Ice Cube says he never attended the parties federal authorities say Sean “Diddy” Combs threw, which featured sexual displays called “Freak Offs.”
The 55-year-old rapper/actor distanced himself from Combs, 54, who remains in custody after being arrested a week ago on suspicion of human trafficking, during a performance at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, California, on Sunday.
Ice Cube, whose real name is O’Shea Jackson, told concertgoers, “Almost 40 years of rocking the mic, and I’ll tell you right now — me and [fellow rapper] WC ain’t never been to a Diddy party, asshole.’
The Los Angeles native reassured his fans: “You don’t have to worry about us on those damn tapes.”
The Boyz n the Hood star previously spoke out about the issue in July on the PBD podcastAs he said at the time, he felt Combs “was targeted” after raids on several of the rapper’s properties last March.
Ice Cube, 55, says he never attended the parties that federal authorities say were thrown by Sean “Diddy” Combs and included sexual demonstrations called “Freak Offs.” Pictured in LA in 2021
The 55-year-old rapper-actor distanced himself from Combs, 54, during a performance at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, California, Sunday
“I believe someone has the power to pull the trigger and make this stuff – there’s been a domino effect,” Ice Cube said.
Combs pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
In a criminal complaint, authorities allege that the rap mogul abused, threatened and coerced women “to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.” The allegations date back to 2008.
Combs tried twice more to get bail after his arrest, but was told he must remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
If found guilty, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Combs was charged again on Tuesday after a woman named Thalia Graves alleged that the music mogul and his security chief raped and videotaped her in 2001 at his New York recording studio.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, is the latest in a series of similar lawsuits against Combs. It comes a week after he was arrested and a federal sex trafficking indictment against him was made public.
Thalia Graves alleges that when she was 25 and dating an executive who worked for Combs in the summer of 2001, Combs and Joseph Sherman lured her to a meeting at Bad Boy Recording Studios. She said they picked her up in an SUV and during the ride gave her a drink “probably laced with a drug.”
Ice Cube, whose real name is O’Shea Jackson, told concertgoers, “Almost 40 years of rocking the mic, and I’ll tell you right now — me and [fellow rapper] WC ain’t never been to a Diddy party, asshole.
The Los Angeles native reassured fans: “You don’t have to worry about us on those damn tapes.” Pictured in LA in 2022
Combs pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Pictured in NYC in 2018
According to the complaint, Graves lost consciousness and awoke to find herself tied up in Combs’ office and lounge at the studio. The two men raped her, beat her, slammed her head into a pool table and ignored her screams and cries for help, the complaint alleges.
At a press conference in Los Angeles with one of her attorneys, Gloria Allred, Graves said she suffered from “flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts” in the years since.
“I have a hard time trusting others to have healthy relationships or feel safe in my own skin,” Graves said through tears as she read a statement.
She said it was “a pain that cuts deep into your being and leaves emotional scars that may never fully heal.”
His representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest lawsuit. There was no immediate indication from the lawsuit or from Combs’ representatives whether Sherman had a separate attorney who could comment on the allegations.
The lawsuit, filed under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, comes during a two-year period in which legal deadlines have been suspended and victims of sexual abuse have the opportunity to sue for abuse who would otherwise be too old to sue.
Allred declined to say whether her client had spoken to investigators in Combs’ criminal case, which lists allegations only since 2008.
Graves’ lawsuit also alleges that late last year, after her former singing protégé and friend Cassie filed a lawsuit that led to a flurry of allegations against him, Combs learned from her ex-boyfriend that Combs had recorded her rape, shown it to others and sold it as pornography.
Combs was hit with another lawsuit on Tuesday, after a woman named Thalia Graves alleged that the music mogul and his security chief raped and videotaped her in 2001 at his New York recording studio.
During a press conference in Los Angeles with one of her attorneys, Gloria Allred, Graves said she has suffered from “flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts” in recent years.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Graves and Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, have done.
Graves’ lawsuit says Combs and Sherman contacted her multiple times in the years following the attack, threatening repercussions if she told anyone what had happened to her. She was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle at the time and feared losing her young son if she revealed anything, the lawsuit says.
Graves said at the press conference that the guilt and shame that came with it “made me feel worthless, isolated and sometimes responsible for what happened to me.”
The lawsuit demands that damages be determined at trial and that all copies of the video be destroyed.
The lawsuit also names as defendants several companies owned by Combs, the three-time Grammy winner and founder of Bad Boy Records. Combs was one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades.