A woman who anonymously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs this month for rape must reveal her name or her lawsuit will be tossed out, a judge has ruled.
The woman’s complaint, filed under “Jane Doe” in the Southern District of New York, accuses Combs of raping her in 2004 at a Manhattan hotel when she was a 19-year-old college student.
However, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, in a ruling Wednesday, said that while the case is highly sensitive and Jane Doe is likely to face public scrutiny if she proceeds under her own name, her desire to remain anonymous does not outweigh the interests of Combs and the public “in the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings.”
Vyskocil said the woman’s complaint provided insufficient evidence that she would face “significant risk of harm” if publicly named. Vyskocil said her lawyers offered “no support for this assertion,” beyond the fact that 20 years ago, Combs threatened Doe’s life if she fled at the time of the alleged rape. The complaint also said that Combs has had no contact with Doe in the years since, and noted that Combs is currently detained.
The judge also said that her lawyers failed to provide evidence that revealing Doe’s identity would cause mental harm, noting that “public humiliation” was not enough. She said they failed to submit evidence from a mental health professional or a sworn affidavit from Doe.
Vyskocil said she had also considered the fairness to Combs’ camp in defending himself, which would be difficult without her identity being made public, given that the alleged attack happened 20 years ago.
“Defendants have a right to defend themselves, including by investigating Plaintiff, and the people have a right to know who is using their courts.”
In denying the motion, the judge gave Jane Doe has until Nov. 13 to file a complaint in her own name “or this case will be dismissed.”
NBC News has reached out to the woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, for comment on the ruling.
Buzbee filed the lawsuit under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, under which victims have a two-year window ending in March 2025 to file older claims. This suit was one of six complaints Buzbee filed in the Southern District of New York, all anonymously, on Oct. 14.
The complaint was filed against Sean Combs, several of his businesses, including his label Bad Boy Records LLC, and Marriott International.
The complaint alleged that Jane Doe, who now resides in Tennessee, had been invited to one of Comb’s photo shoots in Brooklyn, New York, in 2004.
She went to the photo shoot where she and another freshman from her dormitory were invited to an after party. At that party, Combs told Doe and her friend “they should come to his hotel first for a more exclusive party.” Doe and her friend agreed and were taken to a Manhattan area Marriott hotel by a member of Comb’s entourage, the complaint said.
There, Doe and her friend were allegedly grabbed and taken to a separate bedroom off from the main party, and locked inside with Combs, according to the filing.
Once inside, Combs allegedly gave them drinks, ordered them to use cocaine, and forcibly touched them, the complaint said. He allegedly ordered Doe’s friend to perform oral sex “or else he would have them both killed,” and raped Doe, according to the filing.
A security guard opened the door at one point and Doe’s friend rushed out. Doe was ordered to stay, and she waited for about half an hour until another security guard came and told her she could leave, the complaint said.
The embattled music mogul was arrested in New York in September, following a wave of lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct. The lawsuits came after his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known by her stage name Cassie, sued him in federal court, accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse.
The two settled a day after the lawsuit was filed, without disclosing the terms. An attorney for Combs said the settlement was not an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. He previously denied the allegations.
Combs’ attorneys have denied allegations of sexual misconduct.
