as a volatile figure who frequently berated her and other band members, recounting moments when he allegedly said things like, “You make me so mad, I want to eat your flesh.” Rivers also reiterated claims of sexual misconduct in the documentary, describing a one-on-one encounter in which she said Combs touched her inappropriately. She expressed that the experience left her intimidated and emotionally affected.
With Judge Rakoff dismissing the majority of Rivers’ claims, Combs’ legal team has achieved a significant victory. However, the unresolved gender-motivated violence charge leaves a narrow path for the lawsuit to continue, pending guidance from higher courts. The case highlights the ongoing complexities surrounding allegations of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry and the challenges of pursuing legal recourse years after the alleged incidents.