An attorney for one of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ accusers has referenced a “high-profile” person who can be seen with the rap mogul in a pornographic video.
Ariel Mitchell-Kidd is currently representing a client who alleges that Combs raped her in 2018, and said she had been contacted about the “sale of one of the Diddy tapes”, according to NewsNation.
The rap mogul was arrested in New York earlier this month and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting for prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ariel Mitchell-Kidd said she was recently contacted by someone who wanted her to “essentially represent them in the sale of one of the Diddy tapes”, which she declined.
“There already have been tapes leaking around Hollywood being shopped around to individuals,” she explained on Friday (September 27), while appearing on the station’s Banfield programme, adding: “But one particular person contacted me to shop a particular video they were in possession of, and to contact the person who was in the video to see if they were interested in purchasing the video before it became public knowledge”.
She added that this process can be described as a “catch and kill”, which is a technique used to prevent potentially damaging information for a third party from being revealed.
“I can tell the video was pornographic,” she continued, explaining that the person in question is “very visible” and “more high-profile” than Diddy.
She added that it “does seem the person isn’t looking into the video. To me, it doesn’t seem like that person knows they’re being videotaped. It doesn’t seem like they’re an active participant in the video taping”.
Mitchell-Kidd said her current client filed a police report at the time of the alleged rape and was contacted by her a few weeks ago.
“She called me and told me about her assault and her escape,” she said. “She was at a friend’s house who had industry ties, and Diddy decided to come to the house.”
The attorney explained that her client realised Combs was planning on sex trafficking her once he arrived.
“It led to her being served a drink. She started to feel woozy. Mr Combs sexually assaulted her with an inanimate object,” she explained. “And then actually directed another gentleman to sexually assault her while he watched and pleasured himself.”
The woman was able to escape the alleged attack by running into the street “yelling and screaming”, with one neighbour reportedly witnessing her escape.
The alleged victim also reportedly did not name Diddy in her initial police report for fear of retaliation, before she decided to update it.
Diddy is currently awaiting trial after being indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan earlier this month. He denies all allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
He is charged with “a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals” that spanned “decades”. According to the indictment, Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” (per Variety).
He is facing numerous lawsuits over claims of sexual assault, with the 12th and last alleged victim – identified only by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claiming she was repeatedly raped and drugged at Diddy’s homes, becoming pregnant after one encounter.
She alleges also that she was harassed by one of Diddy’s associates to have an abortion, and later miscarried.
A lawyer for the rapper did not respond to the fresh allegations when contacted by the Associated Press, according to Sky News.
Last week, more claims came to light in a separate lawsuit, in which a woman alleged that Diddy and his bodyguard drugged, raped her and filmed the incident in 2001. Diddy has denied criminal wrongdoing.
In a new TMZ documentary titled The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment, the rap mogul’s attorney said he was “actually remarkably positive”.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.