More than 100 people are suing rapper “Diddy” Sean Combs, accusing him of sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation, a U.S. lawyer said.
Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said some of the alleged victims include minors as young as nine years old.
“This is an important issue that we intend to deal with proactively,” Mr Buzbee told reporters.
Combs’ attorney, Erica Wolfe, said Combs “categorically and categorically” denies the allegations, calling them “false and defamatory.”
Buzbee said at a news conference on Tuesday that he and his team will spare no effort to find potentially responsible parties for the alleged abuse, or “any person or entity that participated in or benefited from this egregious conduct.” .
In a statement to the BBC, Ms Wolfe said Mr Coombs “looks forward to proving his innocence and defending himself in court, where the truth will be determined based on evidence rather than speculation”.
This is the latest legal action against Mr Coombs.
Mr. Combs was arrested last week and faces criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He is currently in federal custody after being denied bail, which he is appealing.
He has denied all accusations of criminal misconduct.
Buzbee, who is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York, said the total number of victims he represents is 120, half of whom are men and half of whom are women, and they come from more than 25 states in the United States.
He added that 25 of the victims he represented were minors. This marks the first time Mr Coombs has been accused of sexually abusing a child.
Buzbee said the charges spanned from 1991 to this year, with incidents occurring in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Most of the incidents occurred after 2015, he added.
He said most of the accusers claimed they were date raped after parties hosted by Mr Coombs at high-profile venues, private homes and hotels.
Mr. Buzbee said the parties were either New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July parties commemorating album releases. Other things happened during what he calls auditions.
“Too often, especially young people trying to get into the industry, are pressured into this behavior under the promise of becoming a star or having Sean Combs listen to their tapes,” Mr. Buzbee claimed.
Mr Buzbee said this was not a class action and individual cases would be brought for each alleged victim.
