Diddy and his family presented a united front as they stepped out Saturday evening in Miami for a dinner at the upscale restaurant Mr. Chow.
The Grammy-winning artist, 54, whose name has been in the headlines amid an ongoing federal 𝑠e𝑥 trafficking investigation, appeared relaxed and happy as he enjoyed an outing with his children.
The New York City native was pictured with five of his seven children in a vehicle on Saturday evening: Quincy, 32, Christian, 25, Chance, 17, and twins Jessie and D’Lila, 17.
Diddy – who is also father to son Justin, 30, and Love Sean, one – is less than two months from his Los Angeles and Miami homes being raided by federal officials March 25.
The musical artist, who also faces multiple lawsuits accusing him of 𝑠e𝑥ual misconduct, has denied all allegations against him.
Diddy, 54, and his family presented a united front as they stepped out Saturday evening in Miami for a dinner at the upscale restaurant Mr. Chow
The hip-hop mogul donned an all-black ensemble as he was pictured outside of the South Florida eatery with sons Quincy, 32, and Christian, 25
The hip-hop mogul donned an all-black ensemble of a shirt with pants and sneakers and sunglasses as he was pictured outside of the South Florida eatery.
Quincy donned a black sweater with a white graphic, patterned pants and black sneakers.
Christian wore a yellow zip-up sweater over a black shirt with black pants and sneakers. He wore a necklace and was toting a gift bag.
Chance was seen beaming as she made her way out, with her younger sisters Jessie and D’Lila behind her.
Chance – who attended her prom last month with Branson Bailey, the younger brother of Chloe and Halle Bailey – was clad in a yellow ensemble of a shoulderless top with skirt and sandals.
The twins matched in metallic silver midi dresses with black slippers.
The celebrity family appeared to be in good sprits amid a rough few months for its patriarch, who has been busy responding to allegations from multiple accusers.
On Friday, lawyers for the embattled rapper asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two co-defendants raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003, saying it was a ‘false and hideous claim’ that was filed too late under the law.
Chance was seen beaming as she made her way out, with her younger sisters Jessie and D’Lila behind her
The hip-hop mogul led the way as he and his family departed the upscale restaurant
The legal move is the latest piece of pushback from Diddy and his legal team after he was subjected to several similar lawsuits and a subsequent criminal 𝑠e𝑥-trafficking investigation.
‘Mr. Combs and his companies categorically deny Plaintiff´s decades-old tale against them, which has caused incalculable damage to their reputations and business standing before any evidence has been presented,’ says the filing, which also names Combs-owned corporations as defendants.
It continued: ‘Plaintiff cannot allege what day or time of year the alleged incident occurred, but miraculously remembers other salacious details, despite her alleged incapacitated condition.’
The lawsuit was filed in December and amended in March by the woman, a current Canada resident whose name wasn´t disclosed in the court filing.
She said she was in 11th grade at a high school in a Detroit suburb in 2003, when Harve Pierre, then the president of Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment record label, flew her to New York on a private jet and took her to a recording studio, where she was given drugs and alcohol until she was incapable of consenting to 𝑠e𝑥.
Then, the lawsuit said, Pierre, Combs and a man she didn’t know took turns raping her. The lawsuit included photographs of the woman sitting on Combs´ lap that she said were taken on the night in question.
The defense filing asks that the case be ‘dismissed now, with prejudice’ – meaning it cannot be refiled – ‘to protect the Combs Defendants from further reputational injury and before more party and judicial resources are squandered.’
One of the plaintiff´s attorneys, Michael J. Willemin, said in a statement in response to the filing: ‘At this point, no one should take anything “Diddy” or his lawyers say seriously. Today´s motion is just a desperate attempt by Combs to avoid accountability for Ms. Doe´s allegations of gang rape and 𝑠e𝑥ual assault. It won´t work.’
At this early stage in the lawsuit, the arguments are procedural rather than on the facts of the case.
Some of the lawsuits filed against Combs involve decades-old allegations and are among the more than 3,700 legal claims filed under New York´s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily suspended certain legal deadlines to give 𝑠e𝑥ual assault victims a last opportunity to sue over abuse that happened years or even decades ago.
Diddy was pictured at last year’s Met Gala in NYC
The new deadlines established by that law expired, but the suit Combs filed the motion against Friday was brought under a different law, New York City´s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. That city law also allows accusers to file civil complaints involving 𝑠e𝑥ual assault claims after the statute of limitations has run out.
But Combs´ motion argues that suit was filed too late, because the city law is preempted by the state law, whose provisions mean the lawsuit needed to be filed by August of 2021 to be timely.
‘New York state law trumps New York City law, without exception,’ the filing says.
The amended version of the lawsuit filed in March sought to address some of these issues, but Combs´ attorneys argue that it didn´t go far enough.
The judge has ruled the woman will need to reveal her name if the lawsuit moves forward after this challenge.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been 𝑠e𝑥ually abused, unless they come forward publicly, as some of Combs’ accusers have done.
The public airing of allegations against Combs began with a November lawsuit by the singer Cassie, his former protégé and girlfriend, containing allegations of beatings, rape and other abuse between 2005 and 2018.
The complaint, filed by the same attorneys who brought the suit being challenged Friday, was settled the day after it was filed. Combs denied the allegations through his lawyer before the settlement.
More lawsuits against Combs were filed in the following months. Then on March 25, Homeland Security Investigations served search warrants on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in a 𝑠e𝑥-trafficking investigation. His lawyer called it ‘a gross use of military-level force.’
The investigation is continuing. Combs has not been charged.