Diddy investigated for sex trafficking: A timeline of allegations and the rapper's life, career
Sean "Diddy" Combs' is being investigated by multiple agencies for alleged sex trafficking and sexual assault.
Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Combs' Los Angeles home Monday, according to Rolling Stone and local Los Angeles news station Fox 11. Agents also searched Combs' Miami residence Monday, Rolling Stone, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
The Bad Boy Records founder is facing multiple lawsuits filed in recent months claiming the music mogul raped or sexually assaulted several alleged victims over the past few decades. Combs has denied all accusations against him.
While Combs' legal trouble has mounted over the past year, the music mogul has faced a plethora of controversy since Bad Boy Entertainment positioned him as one of the biggest faces in the industry.
Here's a look back at some of Combs' notable history:
March 2024: Homeland Security Investigations raids Diddy's homes
A Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY that "Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available."
Per NBC News, the Los Angeles Times and the AP, the searches are part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation in New York. Several people have been interviewed by investigators about allegations against Combs regarding sex trafficking, sexual assault and other alleged offenses, according to NBC News and the AP.
Read the full story:Sean 'Diddy' Combs' homes raided by law enforcement as part of investigation, reports say
February 2024: Diddy accused of sexually assaulting producer for 'The Love Album'
A music producer who worked with Combs on his most recent record, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," sued him in February, accusing him of "engaging in serious illegal activity" including sexual assault.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court for the southern district of New York and obtained by USA TODAY, Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. alleges Combs "forcibly touched and attempted and/or threatened to touch (Jones') intimate areas and/or touched (Jones) with his own intimate body parts" while they worked on the album.
He also accuses the rapper and his associates – including his 30-year-old son, Justin Dior Combs, his chief of staff and Combs Global Enterprises – of participating in "a sex-trafficking venture." Jones Jr. added Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant in the case on March 25, accusing him of sexual abuse after the "Act Bad" rapper introduced the two on Combs' yacht.
Read the full story:Sean 'Diddy' Combs accuser Lil Rod adds Cuba Gooding Jr. to sexual assault lawsuit
January 2024: Diddy withdraws lawsuit against Ciroc vodka owner Diageo
Combs filed a lawsuit against London-based spirits giant Diageo in May 2022, alleging the company did not fall through with promoting his brands Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila, according to The Associated Press. He also accused the company of racism and limiting distribution of his brands to "urban" neighborhoods.
In January, he withdrew his lawsuit as part of a settlement. Diageo is now the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon and has ceased its business relationship with the music mogul, per AP.
December 2023: Diddy, Harve Pierre accused of gang raping 17-year-old girl
An anonymous accuser filed a lawsuit in December alleging Combs, former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre and a third unnamed assailant raped her when she was 17 years old in 2003.
Combs and Pierre "preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs' studio," the plaintiff's attorney Douglas H. Wigdor said in a statement at the time. "The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life."
Read the full story:New lawsuit accuses Diddy, former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre of gang rape
November 2023: Diddy steps down as Revolt chairman
Diddy stepped down as chairman of his cable television network Revolt following multiple allegations of sexual assault. The network confirmed Combs' exit from the company in a statement shared on Instagram.
"Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as chairman of Revolt," the statement reads. "While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora."
November 2023: Joi Dickerson-Neal alleges Diddy drugged, sexually assaulted her
In November, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging she was drugged, sexually assaulted and abused, and was the victim of "revenge porn."
Combs videotaped the January 1991 assault and distributed the tape to others in the music industry, according to the suit. This caused "severe harm to Ms. Dickerson-Neal's reputation, career prospects, and emotional well-being," Dickerson-Neal's attorney, Jonathan Goldhirsch, said in a news release sent to USA TODAY.
The full lawsuit:Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of 1991 sexual assault of college student in second lawsuit
November 2023: Cassie Ventura accuses Diddy of rape, sex trafficking before settling
Combs' ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in a civil suit. Combs and Cassie settled for an undisclosed amount a day later.
After being lured into an "ostentatious, fast-paced and drug-fueled lifestyle" and a romantic relationship with her former boss Combs when she was 19, Cassie alleged in the lawsuit that Combs plied her with drugs and alcohol, physically abused her and "took control" of her life – ranging from her healthcare to her career opportunities. Combs also allegedly raped her in 2018 and forced Cassie into "repeated unwanted sexual encounters" with male prostitutes who he hired and recorded their encounters.
The lawsuits filed by Dickerson-Neal and Ventura were done so before the New York's Adult Survivors Act deadline. It gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to make claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits.
Read more:Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Cassie settle bombshell lawsuit alleging rape, abuse, sex trafficking
September 2023: Diddy gets key to New York City
Combs received the key to New York City from Mayor Eric Adams in Times Square in September 2023. The honor arrived the same day as his studio album, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," and days after his Global Icon Award performance and celebration at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
"I'm a New York boy, and I just got to key to the city, and everything is just a little surreal right now," he told USA TODAY at the time.
September 2023: Diddy gives publishing rights back to Bad Boy artists
The rapper and music mogul agreed to give the label's publishing rights back to all artists and writers who worked with Bad Boy Records, a source close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY in an email in September 2023.
Bad Boy artists such as Faith Evans, Mase, The Lox, 112 and the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. signed agreements to receive their publishing rights.
October 2022: Diddy and Dana Tran welcome daughter Love
In October 2022, Dana Tran welcomed a daughter with Diddy, his seventh child. He confirmed her arrival on X in December 2022, announcing, "I'm so blessed to welcome my baby girl Love Sean Combs to the world. Mama Combs, Quincy, Justin, Christian, Chance, D'Lila, Jessie and myself all love you so much! God is the Greatest!"
June 2022: City Girls rapper Yung Miami and Diddy confirm they're dating
Diddy and City Girls rapper Yung Miami were first linked in 2021. They later confirming they were dating in a June 2022 "Caresha Please" podcast episode.
The pair were aloof about their relationship status, but in an April 2023 profile with The Cut, the "Act Up" rapper said she was single.
June 2019: Gina Huynh alleges Diddy abused her during 5-year relationship
Combs' ex Gina Huynh told YouTube blogger Tasha K in June 2019 that the Bad Boy mogul allegedly physically abused her and once "stomped" her stomach.
"He was mentally, emotionally and physically abusing me. He would always compare me to Cassie and tell me that I'm the bad one, she's a good one," said Huynh, adding that Combs' inner circle "allowed" the abuse to occur.
November 2018: Diddy's ex Kim Porter dies
Actress and model Kim Porter died from pneumonia in November 2018, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said. "The manner of death was certified as natural," according to a statement released by Sarah Ardalani, spokeswoman for the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Porter was 47 when she was found unresponsive in her bed at home in Toluca Lake on Nov. 15, 2018, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
They were no longer a couple but they were still close, sharing three children: son Christian, 25, and twin daughters D'Lila Star and Jessie James, 16. They also raised 32-year-old Quincy Brown, Porter's son with singer and record producer Al B. Sure.
Sean 'Diddy' Combsaccused by Cassie of sex trafficking, rape and physical abuse in lawsuit
October 2018: Diddy and Cassie call it quits for good
Diddy began dating Cassie in 2007 and managing her career as a singer. The couple was on and off for over a decade before they announced their final split in 2018.
July 2006: Diddy welcomes daughter Chance Combs while Kim Porter was pregnant
Porter and Diddy dated on and off from 1994 to 2007. While Porter was pregnant with their twin daughters, who were born in December 2006, Combs and his friend Sarah Chapman welcomed daughter Chance.
November 2005: Diddy forms Danity Kane
Combs formed pop group Danity Kane on MTV's "Making the Band" in 2005. The group was comprised of Aundrea Fimbres, D. Woods, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richardand Aubrey O'Day. The band disbanded and reunited several times since their formation, most notably with O'Day being removed from the group in 2008, although she later returned.
In a December 2022 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, O'Day alleged that Combs fired her because she wouldn't do things he requested "in other areas" besides music. She also alleged on the "Only Stans" podcast in September 2023 that she did not agree to the terms of the music rights return because it required a nondisclosure agreement that she would never "disparage" the rapper or Bad Boy.
June 2004: Kimora Lee Simmons alleges Diddy threatened to hit her
A 2004 New York magazine fashion profile of designer Kimora Lee Simmons included claims that Combs threated to hit the Baby Phat founder.
"And I was pregnant! The moron!" she said, adding that Combs did apologize in a public setting. "I respect him for being a fierce entrepreneur."
December 1999: Diddy and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez arrested for nightclub shooting
Combs, his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez and rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow were arrested following a shooting scuffle at the now-defunct Club New York in Times Square in December 1999.
Natania Reuben, one of the victims, filed a $130 million lawsuit for compensation against Combs in 2008 and settled in June 2011.
Barrow, who began shooting a gun in the melee, was later convicted of assault in shooting two bystanders who were wounded, while Reuben was wounded in the face by bullet fragments. Barrow was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Combs and an employee of his, Anthony Jones, were acquitted on weapons charges.
Reuben still insists Combs shot her in the face. In a TikTok video posted in February 2024, Reuben said, "I am the woman who he shot in the face in that Dec. 27, 1999, Club New York shooting. I have told everyone, ad nauseam, since then. … I watched him fire the gun."
Early 1999: Diddy begins dating Jennifer Lopez
Combs and Lopez started dating in 1999 and split in 2001. The couple made notable appearances at red carpet events, with the singer donning Combs' Sean John clothing brand.
December 1993: Diddy and Misa Hylton welcome son Justin
Diddy and fashion designer Misa Hylton were linked in the early '90s. She styled many of the associated Bad Boy Records artists.
In December 1993, the couple welcomed their son Justin. It's unclear when they officially split.
1992: Bad Boy Entertainment is born
Combs started out as an intern at Uptown Records, rose to being an A&R and in 1992, he founded Bad Boy Records. The company sold over 500 million records, produced 38 platinum singles and earned multiple Grammy Awards, according to the official website for Combs Global.
"Ready to Die," the 1994 debut album by Combs' friend and artist The Notorious B.I.G., sold 2 million copies by 1995 and went on to be certified six times platinum. Biggie's labelmates Evans and Mase sold 1 million and 4 million copies, respectively, with their first albums "Faith" and "Harlem World."
Contributing: Josh Meyer, KiMi Robinson, Anika Reed, Jay Stahl, Pamela Avila, Maria Puente, Edward Segarra, Morgan Hines, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY; Reuters
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.