Diddy and King. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/WireImage / Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Supermodels Unlimited)
The lawyer of a woman who filed a civil suit against Diddy’s youngest son, Christian “King” Combs, has spoken out against the rapper’s arrest via a statement from her lawyer.
Grace O’Marcaigh, 25, accused King, 26, of sexually assaulting her while she was working on a yacht in 2022 via a lawsuit filed in April.
After Diddy (real name Sean Combs) was taken into custody this week, O’Marcaigh’s lawyer, Rodney S. Diggs, described the arrest as the “first step” towards “justice” in a statement provided to Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 18.
“The long-awaited federal arrest of Sean Combs is the first step for our clients receiving justice,” Diggs said in the statement. “We leave the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and justice system. As for the civil cases, we await our time for the facts to reveal themselves and seek the justice our clients deserve.”
He added: “We also anticipate more victims coming forward. We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear, and it was only a matter of time. This is an important step towards justice for all of Mr. Combs’ victims including my clients. Justice will prevail.”
Us Weekly has reached out to a representative for Diddy for comment.
Diddy was arrested in New York on Monday, September 16. The following day, a 14-page indictment alleging that Diddy “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him” was made public. The rapper has since entered a not guilty plea for charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
A New York judge denied Diddy bail on Tuesday, September 17, and he will remain in custody pending trial. He lost an appeal to overturn the decision on Wednesday, September 18.
Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, insisted that Diddy is innocent in an interview on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins.
“He’s innocent. I believe he’s innocent. I believe he’s innocent of the charges,” he said Tuesday. “He is going to go to trial. And I believe he’s going to win.”
A lawsuit filed by lawyers on April 4 in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleged that Diddy’s son King sexually assaulted O’Marcaigh while she was working on a yacht. The papers alleged the working environment had been “sold as a wholesome family excursion” but turned into a “hedonistic environment.”
Diddy and son King Combs. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
King was also accused of sexual harassment and infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit. Diddy was sued in the same suit for premises liability for chartering the yacht and for aiding and abetting King in the alleged assault.
Days later, a lawyer for Diddy and King hit back at reports and slammed one of the lawyers representing O’Marcaigh.
In a statement to Us on April 8, lawyer Aaron Dyer cautioned the public to meet the claims with skepticism, pointing the finger at the accuser’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, who filed the lawsuit alongside Diggs.
“We have not seen this woman’s claim but I’m sure we can expect the same kind of manufactured lies … just as we saw in Rodney Jones’ lawsuit — which has yet to be served,” Dyer said in a statement to Us at the time.
“[Blackburn] was just slapped by a federal judge in New York earlier this week for his ‘pattern of behavior’ in ‘improperly [filing] cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations and pressure defendants to settle quickly,’” Dyer continued.
Dyer was referring to a court filing by Judge Denise Cote that suggested Blackburn had a history of filing lawsuits aimed at attracting media attention to pressure high-profile defendants into settling quickly.
Blackburn faced similar accusations in the past, including from lawyers representing Nicki Minaj, T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris, who accused him of participating in a “sordid shakedown campaign” to extract settlements from the artists.
“Two days after he was referred to the disciplinary committee in the Southern District of New York, it’s interesting he chose to file a new suit in California,” Dyer’s statement concluded. “This is just another page from that same playbook, as we learned of this lawsuit the same way anyone hears about Mr. Blackburn’s filings: through the media.”
King broke his silence on the matter on March 29, days after he was detained and later released by law enforcement. He posted a message via Snapchat that read, “Stop with the 🧢,” using the slang term of “cap,” i.e. lying.
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