Kirk Burrowes, co-founder and former president of Bad Boy Entertainment, has filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, accusing him of a "deeply disturbing pattern" of sexual assault, violence, and intimidation spanning more than a decade. The complaint, filed in New York by Burrowes' lawyer Tyrone Blackburn, alleges years of "predatory" behaviour, creating a "toxic environment of coercion, fear, and psychological manipulation."
via: People
On Friday, Feb. 28, Burrowes' lawyer Tyrone Blackburn filed an 18-page complaint against his former business partner in New York, alleging years of "predatory" actions toward him and an overall fostering of a "toxic environment of coercion, fear and psychological manipulation," per the court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In the complaint, Combs, 55, is accused of subjecting Burrowes to "repeated sexual harassment, physical aggression and forced compliance with degrading sexual acts" — including "unwanted sexual advances" such as "nudity, sexual overtones, voyeurism and acts of exhibitionism," some of which took place during what he had believed to be business meetings.
The longtime music mogul is accused of escalating the "campaign of control, resorting to physical violence, blackmail, career sabotage and financial extortion," which the complaint alleges included "forced coercion" so Burrowes would give up a 25% ownership stake in Bad Boy Entertainment.
Burrowes previously filed a suit against Combs over an alleged 1996 incident in 2003, but the earlier complaint was eventually dismissed.
Burrowes' Feb. 28 complaint comes two days after he filed an additional legal action against Combs' mom, Janice Combs, claiming she unlawfully took control of his 25% stake in Bad Boy following Combs' alleged threat of physical violence.
In it, he claimed that Combs' mother "knowingly participated in the fraudulent scheme to obtain 100% control" of Bad Boy Entertainment and "carefully maintained a facade of integrity, portraying herself as an innocent bystander while orchestrating plaintiff’s financial and professional downfall behind the scenes," per court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Combs' legal team said, "This latest lawsuit filed by Kirk Burrowes, filed by none other than Tyrone Blackburn, is another frivolous attempt to re-litigate claims that have been repeatedly thrown out of court over the past 30 years."
"Despite repeated dismissals, Burrowes and Blackburn are intent on wasting the court’s time and resources by refiling dismissed claims and now dragging Mr. Combs’ 80-year-old mother into this," they added.
The new filing against Combs, which cites New York City’s Gender Motivated Violence Act, marks another in a series of allegations against the musician, who has been accused by more than a dozen people of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.
Combs is also facing federal criminal charges such as sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The music mogul is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn with a trial set for May.
The complaint states that Burrowes served as both the chief operating officer and general manager of Bad Boy following its development in the 1990s. It alleges that Combs engaged in sexual coercion and exhibitionism in their workplace between 1992 and 1994, allegedly forcing Burrowes to watch as he engaged in "sexual acts with employees, interns, prospective artists and third parties at the Bad Boy Entertainment office, reinforcing his control through humiliation and intimidation."
Combs would allegedly summon his associate "under false pretenses" via a company intercom, per the complaint, having Burrowes enter a room where Combs would allegedly be "receiving oral sex or engaging in other lewd acts" — which the filing calls his attempt at "psychologically breaking down Plaintiff’s resistance and establishing his submission."
He would make "inappropriate and sexually suggestive remarks" about Burrowes' body and also claimed that Burrowes being present for his sexual activities was "part of the 'culture' of the entertainment industry and a requirement for success," the complaint alleges.
The complaint claims that such actions escalated to "physical coercion and forced submission" between 1995 and 1996.
This includes a 1995 business trip where Combs is alleged to have demanded Burrowes watch him masturbate, another incident in late 1995 when Combs allegedly pinned him "down onto a bed and [simulated] intercourse until he ejaculated" and other allegations of him grabbing his associate's genitals.
He is also alleged to have requested Burrowes "give him hand jobs, blow jobs and to use objects on him anally," per the complaint.
Elsewhere in the complaint, Combs is again accused of having "stormed" into Burrowes' office with a baseball bat in an effort to get him to "sign over his 25% stake in Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. or face violent repercussions." Burrowes then "signed away his ownership stake without receiving any financial compensation" in 1996, with Combs allegedly having taken "active measures to erase" his legacy at the company, per the filing.
Burrowes also accuses Combs of "post-termination harassment and blacklisting," taking place as recently as 2022. He is alleged to have been "personally contacting industry executives, warning them against working with Plaintiff and labeling him as untrustworthy, effectively cutting off his career prospects."
Additional accusations in the complaint are more recent, including a claim that Combs' security detail surrounded and threatened him around 2013 or 2014 in New York City before Combs allegedly grabbed his buttocks and pulled him "close to his body" to simulate a bearhug, and another alleged incident that took place at a Diana Ross birthday celebration in 2019.
"Upon seeing Plaintiff, Combs aggressively grabbed him, forcefully restraining him in the same fake bearhug that he did years prior," the complaint alleges. "As was the case in the 1990s and early 2000s, Combs seized the opportunity to degrade Plaintiff by grabbing him close, slapping him on his rear end, and daring Plaintiff to do something about it. Combs then proceeded to grope Plaintiff in an overt attempt to assert dominance over him, humiliating Plaintiff in the presence of others."
Burrowes' complaint against Combs — filed on Feb. 28 — ultimately alleges a "history and propensity for violence," with Burrowes requesting a jury trial and seeking to be provided "with redress for the physical, emotional, and financial devastation inflicted upon him."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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