Promoter Sues Diddy For $5 Million Over Alleged Bodyguard Attack

NEW YORK, New York (October 10, 2007) — A hip-hop promoter has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, claiming the rap mogul unleashed three violent bodyguards on him in a New York City nightclub.

The lawsuit claimed James Waldon, 27, spoke to Combs in The Box and then one bodyguard punched him in the mouth, knocking him backward onto a table, and two others began hitting and kicking him continuously.

Waldon rolled off the table and was chased around the club by the bodyguards before escaping. The beating left Waldon with numerous injuries, including mouth and teeth problems, according to court papers.

Combs’ lawyer, Jonathan D. Davis, said he was aware of the lawsuit but had not seen the papers and could not comment.

Calls for comment from The Box’s general manager were not returned.

Waldon said he approached Combs when he saw him preparing to leave the club on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

After saying hello and exchanging pleasantries, court papers say, he invited Combs to see a performance of a hip-hop music group he was promoting.

At that point, court papers say, “Combs gestured at (a bodyguard) to forcibly remove Mr. Waldon from close proximity to Combs,” and the assault began.

Waldon’s lawsuit also names three “John Does” (the three bodyguards) and the nightclub in the suit. Waldon’s lawsuit was at least the second against Combs in less than a week.

A former consultant for Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment Inc. sued the entrepreneur for $19 million last week in Miami, claiming Combs owed him for the use of audio and video music footage by the late Notorious B.I.G.

B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was killed in 1997 in a still-unsolved slaying. Later that year, Combs agreed to buy the music and video footage from James Sabatino for $200,000.

Combs gave Sabatino a check for $25,000 and promised the rest of the money in 60 days, according to the lawsuit, but the balance was never paid.