Macy's covered up a violent 2008 sexual attack by Sean "Diddy" Combs at its flagship Herald Square, Manhattan store to protect a "multi-million-dollar" deal with Combs' clothing brand, Sean John, a new lawsuit alleges.
The worldwide department store chain was named as a defendant in one of at least six federal lawsuits, all alleging sexual assaults, filed against the hip-hop entrepreneur in Manhattan Monday.
The 19-page lawsuit is one of two filed Monday that names an outside company as a defendant beyond the companies belonging to Combs. It was filed on behalf of a "John Doe" who now lives in Ohio.
The plaintiff alleges that he was orally raped by Combs while working in the stockroom of the flagship store.
The plaintiff said he worked for Ecko, a rival clothing company to Combs' Sean John brand that was also carried by Macy's.
On the day of the attack, Combs entered into the stockroom with three armed bodyguards, the lawsuit says.
One or more of the guards struck him — he may have been pistol-whipped, he alleges — causing him to fall to his hands and knees, the lawsuit said.
The plaintiff says in the lawsuit that one or more of the bodyguards threatened to kill him.
The plaintiff said Combs demanded he perform oral sex on him, calling him by the name of the company he worked for, "Ecko." Combs proceeded to orally rape the plaintiff in what was described as a two-minute attack, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that after the assault, Combs grabbed armfuls of Sean John merchandise from the stockroom, went out onto the retail floor, and "began passing out merchandise to an adoring crowd, as if nothing had happened."
The lawsuit accuses Macy's of quickly covering up the incident.
The plaintiff reported it the same day to company security, but there was no follow-up, and he was soon barred from the store, the lawsuit alleges.
"Approximately three weeks later, Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's, pressured Ecko executives to fire plaintiff because Macy's had just signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Sean John Clothing," the suit says.
The plaintiff was eventually fired and told by Ecko that he could no longer live in his company-paid apartment in the city, the lawsuit says.
Ecko was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The company did not immediately return requests for comment from Business Insider after normal business hours on Monday.
The plaintiff "believes that the report of the assault was destroyed or otherwise purged from Macy's records, and no action was ever taken as a result of the report." He still "fears for his life," the lawsuit says.
Macy's and Lundgren did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
Attorneys for Combs released a statement Monday, again denying that the artist ever committed sexual assault. They called the lawsuits filed Monday an attempt to "garner publicity."
"Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process," the lawyers said. "In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone—adult or minor, man or woman."
The lawsuits against Combs were filed in Manhattan by the Texas-based Buzbee Law Firm, co-counsel AVA Law Group, and Curis Law.
The Sean John brand, founded in 1998, appears now to be defunct. Its Instagram page is blank, and its website is broken. At one point, it had expanded to include clothing, furniture, fragrance, and footwear, and by 2010, the brand reported retail sales of over $525 million.
Starting in 2011, the company's lucrative sportswear line — which it said made up about half of its sales — was exclusively sold at Macy's. Five of the retailer's locations included Sean John shops, where the company's goods were marketed and sold in prime locations, and Combs appeared in commercials for the store.
For years, it was among the department chain's top-selling men's brands, WWD reported.
"I have always admired Sean's sense of fashion, as well as his business acumen. He has a keen insight into the needs of a style-conscious, contemporary man," Lundgren said of Combs when the exclusivity deal was announced in 2010 — two years after the alleged assault.
"He was the first person to believe in me," the hip-hop star said of Lundgren, returning the compliment in a 2012 Barron's article. "He was like a godfather," Combs said.
In 2016, Combs sold a majority stake in the brand for $70 million, but under new management, the brand floundered and eventually filed for bankruptcy.
In 2021, Combs purchased the business back for $7.55 million. Sean John continued to be sold at Macy's until last fall, though a spokesperson did not comment on whether the line was pulled due to the mounting accusations against Combs.
Combs remains in jail awaiting a sex-trafficking trial scheduled for May 5.
Correction: October 21, 2024 — Due to an error during editing, an earlier version of this story misstated Sean Jean's revenue. The brand, as a whole, reported over $525 million in retail sales in 2010, not specifically at Macy's.
