Cuba Gooding Jr. Added As Defendant In Sexual Assault, Harassment Suit Against Diddy
Producer Rodney Jones has amended his lawsuit against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs to include actor Cuba Gooding Jr., court documents obtained by HuffPost can confirm.
Hours following federal raids on Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami properties on Monday, Jones amended his claim to list Gooding as a defendant, accusing him of sexual harassment and assault during a January 2023 trip on Combs’ yacht.
In his initial suit filed in February, Jones accused Combs of operating a racketeering enterprise, groping him and forcing him to engage in sexual acts with sex workers, among other claims.
Those first filings also included a section detailing the rapper’s “attempts to pass off” Jones to Gooding during a group trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands last year.
Gooding was not initially listed as a defendant in the suit, however.
Jones’ filings state that while on the 2023 yacht trip, he came to believe that Mr. Combs “was grooming him to pass him off to his friends.”
According to the suit, the actor “began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders” while alone with the producer in a makeshift studio on the vessel.
The filings state that Jones “was extremely uncomfortable and proceeded to lean away from Mr. Gooding Jr.”
Jones claims he “rejected” Gooding’s “advances” and said the actor “did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
February’s extensive complaint also included photos purported to show Gooding touching Jones during the 2023 trip.
Representatives for Gooding did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comments.
The complaint also references separate claims made against Gooding, describing the new defendant as someone who “was a relevant actor who has fallen from grace due to several sexual assault lawsuits and a recent guilty plea for sexual assault.”
In 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to forcibly kissing a woman at a New York nightclub, but was later able to withdraw that plea and agree to a lesser harassment charge after completing alcohol and behavior modification counseling.