NEW YORK – Hip-hop mogul Sean Combs was sued on Monday by a music producer who accused the rap star of making unwanted sexual contact and of forcing him to hire prostitutes and participate in sex acts with them.

The latest misconduct allegation against Combs was filed in the United States District Court in Manhattan by Rodney Jones Jr, who is also known as Lil Rod.

In 2022 and 2023, Jones says in his suit that he worked on what became The Love Album: Off The Grid, the latest album by Combs, the hip-hop and R&B impresario who has variously been known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy. Jones says he served as a producer on nine of the album’s tracks and lived with Combs for months at a time.

While working on The Love Album, Jones says in his complaint, Combs grabbed his genitals without consent and tried to groom Jones into having sex with another man, telling him it was “a normal practice in the music industry”.

In a statement, Combs’ lawyer Shawn Holley said: “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million (S$40.3 million) lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday.

“His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines. We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”

When the suit was filed, the court’s system originally said Jones’ demand was for $30 billion. His lawyer, Mr Tyrone A. Blackburn, said that was an error and that it would be corrected to reflect a demand of $30 million. Mr Holley’s statement originally reflected a response to $30 billion.

According to Jones’ complaint, at a listening party in July 2023 at Combs’ home in California, he was forced to drink shots of tequila laced with drugs, though the legal papers do not specify who offered him the shots or how he was forced.

In the suit, Jones says that after he had the drink, he passed out and awoke “at 4am the following morning naked with a sex worker sleeping next to him”. He added that Combs also forced him to “solicit sex workers and perform sex acts for Mr Combs’ pleasure”. To induce him, Jones says, Combs offered him money and threatened him with violence.

The 73-page lawsuit is filled with graphic details and photographs and, in addition to Combs, names as defendants the Universal Music Group – the giant music company that Combs briefly partnered before releasing The Love Album – as well as some of its top executives. The lawsuit says Combs maintained control over Jones by dangling promises of accolades and access to high-level record executives.

A representative of Universal Music did not immediately have a comment.

In his suit, Jones says he was not properly paid for his work as a producer on The Love Album, and earlier this month he began a crowdfunding campaign online with a statement reading, “Help Me Sue Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.”

As at Monday, it had raised less than US$1,500 of a stated goal of US$50,000.

The suit by Jones is the latest in a series of explosive allegations against Combs, one of the primary figures who transformed hip-hop into a major global pop movement in the 1990s, working with stars such as Mary J. Blige and the Notorious B.I.G.

In November, Casandra Ventura, who was Combs’ long-time girlfriend, and was signed to his Bad Boy label under the name Cassie, accused him of rape and years of physical and sexual abuse in a detailed lawsuit that made headlines around the world. That suit was settled in just one day, with both parties saying it had been resolved “amicably”, and a lawyer for Combs saying he denied the accusations.

Three other cases followed in quick succession, each alleging sexual assault. Combs has denied those, saying: “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

Lawyers for Combs have been fighting the remaining lawsuits in court, arguing in a filing last week that a claim from a woman who says that Combs gang-raped her in 2003, when she was 17, is too old to bring in court despite the plaintiff’s argument that it was revived by an amendment to a New York City law that established a window for expired claims to be filed.

The lawyers said the claim “irreparably damaged” Combs’ reputation based on “rank, uncorroborated allegations”. NYTIMES