What happened between Danity Kane's Dawn Richard and Diddy? 2024 legal battle explained as singer expected to appear next in the trial
Singer Dawn Richard, a former member of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s girl group Danity Kane, is expected to testify in court on May 16, 2025.
After winning a spot on Diddy's MTV show Making the Band, Richard first worked with Combs by joining the girl group, Danity Kane. Despite releasing two chart-topping albums on Bad Boy Records, Combs ended the group in 2009 because of internal conflicts.
According to Combs’s publicist, Richard even rejoined Combs’s projects in later years, participating in a 2020 Making the Band reboot and featuring on his recent Love album, a point her lawyer disputes given the abuse claims.
In September 2024, Richard filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Combs of long-term sexual and physical abuse in the workplace, and prosecutors in Combs’s 2025 criminal trial said they will have her testify as a witness.
On September 11, 2024, Erica Wolff, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer, released a statement denying claims made by Dawn Richard:
"Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a payday — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour."
Since Richard made her allegations, there has been a new addition to the legal battle, from their time on Making the Band in 2004 till their work together in Danity Kane and their group, Dirty Money.
Dawn Richard details years of mistreatment by Sean Combs
In her September 2024 lawsuit, Richard detailed an alleged pattern of abuse she says spanned roughly eight years of collaboration with Combs. The complaint alleged that Combs subjected Richard and other female artists to a “vicious temper” and inhumane working conditions, as reported by Reuters.
Richard claimed that Combs made their group, Danity Kane, keep rehearsing for 48 hours without a break for food or rest, which caused her to lose a lot of weight and develop rashes.
She mentioned that while in Diddy–Dirty Money, Combs often groped her and once held her in a vehicle, threatening her. The suit further asserted that Richard was a witness to Combs choking and dragging Cassie Ventura, as well as brutalizing other women in his circle. In a clear description, Richard said that Combs would throw phones, laptops, and other items because of anger and assault Cassie right in front of her.
Richard’s lawyer Lisa Bloom said of Richard on the Trial of Diddy podcast:
“She’s an accomplished woman and she’s all about the music, all she wants to do is make music and be a musician. And yet, she found herself in the position."
Bloom also explained Richard’s motivation: After seeing the 2016 video of Combs attacking Cassie, Richard remarked:
"I need to come forward too, in support of Cassie, and in support of others, to tell my own story.’”
Richard has not spoken publicly, but her lawyer Lisa Bloom has relayed many of these allegations in media appearances. The prosecution in Sean “Diddy” Combs’s federal trial has further revealed that they plan to bring several women who worked closely with Combs, along with Dawn Richard, to testify about the alleged patterns of coercion and abuse described in their civil suits.
