Less than a week after Sean “Diddy” Combs was accused of rape and sex trafficking by R&B singer Cassie, a longtime executive at his company Bad Boy Entertainment is being sued for allegedly grooming and sexually assaulting his assistant.
Harve Pierre, the former president of Bad Boy who met Diddy when they were students together at Howard University, is accused of preying on the Jane Doe plaintiff “on multiple occasions in New York City and other locations throughout the country,” the complaint filed in New York County Supreme Court and obtained by Rolling Stone reads.
“Pierre used his position of authority as plaintiff’s boss to groom, exploit, and sexually assault her,” the filing alleges. “Pierre engaged in a year-long pattern of grooming plaintiff, leading to sexual harassment of plaintiff, and sexual assault.”
The anonymous assistant alleges she suffered physical, emotional, and psychological injuries, along with pain and suffering. She’s asking for damages that will “fully and fairly compensate” her. (Pierre did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)
The lawsuit also names Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records, and Combs Enterprises as co-defendants, accusing the companies of negligence and gender violence. “Defendants knew or should have known that Pierre was unfit to be in a position of authority before Pierre sexually assaulted plaintiff,” the lawsuit states. It claims the companies failed to “properly supervise” Pierre, especially considering his access to “individuals like plaintiff.” (Reps for Combs and Warner Music Group, the parent company of Bad Boy, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.)
Pierre started at Bad Boy in 1991, leaving the company but returning to eventually become its president until December 2017. He now calls himself a “partial owner” of the company that helped launch the careers of Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Ma$e and Faith Evans, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The suit was filed as a consequence to the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed a one-year window for those in New York to bring civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse even if the statute of limitations had passed. It’s set to expire on Friday, November 24, 2023. According to the Associated Press, the legislation led to more than 2,500 lawsuits, with many – including Cassie’s suit against Diddy and a Jane Doe lawsuit against Russell Brand – being filed in the final days leading up to the deadline.
Cassie settled her lawsuit with Diddy a day after she filed. Details of the settlement have not been made public.