Three men accuse Diddy of rape and sexual assault in new lawsuits

Three more men have accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of rape and sexual assault in new lawsuits alleging the rapper drugged them with laced drinks and assaulted them while they were unconscious.

The complaints, filed separately in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday, involve incidents that allegedly occurred between 2019 and 2022.

Two of the plaintiffs allege they went to parties with Mr Combs, where he "personally offered" them alcoholic drinks which made them unconscious – and then he raped them.

His lawyers dismissed the lawsuits calling them "full of lies". He remains in custody at a Brooklyn jail.

"We will prove them false and seek sanctions against every unethical lawyer who filed fictional claims against him," the rapper's legal team told the BBC in a statement.

The three lawsuits add to the over thirty civil cases against Mr Combs, many of which involve similar accusations of assault dating back to the 1990s.

The rapper has been denied bail three times and is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

In one of the new lawsuits, an anonymous plaintiff listed as John Doe accuses Mr Combs of assault following an encounter at Marquee nightclub in New York in 2019.

According to his complaint, he joined Mr Combs and 10 other individuals for a private afterparty when the hip-hop mogul "personally offered" him a cocktail, after which he felt disoriented. The plaintiff alleges that Mr Combs noticed his disoriented state and said, "He is ready to party".

The man claims he blacked out and during brief moments of consciousness, he said he noticed a man and a woman recording as he was being raped by the musician.

The following morning, the man claims he was given approximately $2,500 (£1,969) by the man and woman recording the assault, who said the money came from Mr Combs.

• Lawyer cites 300 potential cases against Diddy
• Sean 'Diddy' Combs facing more allegations of sexual assault

Another anonymous plaintiff alleges that he attended a party at Mr Combs' East Hampton home in the summer of 2020. After consuming alcohol provided by Mr Combs, the man claims he began to lose consciousness. While "fading in and out of consciousness", he alleges that Mr Combs and others from Bad Boys Entertainment "took turns raping him".

The third John Doe claims he met Mr Combs in 2006 and began working for him. He alleges that in February 2020, he met Mr Combs at a hotel to discuss unpaid wages and during that meeting he claims the rapper prepared him a drink that he believes was drugged. He says he lost consciousness and awoke to find Mr Combs assaulting him.

When he woke up, Mr Combs allegedly told him he would look like an idiot if he went to the police and no one would ever believe him.

Authorities allege the star orchestrated a long-running scheme involving sexual abuse and exploitation, including arranging drug-fuelled events featuring male sex workers.

Mr Combs has pleaded not guilty to all the accusations. His legal team has repeatedly asserted his innocence. The trial is scheduled for May.