Sean "Diddy" Combs' legal team filed to dismiss Dawn Richard's lawsuit against her former boss on the same day she was called to testify in his trial.
According to a report TMZ published on Friday, May 16, Combs' attorneys listed a number of reasons why they want the civil suit Richard filed last September tossed out, including the statute of limitations. They also claimed the singer attempted to take advantage of the negative press Combs received before he went to trial to secure a settlement from him. Richard filed her suit just days before Combs was arrested on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs' legal team moved to dismiss the lawsuit on Friday before Richard took the witness stand. The former member of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money testified about the allegations she made in her lawsuit, including instances of verbal abuse, sexual assault, food and sleep deprivation from the time she began her career as a contestant on Combs' MTV show "Making The Band." She also testified that she and her former Dirty Money partner, Kalenna Harper, once witnessed Combs beat Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura on several occasions. She described one particular incident in which Combs threatened to hit Ventura with a skillet while she cooked him breakfast.
Richard continued her testimony on Monday morning, May 19. Prosecutors asked her about her previous testimony, during which she claimed that Combs allegedly made death threats when he didn't get his way. Richard said Combs had threatened her and Harper after they saw him beat Ventura. She said Combs had told them it was in their "best interest" not to talk about what happened and also said, "where he comes from, people go missing if they talk." When asked by prosecutors what Combs meant by that, Richard replied, "That people could die."
During cross-examination, Combs' attorney Nicole Westmoreland claimed Richard never mentioned the death threats when they met with her several times before the trial. Defense attorneys are still grilling Richard on the stand as we speak.
We'll find out more as the trial continues today. For now, see what The Breakfast Club has to say about the latest trial updates below.