Diddy's celebrity friends are 'quietly paying off victims to avoid being named'

A-list celebrity friends of Sean “Diddy” Combs are secretly paying off victims to avoid being publicly named, according to a top lawyer.

Tony Buzbee, who is representing around 120 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the hip-hop mogul, warned last week that he is preparing to reveal the identities of “many powerful people” who enabled the alleged offences.

However, he has since told TMZthat his law firm is giving these stars a chance to settle up with their accusers before the claims – and their names – are disclosed to the world.

“In every single case, especially cases like this [...] because it’s in the best interests of the victim, we attempt to resolve these matters without the filing of a public lawsuit,” Buzbee told the site on Monday (7 October).

“And we’ve done that already with a handful of individuals, many of which you’re heard of before.”

Probed on when he will be lodging a string of potentially explosive lawsuits involving these high profile figures, the attorney said: “Everyone is focused on what other celebrities were involved, who is going to be named, who is going to be outed. I don't expect that to happen this week.

“We want to make sure if we name individuals beyond Mr Combs that we have done our homework because it is going to create a firestorm, and we understand that.”

However, he added ominously: “If you were there in the room, participated, watched it happen and didn't say anything or helped cover it up, in my view, you have a problem.”

Insisting that he plans to “aggressively” go after anyone who witnessed the alleged abuse and failed to protect victims, he stressed: “A lot of people saw this activity going on, a lot of people allowed it to go on, said nothing, didn’t intervene [...] all of these individuals and entities have exposure.”

Diddy settled with his former longtime partner Cassie Ventura a day after she lodged a complaint accusing him of rape and abuse(Getty Images)

Buzbee's latest comments follow a press conference last week, during which he claimed that the list of Diddy’s alleged “enablers” was both long and “shocking”.

The lawyer told reporters in Houston, Texas: “We will expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors. We will pursue this matter no matter who the evidence implicates.

“The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs, and there’s a lot of names.

He continued: “It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make damn sure – damn sure – that we’re right before we do that.”

He then emphasised: “The names will shock you.”

The attorney confirmed that he will begin filing lawsuits in various states within the next 30 days and promised to identify Combs’s fellow defendants at a later date.

“These people who know who they are should just come forward now,” Buzbee said.

“I would imagine that as we speak here, there are a myriad of people who are very nervous. You can’t hide skeletons in the closet forever.

“I would expect there are many people out there right now who are desperately searching their memories as they delete their texts and data.”

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During the conference, Buzbee also revealed that half of the alleged victims he is representing are male and that the alleged sexual assaults occurred across different states – with the majority taking place in New York, California, Georgia and Florida – beginning as early as 1991, Page Sixreports.

Buzbee claimed that they were carried out at Combs’ annual White Parties, in hotels and in numerous other locations.

Most shockingly, he said that 25 of the accusers were minors at the time – with the youngest just nine years old.

Buzbee said that many of the accusers claimed they were drugged, and that horse tranquilliser was found in their systems after the parties they attended.

Combs’s legal team has since responded to the spate of serious allegations, with Erica Wolff – an attorney representing the record producer – telling Page Six that her client “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus”.

“That said,” she continued: “Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors.

“He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court if and when claims are filed and served, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”

Diddy's mother, Janice Smalls Combs, has issued a statement condemning the "public lynching" of her son(Getty Image)

Representatives for the 54-year-old rapper – who is currently facing nearly a dozen lawsuits alleging sexual and physical abuse – have previously denied all other accusations against him.

He was arrested last month on charges of racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.

He pleaded not guilty but was denied bail and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Following a string of 120 new accusers, including 25 who were children at the time, Diddy's lawyer said: "As Mr. Combs' legal team has emphasised, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.

"That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation."

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