New lawsuit accuses Diddy of human trafficking, claims Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James witnessed victim after assault

The alleged “freak-off” incident took place at a party in 2015, and the rapper's team have denied the allegations The post New lawsuit accuses Diddy of human trafficking, claims Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James witnessed victim after assault appeared first on NME.

Apr 2, 2025 - 14:26
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New lawsuit accuses Diddy of human trafficking, claims Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James witnessed victim after assault

Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2023

A new lawsuit has been filed against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, accusing him of human trafficking.

The allegations were put forward by a Florida man called Joseph Manzaro, who alleges that the rapper assaulted and humiliated him at an event in 2015, and that he was seen on the night by Beyoncé, Jay-Z and LeBron James.

According to the filing, the alleged incident took place during a birthday party held by Diddy for his son Christian Combs. Manzaro claims he was drugged and transported to Star Island in Miami for the party, before being involved in a “freak-off”.

He says in the claim that the rapper and business mogul humiliated him by “strapping a penis to his face and parading him around”.

As reported by TMZ, Manzaro claims he was led through a secret tunnel in Diddy’s home and was noticed by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. He says Beyoncé asked: “What’s this? What’s this all about? Why is this half-naked white man with a cock mask standing here in front of me?”, while a member of Diddy’s entourage allegedly replied: “Diddy wants him to see what we do to snitches. This is part of his punishment.”

Diddy
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. CREDIT: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs

He says he was “forcibly paraded” around, forced to wear a small thong and a black leather mask with the rubber attachment, and subjected to non-consensual acts. Others he claims saw him at the event were Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio, LeBron James and celebrity jeweller Jacob Arabo.

With the lawsuit, Manzaro is not suing Jay-Z, Beyoncé, LeBron James or Jacob Arabo. He is suing Diddy, Emilio Estefan (who he says stopped him from receiving medical care), Adria English (who he claims ushered him into the event), and Brendan Paul, who he claims helped Diddy drug him.

It is worth noting that outlets including TMZ have reported that Jay-Z was in New York City on the date of the alleged incident.

Additionally, Combs’ legal team denied the claims in a statement to TMZ. “This complaint demonstrates the depraved lengths plaintiffs will travel to garner headlines in pursuit of a payday,” it read. “No sane person reading this complaint could credit this story. Mr. Combs looks forward to having his day in court where these lies — and the perverse motives of those who told them — will be revealed.”

A representative for Gloria and Emilio Estefan told TMZ. “Gloria and Emilio Estefan strongly deny the allegations made[ …] We have all necessary documentation to support these facts and will provide it to the court.”

An attorney for Brendan Paul told the outlet: “The allegations against Brendan are 100 per cent false and literally impossible to have occurred. Brendan was still in high school in Ohio at the time, having never even set foot in West Palm Beach in his life.”

Similarly, A spokesperson for LeBron James said: “This is demonstrably false and doesn’t even merit a report or response. A basic internet search shows what LeBron was doing all of April 2015. He was playing basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers and never in Miami.”

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. CREDIT: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for MRC

The news of the accusations comes just days after a separate one of Diddy’s sexual assault lawsuits was dismissed on Monday (March 31).

Claims of sex trafficking against Combs and former chief of staff Kristina Khorramm, as well as sexual assault and premises liability claims against Combs have been upheld, however.

An attorney for Combs said Jones’ “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines”, whilst Khorram denied all allegations.

In other news, one of Combs’ lawyers recently quit the rapper’s forthcoming criminal sex trafficking case, writing: “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.”

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.

The post New lawsuit accuses Diddy of human trafficking, claims Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James witnessed victim after assault appeared first on NME.