Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy’s Ex-Producer Spills More Secrets in Court Filing: ‘He Was Never Told No’

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Brand new information from music producer Little Rod Jones going into even more detail about his accusations against Sean P. Diddy Combs in a civil lawsuit. And he's spilling even more of Diddy's alleged secrets. We're breaking down the sworn declaration just filed with the court and a letter from his attorney. Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. So, on Tuesday, attorneys for Rodney Jones,

Starting point is 00:00:39 remember we've talked a lot about him. He is the former music producer for Sean Diddy Combs, worked on his latest album with him, suing him for sex trafficking and sexual assault and harassment. Well, they filed new court documents, and included in those documents was an unsworn declaration from Jones himself, detailing more things he saw, heard, experienced during his time, working, and basically living with Combs.

Starting point is 00:01:05 And in this 18-page declaration, it starts with a promise that he's telling the truth. Quote, I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth herein, which I know to be true and correct. And if called upon to testify as a witness, I could and would completely testify there too. Now, he's declaring all of this under threat of perjury. So if he's lying, that's a big deal. Now, if you ask me, I think one of the reasons Jones is doing this is to bolster. his credibility because it's come under attack in the public.

Starting point is 00:01:32 As we mentioned, some of the people that he mentioned in his lawsuit have fired back against those allegations. Opposing counsel questioned his narratives and motives. So this is an opportunity for him to tell the court, look, I have the receipts, I can back up what I'm saying, I will testify about this. So there are a lot of details that he provides, including background and how he got linked up with and started working for Diddy. and we already covered a lot of that in his complaint on previous sidebars.

Starting point is 00:02:01 But according to Jones, he has hundreds of hours of video of Combs in his inner circle. He says that Combs required him to film constantly because he did not like to repeat himself. He said, quote, I quickly learned that from observing him lose his temper with his staff and family if they fail to remember something he said a day or two prior. Jones lists out crimes that he says he saw happen in real time. I witness the acquisition, use, and distribution of ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, and mushrooms. I witnessed Mr. Combs display and distribute unregistered illegal firearms. I witness Mr. Combs provide laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers at his homes in California, New York, the Virgin Islands, in Florida.

Starting point is 00:02:47 I witnessed Mr. Combs, Chief of Staff, Christina Corum, instruct the staff. to retrieve drugs so she could provide them to Mr. Combs for his consumption. And then Jones also talks about that alleged assault that he witnessed on Combs' chartered yacht. You remember when we covered this that Jones's attorneys had filed a separate civil action against Combs's son, Christian King Combs, a behalf of a woman named Grasso Markey. She was a steward on the yacht. Remember, and Combs had chartered that yacht for the Christmas holiday in 2022. So according to the declaration, Jones quote, witness Christian Combs Drug and sexually assault a stewardess while we were on the yacht, Mr. Combs rented in St. Bartholomey, St. Martin, and the Virgin Islands.

Starting point is 00:03:29 The assault began in the makeshift studio on the yacht while I was recording Christian Combs' auto tunes rapping. Again, we talked more in depth about that lawsuit in another sidebar episode. Amarkey claims that Christian gave her a spike drink, touched her all over her body without her permission, and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him, and she had to actually fight him off. Now, the next part of this declaration from Mr. Jones is absolutely fascinating. It reads, quote, I have videos of Mr. Combs and me working out on the treadmill with T.D. Jakes playing on the monitor. We watch T.D. Jake's sermons every morning during our workouts. At first, I thought it was admirable that Mr. Combs listened to sermons while working out until I realized he was not studying the message.

Starting point is 00:04:15 He was studying the messenger's mannerisms. During our gym sessions, he detailed how he planned to leverage his relationship with Bishop T.D. Jake's to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura's pending lawsuit. Remember, Ventura had filed a lawsuit against Combs back in 2023 for sexual assault and sex trafficking, but she ended up settling with Combs the day after it was filed. So Jones also goes into detail about what he said happened at this so-called writer's camp at Chalice. recording studios. You may recall that in his lawsuit, he claims he witnessed a shooting there and that Combs allegedly tried to cover up his involvement. He writes, quote, Mr. Combs converted the parking lot of Chalice Recording Studios into a makeshift nightclub. He had everything imaginable there, including a full-service bar, a massage spa, and hookah. Mr. Combs required everyone working on the Love album to take laced shots of Delion tequila. There was no way to tell him no.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Mr. Combs felt anyone who refused to drink with him was suspicious and untrustworthy. At the time, I did not realize that he used the lace shots of alcohol to obtain and maintain control over the person consuming the alcohol. And of course, the lawsuits against Combs have accused him of sex trafficking, and that is allegedly what the Homeland Security investigation into him is tied to a trafficking operation. Remember, his properties in L.A. and Miami were raided by Homeland Security agents two weeks ago. Jones continues in the declaration with, quote, Throughout the duration of my time living with Mr. Combs, I personally witnessed Mr. Combs,

Starting point is 00:05:48 order his staff to bring him drugs and sex workers. This was a common occurrence, and he was never told no. During this time, I was forced to solicit sex workers and perform sex acts to the pleasure of Mr. Combs. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. Combs had hidden cameras and audio devices in all the rooms of his homes. I only discovered this several months into living with him when I had to pick up my Uber Eats delivery from the security office.

Starting point is 00:06:14 Usually, the security would bring my food deliveries to me whenever I was in Mr. Combs' home, but at this point, I was close and familiar with the security, so they called me to their room and told me I could go in and retrieve my food myself. I saw four to six large flat screen television monitors at the time. Each monitor had at least 20 to 30 little screens in them. Each screen was a view of a room in and surrounding Mr. Combs' home. Remember, Jones claims that he was sex trafficked, and if there is videos of this, and that's presented at a trial, that is significant evidence, to say the least.

Starting point is 00:06:49 Now, Jones even listed out the document dates when he says he was forced to solicit sex workers for Combs. He also names a celebrity that we haven't really referenced yet. Chris Brown. Yeah, quote, on July 2nd, 2023, Mr. Combs had a listening party in his California home. There were a lot of people present at this party, including Chris Brown, Justin Combs, sex workers, and some underage girls. Justin Combs would typically bring the younger women to these parties. I have two videos of two different sex workers that Justin Combs brought with him to Chalice Recording Studios.

Starting point is 00:07:24 I can provide the videos to the court. This event began at 7 p.m. Mr. Combs requested female sex workers and required me to solicit them. An hour later, several sex workers appeared. In addition to sex workers, there were at least. least five women in the crowd who appeared to be under the age of 16. Mr. Combs forced all the attendees to drink laced Delion liquor. I believe Mr. Combs laced the liquor with ecstasy. I have personally witnessed his staff members, Brendan Paul, and Moy Bonn, lace alcohol with

Starting point is 00:07:55 ecstasy. And we remember Brendan Paul was actually arrested on drug charges during the raid on Diddy's properties. But Jones continues, quote, The presence of what I perceived to be underage women made me very uncomfortable. I attempted to leave, and Mr. Combs forced me to stay. I had my car keys in my book bag. I have never lost my keys, and Mr. Combs went so far as to take my car keys to prevent me from

Starting point is 00:08:16 leaving. After being forced to drink laced Delion shots, I began feeling lightheaded, and I passed out. I remember waking up at 4 a.m. the following morning, naked with a sex worker sleeping next to me. In his complaint, Jones had previously mentioned a similar event and describes it in this declaration as well, writing, quote, On February 2nd, 2023, I believe Mr. Combs drugged me. I remember waking up naked, dizzy, and confused.

Starting point is 00:08:43 I was in bed with two sex workers and Mr. Combs. I also recall aimlessly wandering around the house with no clothes on. I have photos of the sex workers sleeping on the bed the morning after I can provide it to the court if necessary. And from there, Jones explains in this declaration some of the things he says that Combs offered him, which is important in a sex trafficking case, that you were transported over state lines, forced to perform sex acts, and were promised something of value.

Starting point is 00:09:11 That's the commercial element of commercial sex acts. Quote, Mr. Combs promised me many things to entice me to continue engaging in his sex trafficking operation. Multiple occasions, we discussed winning Grammys for the Love album. He promised I would win the Grammy for producer of the year for the Love album. He offered me $250,000 to purchase all the instruments I wanted. He promised me ownership of his $20 million property,

Starting point is 00:09:36 one-star island in Miami, Florida. He promised to give me access to record label executives. And from there, Jones gives more details about an alleged assault that happened in Miami. He says that while using the restroom, young Miami's cousin burst into the bathroom and began groping him. Quote, I honestly believe that Mr. Combs sent her in there

Starting point is 00:09:56 to sexually assault me as I could hear him and the other guests laughing outside the door. As she entered the bathroom, she dropped to her knees and began performing oral sex on my exposed penis. I pushed her away and exited the bathroom. Young Miami's cousin did not accept my rejection and followed me out of the bathroom. She started undressing in front of everyone

Starting point is 00:10:15 and attempted to straddle me and have sex with me in the presence of Mr. Combs and his staff. They were all laughing. So much to make sense of in these ditty lawsuits. It can get a bit complicated. Not going to lie to you talking about all these civil claims, but let me call out Morgan and Morgan right now. Why?

Starting point is 00:10:31 Because they are specialists in this area. The largest injury law firm in America, our proud sponsor here on Sidebar, I always love talking about Morgan and Morgan because they are all about fighting for the compensation you deserve should you get injured in these kinds of cases. That means not settling for lowball insurance offers. As such a big firm, they aren't afraid to take on these big insurance companies, and that means taking a case to trial if it's necessary. And your injury, by the way, could be worth millions of dollars. I'll give you an example. Recently, they have secured verdicts of $6.8 million in New York, $12 million in Florida, and $26 million in Philea, all, by the way, higher than the highest insurance offers in these cases. Morgan and Morgan, they make it so easy for their clients, too, to get started and navigate this process because it can all be done from your smartphone, from submitting your claim to talking to your legal team, seeing if you have a case only takes a few minutes.

Starting point is 00:11:26 So if you're injured, you can start by easily submitting a claim at for the people.com slash LC sidebar or by dialing pound law. That's pound 529 on your phone. Jones also talked about Combs sometimes violent personality. Quote, Mr. Combs often switched his approach to force me to obey and comply with his demands. On multiple occasions, he would threaten me with physical harm. Mr. Cones threatened to eat my face and inform me that he was willing to kill his mother to get what he wanted, so he wouldn't think twice about harming me.

Starting point is 00:11:56 That is something that we heard in the prior complaint as well. Quote, Mr. Combs would also make me work out of this bedroom whenever he had gang members and drug dealers visit him. I have witnessed Mr. Combs hand out guns from the hidden room in his bedroom closet. I have witnessed known gang members at his home in L.A. and Miami be paid from the stacks of cash he has in the hidden room in his bedroom closet. Jones says that Combs was very aware of the power he had and made sure that everyone around him knew it too. Quote, throughout my time living with Mr. Combs, he made it very clear that he did not spend his money on anything. He made it clear that he had partnerships and relationships with very powerful individuals and organizations, and these individuals and organizations funded his lifestyle.

Starting point is 00:12:39 And then the declaration from Jones also rebuts claims by Universal Music Group, a defendant in his lawsuit. Jones writes, quote, my counsel informed me that UMG claims that they did not pay for sex workers or sponsored any of the club love parties, or the Writers' Camp. These claims are contradicted by the reality I saw with my own eyes. There were employees of UMG and Motown present at the Writers' Camp, at listening parties, and after parties. I was told by Mr. Combs they were there, and I saw them there. Mr. Combs told me they were scouting for talent.

Starting point is 00:13:12 As it pertains to the sex workers, they also paid for them. I have several videos of the Chalice Recording Studio sessions, as well as in-home recording sessions, and there are sex workers and producers in the studio. The sex workers in these videos were the only individuals paid. So again, this is his account, right? If he backs it up by receipts, photos, screenshots, it's important. It's important.

Starting point is 00:13:36 And these are very, very serious claims. And now he's doubling down on this court filing saying that in this unsworn declaration that he can prove it. Now, I will tell you that Jones, he also provides multiple photos in the lawsuit of men and women inside a recording studio. Jones claims that the women in these photos are sex workers. And the declaration goes on to talk about the bragging that Combs allegedly did to Jones, that he lists out several stories Combs allegedly told him. Quote, Mr. Combs bragged about having Daphne Joy, the child mother of a competing rapper,

Starting point is 00:14:12 on payroll as one of his sex workers. I have a video of Mr. Combs on a massage table, receiving a massage from a professional masseuse, while Daphne Joy is giving him a foot massage. Mr. Combs bragged about shooting a woman in the face in 1999 in New York City and getting away with it. He bragged about departed attorney Johnny Cochran's savvy legal skills and ability to pay off the witnesses through private investigators and other third parties. He bragged about having Jennifer Lopez carrying his gun into the club the night of the shooting and the fact that he had so much power and influence over her at the time. He bragged about getting Shine to take the heat for the shooting and the fact that he paid Shine through a record deal

Starting point is 00:14:50 with his good friend L.A. Reed. And it doesn't end there because he also says that, quote, Mr. Combs also informed me that only poor people pay taxes. He shared that it is a common practice in the music industry to wire money from anonymous accounts overseas. This way, if there is ever a need to take care of a problem, it would never be traced back to him. These accounts were in Germany.

Starting point is 00:15:09 At the very end of the document, Jones says, quote, I could share other things, but I do not feel comfortable putting them in this document. I will be willing to discuss them with the court under seal to preserve my Fifth Amendment rights. Now, a lot to take in there. This just doubles down my belief that he is a cooperating witness with the government in this potential criminal investigation.

Starting point is 00:15:32 I have to believe it. And if he is one of the witnesses that's cooperating and federal authorities rated these properties, they have to be taking what he's saying is true. And maybe they're corroborating what he is saying through evidence that was seized from Combs properties. Okay. So, a lot to take in, but we also want to tell you quickly about a new letter that Jones attorney filed with the court after accusations that this attorney was being too salacious with his court filings. I'm talking about Tyrone Blackburn. He's one of the lawyers representing Rodney Jones and Grace O'Markey in their lawsuits against Sean Combs, Christian

Starting point is 00:16:10 Combs, and others. United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York Denise Coat submitted a referral to the New York federal court grievance committee, claiming that issues with Blackburn in five cases, she wrote, quote, significant resources have been spent by judges of the court and defendants named in actions he has filed to address glaring deficiencies in his filings. A referral to this court's grievance committee is warranted. She goes on to write, a reasonable inference from Blackburn's pattern of behavior, is that he improperly files cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrassed defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly. Indeed, his submissions to this court have been rife with disturbing

Starting point is 00:16:51 allegations against the defendants and defense counsel. Now, other lawyers have also criticized Mr. Blackburn as well. Combs' attorney, Sean Holly, alleged that Blackburn ignored, exonerating evidence, writing, quote, our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them. Then attorneys for UMG Universal Music Group, one of the defendants who are also being sued by Rodney Jones for their alleged participation and facilitation of the abuse and trafficking

Starting point is 00:17:27 claimed by Jones. They argued UMG that the claims presented by Jones were, quote, so offensively false. One of those lawyers, Donald Sackarron, said, quote, a license to practice law is a privilege. Mr. Blackburn, plaintiff's lawyer, has misused that license to self-promote, gratuitously, falsely, and recklessly accusing the UMG defendants of criminal behavior. Well, Mr. Blackburn is firing back. He is not taking that lying down.

Starting point is 00:17:54 No, he wrote a letter to Judge J. Paul Oatkin, a judge for the Southern District of New York, where Jones' lawsuit against Combs is currently filed. And he begins by saying, quote, at the onset, I apologize for wasting the court's time by having to read a letter that has nothing to do with the matters before your honor. He goes on to say that the defendants have, quote, decided to scrimmage through PACER. That, by the way, is the online court record, in search of anything to distract and deflect from the blatantly obvious fact that they cannot defend their actions as it relates to their business partnership with Sean Combs. He continued, quote, I do not improperly file cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrassed defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly, I gain no benefit. from filing cases in federal court over state court,

Starting point is 00:18:40 and I am not an ambulance chasing attorney who lives in front of a camera. Before filing any case, I always provide an opportunity for private resolution. If this case cannot be resolved privately, then I file. I do not pursue media attention. With this case alone, I have been inundated with invitations to appear on television shows, podcasts, and radio shows, both nationally and internationally, and I have rejected them all. Then he says this, bold and underlined, quote, Although I pick my clients, I do not pick their facts.

Starting point is 00:19:10 If a client comes to me with a complaint of sexual assault and she or he has evidence to support their claims, it is my duty to include all materials relied upon in drafting the complaint into the pleading. And then he cites some case law to support that. But remember, one of the things that we called out in the complaint is how there were these screenshots of videos, photos, copies of text, receipts for trips, and so forth. Blackburn goes on to end the letter with, quote, Finally, a referral is not a sanction. My pleadings in this district have consistently comported with the standard established

Starting point is 00:19:41 pursuant to Rule 8 of the FRCP and the standard established by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. If defendants are concerned about having a salacious claim filed against them, they should not engage in salacious acts. It was the defendant's choice to enter a general business partnership with Sean Combs, which funded his sex trafficking operation. Quite an update in this case, and stay with us here. to keep bringing these updates for you and keep breaking them down for you. That's all we have for you

Starting point is 00:20:09 here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Your Ad Here

Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy’s Ex-Producer Spills More Secrets in Court Filing: ‘He Was Never Told No’

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.