Cuba Gooding Jr. Added as Codefendant in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sexual Assault, Harassment Lawsuit

Cuba Gooding Jr. was added as a codefendant in music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ sexual harassment and sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday.

The same day that Homeland Security raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, the legal document was amended to include the actor as a defendant a month after it was first filed in a New York federal district court (Gooding was, however, named in the initial suit, just not as a defendant).

In the filing, Jones broke down his professional relationship with the rapper, detailing how from September 2022 to September 2023 he produced nine songs on Combs’ “Love” album. In that time, Jones said he missed out on major family events and holidays and lived with Combs for several months in his Los Angeles and Miami residencies, as well as on Combs’ rented yacht.

The suit also claimed that Combs attempted to “pass off” Jones to Gooding while they were on the yacht, further noting it as one of the instances in which Combs was allegedly trying to groom Jones for his friends. When Combs introduced Jones to Gooding, Combs suggested Gooding “get to know” Jones better and then “left them alone in a makeshift studio on the yacht.”

Afterward, Jones said Gooding began “touching, groping and fondling Jones’ legs, his upper thighs near his groin and the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders.” Jones stated he tried to “lean away” from Gooding and eventually had to “forcibly” push Gooding to get him to stop his advances.

Additionally, Jones stated he “witnessed and secured irrefutable evidence of” purchase, use and distribution of various drugs, including cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy. The producer also provided screenshots of alleged video evidence supporting his claims in the filing.

Jones initially sued Combs on Feb. 26, accusing him of grabbing his genitals without his consent and grooming him to have sex with another man, which he claimed Combs referred to as a “normal practice in the music industry.” Other notables names listed as codefendants in the suit are Combs’ son, Justin Combs; Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group; and Combs’ chief of staff Kristina Khorram; as well as Love Records, Motown Records, Combs Global Enterprises and Universal Music Group. One unidentified person was removed from the initial lawsuit in the new amendment.

The Academy Award-winning actor’s addition to Jones’ lawsuit comes nearly two years after Gooding pleaded guilty to one count of forcibly touching a woman at a rooftop bar in New York City in 2018. In 2020, he was sued for allegedly raping a woman twice in 2013, and that case was settled in June 2023.

As for Diddy, this suit is one of five the music executive has been hit with since November 2023, following singer and ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura sued him over alleged sexual abuse crimes. Joie Dickerson Neal filed a lawsuit against Combs in November, accusing Combs of drugging, sexually assaulting and secretly recording the assault in 1991 when she was a college student. Three other women, who are unnamed, have also spoken out with allegations against Combs, saying he sexually assaulted them. Two stated they were teens at the time of the alleged assaults. In December, an accuser by the name of Jane Doe, stated in a suit that Combs plied her with drugs and alcohol and raped her as part of a sex trafficking scheme.

Combs has long denied these allegations. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he said in December 2023 statement.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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